Rangdum Monastery, Kargil

Rangdum Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery belonging to the Gelugpa sect, situated on top of a small but steep sugarloaf hill at an altitude of 4,031 m (13,225 ft) at the head of the Suru Valley, in Ladakh. It is next to the tiny village of Julidok, and about 25 km from the 4,400 m (14,436 ft) Pensi La (pass) which leads into Zanskar
According to an inscription the monastery was built by Gelek Yashy Takpa during the reign of King Tsewang Mangyul of Ladakh about 200 years ago. Although it is physically in the Suru Valley, it is culturally part of Zanskar. Because one cannot count on crops being harvested due to the brief summer, both the village and the monastery depend on supplies, other than locally produced dairy, brought up the largely barren Suru Valley, or over the 4,400 metre (14,436 ft) Pensi La pass from Zanskar. The monastery is home to about 30 monks and almost as many donkeys.

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