Bardan Gompa is a fortress-like monastery with a spectacular setting atop a rocky outcrop commanding an S-bend in the Lugnak Valley. The main prayer hall retains some ancient murals and is accessed via an appealing triangular courtyard. Bardan is the main Ladakhi centre for a Drukpa Buddhist sub-lineage whose infant rinpoche is currently growing up in Stakna – hence all the baby photos.
Although its core is from the 13th century, the bulk of the structure was developed in the 16th and 17th centuries by Lama Deva Gyatso, a son of the Padum king. Legend has it that the site was chosen when a crow picked up the lantern of Lama Barawa and dropped it here.