Phugtal Gompa India

Phugtal Monastery or Phugtal Gompa is a monastery in south-eastern Zanskar, Ladakh in northern India, founded by Gangsem Sherap Sampo in the early 12th century, the monastery is a unique construction built into the cliffside like a honeycomb. It located on the mouth of a cave on the cliff face of a lateral gorge of a major tributary of the Lungnak River. A number of chapels are situated inside the premises of the Phugthal Gompa. And one of these chapels even reflects a strong Indian touch. The frescoes as well as the ceiling decorations, adorning the chapel, bear the marks of artistic and iconographic influence of India. Home to about 70 monks the monastery has a library and prayer rooms. A stone tablet reminds of Alexander Csoma de Kőrös author of the first English-Tibetan dictionary who explored Ladakh and visited in 1826-27.