Situated 40 km from Leh, Hemi is the wealthiest, best known and the biggest gompa of Ladakh. The annual festival of the gompa is held in summer, in honour of Guru Padma Sambhav's birth anniversary. It also has the largest thanka (scroll painting on silk or brocade) in Ladakh which is unfurled once in 12 years. Hemi was built in1630 A.D.during the reign of Sengge Namgyal and flourished under the Namgyal dynasty.