Beside the Kargil road around 6km from Padum, Zanskar’s oldest gompa is a small, two-storey prayer hall ringed by a tunnelled cloister and a whitewashed stone wall studded with stupas. During the rule of Kushan Emperor Kanishka (2nd century AD), Sani was the site of a royal stupa which was amongst the holiest Buddhist sites of its era. The current monastery is unusual for being on flat land close to the village rather than on a rocky crag above.
