The government bus from Leh delivered us to a dusty intersection with the highway maps market as Thiksey—a non-defined town center in a decentralized patchwork of small farms. But it’s not the town that’s the draw. We stood at the toe of a massive Buddhist monastery whose whitewashed walls climbed a steep rocky rise, elevating the complex above the Indus River Valley giving it a presence of immense grandeur against the landscape.
Hundreds of stairs found us on the shoulder of the knoll, out of breath, at the monastery’s guest quarters where we spent two nights.
Thiksey Monastery
(click to enlarge)
Looking down on the Indus Valley
Chanting Hall
Stupa Stupa Stupa
Off the backside of the monastery.
Walking the Valley
(click to enlarge)
Wheat Harvest
Yak!
Seabuck Berries
So many stupas!
The Druk White Lotus School in the neighboring town of Shey, an internationally recognized example of ecological architecture.
The buildings use locally sourced materials and passive heating/cooling design.
The buildings respect and blend well with the larger landscape.
The unique composting toliets are one of the school's most famous features--the black wall heats up in the sun to create a thermal loop of air to vent any undesirable scent and keep the decomposition aerobic.
To learn more about the project check out:
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