Shey Monastery

The oldest palace of Ladakh is located at Shey. whichis situated at a distance of 16 km on the Leh -Manali road. King Lhachen Smal Gigun built this palace. The Shey Gompa is situated on a hillock, and there is a 7.5 mtr high Buddha image in this temple. King Deldan Namgyal, son of King Singhye Namgyal, built this temple in A.D. 1655 in memory of his father. The statue of the Buddha is made of copper, platted with gold, and is the biggest metal statue of its kind in Ladakh. A lamp with butter burns in front of the statue throughout the year.

A Nepalese sculpture named Sanga Zargar Wanduk was commissioned to make this statue. Three Ladakhi craftsmen- Paldana Shering Gyaso, Gamani Jal Shring & Nakbiri-assisted him. The castings of the statue were made in Leh at a place called Zanstin Palace. Zans means copper & til means to hammer. Actually the copper for this statue was hammered into plates on a big rock. For this, copper was collected from Lingshet & other villages of the Zanskar area. More than 5 kg of gold were used for platting. This huge statue was built in Zanstil Palace in parts & then transported the Shey temple, where they were assembled and installed.