70 kms from Leh a little village of Alchi, known as a jewel among religious sites in Ladakh. The main attraction is Alchi Gompa, which dates back to the 11th Century and predates the Tibetan influence currently seen in most gompas in Ladakh. The gompa is popularly known as Chos-kor and consists of 5 temples. Alchi Gompa is one of the largest and most famous in Ladakh, due to its widely renowned collection of paintings and unique murals. One of it walls features thousand of miniature-sized picture of the Buddha. Some of the paintings and murals are reminiscent of the painting of the far off Ajanta Caves and are presumed to be almost the sole survivors of the Buddhist style, currently in Kashmir during the first millennium AD.

The monastery ceased to be a place of active worship for almost 500 years, until it was transferred to the Gelugpa sect, at nearby Likir, 300km across the river. Now, its maintained by the monks at Likir.

Three sacred temples, with the main one being that of Rinchen Lhakhang at Lotsa Lhakhang, make up a major part of the Alchi Gompa of Ladakh. However, there are other temples also, namely Jamyang Lhakhang (Manjusri temple), Sumtsag Lhakhang and so on. There are a number of images inside the monastery. However, the main one is that of Vairocana. The other images include the ones of the five Buddha Families, along with their attendant deities.

Ladakh Festival is celebrated all over the region for 15 days every year. Many cultural and sports events are held during this festival. Major attractions include the masked dances and polo and archery competitions.