Key Gompa (‘Monastery at the Centre of the Mandala’) is the largest monastery in Spiti, and the seat of the reincarnations of the Lochen (‘Great Translator’) Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055). As the seat of the line of Lochen Tulkus, it is intimately connected with the much older Kadampa lineage, and through it to the famous 11th century saint Srijnana Dipankara Atisha.
The Monastery is approximately 600 years old. It is situated in a remote location in India 13,800 feet above sea level. Winters here are long and temperatures can drop to -40 degree Celsius. The 300 monks residing in here range in age from seven to over eighty years.