Dhankar Gompa

Below the Gompa lies the small village of Shichilling which contains the new Dhankar Monastery, home to about 150 monks belonging to the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Beyond the surrounding harsh, lunar landscape, notable sights at Dhankar Gompa include a statue of Vairocana consisting of four figures seated back-to-back, in addition to various crumbling thangkas. There is a small museum in the gompa. In 2006, World Monuments Fund selected Dhankar gompa as one of the 100 most endangered sites in the world. A nonprofit group, Dhangkar Initiative, is attempting to organize its conservation. Dhankar is approachable by a motorable road, good for small vehicles only, that branches off for Dhankar from the main Kaza-Samdu road at a point around 24 km from Kaza. The branch road is 8 km in length up to Dhankar. ==History==

Dhankar was the traditional capital of the Spiti Valley Kingdom during the 17th century and has some features dating back to the 12th century. It was the seat of the early rulers of Spiti, the Nonos, who had the right to cultivate the government lands nearby and were required to keep the fort in repair. They also dispensed justice to the people and were noted for their harsh penalties until the British replaced them. The monastery is also referred to as Lhaöpé Gönpa (): A new Teaching Temple was inaugurated by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama on 12 July 2009. ==Footnotes==

File:View down Spiti River Valley from roof of Dhankar Gompa.jpg|View down Spiti Valley from roof of Dhankar Gompa File:Small shrine honouring HH the 14th Dalai Lama. Dhankar Gompa.jpg|Small shrine honouring the 14th Dalai Lama. Dhankar Gompa. File:Dhankhar Monastery Guest House Sign. 2010.jpg|Dhankhar Monastery Guest House Sign. 2010 File:Meditation cave, Dhankhar Gompa. Lahaul and Spiti, India. 2004.jpg|Meditation cave, Dhankhar Gompa. Lahaul and Spiti, India. 2004 File:Sculptures, Dhankar Gompa.jpg|Sculptures, Dhankar Gompa File:Dhankar village & Gompa.jpg|Dhankar village & Gompa File:Confluence Of Spiti And Pin river and pin valley from Old Dhankar Monastery.jpg|Confluence Of Spiti And Pin river and pin valley from Old Dhankar Monastery File:Dhankar gompa, Spiti.jpg|Dhankar gompa, Spiti File:Dhankar Gompa.jpg|Dhankar Gompa