From Hemis we continued to Thiksey Monastery, a large hilltop monastery originally founded 1433 that bears resemblance to the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The monastery belongs to the Gelug school; its main attraction is the Maitreya Temple that was build on the occasion of the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to this monastery in 1970. That temple contains a 15m high statue of Maitreya across two stories of the building.