Samding Monastery Travel Guide

Brief Introduction
The monastery is 8km east of Nakartse on the top of a ridge that divides the southern extreme of Yamdrok Tso´s north arm from Dumo Tso(Devil Lake). Samding was founded in the 13th Century, by Khetsun Zhonnu Drub.

According to legend, Samding was built here to assure the lake water did not overflow and inundate the whole Tibet.

In 1716, a female incarnation of the monastery supposedly transformed herself and the nuns into sows during the Dzunger Mongol invasion. When the commander entered the monastery by force, she was astounded by the sight. They turned themselves back into nuns and the impressed Mongols made profuse offerings to the monastery.

It´s possible to visit the main assembly hall, to the right of the courtyard, which is dominated by a statue of Sakyamuni. There is also a footprint of the ninth Dorje Phagmo here, plus an eerie protector chapel and several chapels upstairs. There are 31 monks in residence.