Stongdey Monastery, often written Stongde, Stongday, Tonday or Thonde, is a flourishing Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 monastery in Zanskar

Zanskar

Zanskar is a subdistrict or tehsil of the Kargil district, which lies in the eastern half of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The administrative centre is Padum...

, Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

, northern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, approximately 18 km north of Padum

Padum

Padum is the largest town and administrative centre of Zanskar tehsil of Kargil district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is 240 km away from Kargil.-Description:...

, on the road to Zangla

Zangla

Zangla is a town in Zanskar tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located 35 km from Padum. The town is the nodal point on the popular Padum-Strongdey-Zangla-Karsha-Padum round trip. Zangla Monastery is located in the area.-Geography:Zangla is located at ,...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 .

The gompa was founded in 1052 CE by Naropa

Naropa

thumb|right|NaropaNāropā was an Indian Buddhist yogi, mystic and monk. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. Naropa was the main teacher of Marpa, the founder of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism...

's disciple, the famous translator Lama Marpa Lotsawa

Marpa Lotsawa

Marpa Lotsawa , sometimes known fully as Lhodak Marpa Choski Lodos or commonly as Marpa the Translator, was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher credited with the transmission of many Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India, including the teachings and lineages of Vajrayana and Mahamudra.-Biography:Born as...

 (1012-1097). It was taken over by the Gelugpa about four centuries later and became dedicated to Je Tsongkhapa

Je Tsongkhapa

Tsongkhapa , whose name means “The Man from Onion Valley”, was a famous teacher of Tibetan Buddhism whose activities led to the formation of the Geluk school...

.

It is the second largest monastic institution in Zanskar, with a community of about 60 Gelukpa monks

Bhikkhu

A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...

. Every year the Gustor Festival is held on the 28th and 29th day in the eleventh month of the Tibetan calendar

Tibetan calendar

The Tibetan calendar is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years, so that an average Tibetan year is equal to the solar year.The Tibetan New Year...

.

There are seven temples in all. The Tshogs-khang is decorated with exquisite painting including some with deities on a black background outlined in gold.