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Photo: Aksveer, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Much more worth it than Hemis, this is an excellent place to visit, a well maintained, active and interesting Geluk (the sect headed by the Dali Lama) Monastery. The two-storey-tall Matreya statue is stunning.
Thiksey Monastery or Thiksey Gompa is a Buddhist monastery affiliated with the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located on top of a hill in Thiksey approximately 19 kilometres (12 mi) east of Leh, in the Ladakh region of northern India. It is noted for its resemblance to the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, and is the largest monastery in central Ladakh, notably containing a separate set of buildings for female renunciates that has been the source of significant recent building and reorganization.
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Monastery in the Karma Kagyu tradition. Not much to see here, unless you are interested in Buddhism, but it is opposite the street of one of the Dalai Lama residencies.
Soma Gompa
Just around the corner from Main Bazaar, it's a large modern gompa. It's also the location of the Ladakhi Buddhist Association, a conservative political organisation with ties to Hindutva groups.
Built by a Japanese Buddhist group. This modern stupa is somewhat kitschy, but still worth a visit.