The most attractive feature of the landscape of India are the Buddhist gompas. These aesthetically pleasing and architecturally interesting gompas provide the focus for the faith of the highly religious Buddhist people. They are the places of worship, isolated meditation and religious instructions for the young. Beautiful paintings of the Buddha, Boddhisatvas, Dishapals, Dharmchakras and Mandals adorn the walls and the inner chambers of these exclusive gompas.
Hemis is the biggest Gompa of Ladakh, was established by king Singe Namgyal in the 17th century. It is famous for its magnificent summer festival, which the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava.
The annual festival celebration held at the Gompas are a colorful sight with masked dances and religious ceremonies drawing both pilgrims and tourists in large numbers.