Odyssey Tours & Travels

Samstangling Gompa

This monastery was founded in 1842 and is located on a gorgeous setting overlooking the valley. The tall main building has beautiful yellow and gold wooden carvings. Inside the gompa are interesting murals, Buddha statues, thongkas, drums, and the traditional rows of benches for the monks to sit and meditate.

The Samstelling Monastery overlooks the green fields of the nearby village of Sumur, a pretty place worth exploring, with well-tended field reaching up to the valley walls.

Panamik

Panamik has a number of hot springs on the right of the road just before entering the village. In the past Panamik was a major stopover on the ancient Silk Route caravan before crossing the mountains of Karakoram and Ka-lu, as there were no villages for the rest of the journey for 12 days. It served as the last major village where caravans stopped before undertaking their arduous journey over high mountain passes. The famous hot springs of Panamik also served them as a source of bath, drinking water and for medicinal purposes.