The temple of Wanla appears today almost in its original form. Since its construction, the temple has been a monument of the
Drikung Kagyu school, a sub-school of the Kagyupa school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Since
1999 Holger Neuwirth has been in charge of several research projects
focusing on the documentation, analysis, reconstruction and other
aspects of preservation of sacred architecture of the 10th to 15th
centuries in the Western Himalayas. The projects in question were funded
by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Members of Graz University of
Technology conducted the work under Neuwirth’s guidance. The analysis,
which was based on specific research results, primarily sheds light on
the complexity of Buddhist architecture in the Western Himalayas,
especially the connections between building aspects such as
construction principles and materials as well as aspects related to
content and aesthetics like proportion and shape. Those elements are
equally inherent to architecture as they are to visual arts, sculptures
and paintings.

A first field research project of the temple
complex and its surroundings was started in 1998 with the financial aid
of Edoardo Zentner, Zurich. With the help of FWF this research could be
continued in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2009. This book presents the
cumulative data gathered during the research programs. This book aims at
generating awareness of the three storied temple of Wanla.

The
settlement of Wanla is located in Western Ladakh on the Yalpola River, a
southern tributary of the Indus River, about 68 kilometres linear
distance from Leh. At an altitude of 3260 metres, the climate is
somewhat milder than in higher regions and offers more comfortable
living conditions.
The small mountain ridge above the settlement of
Wanla is dominated by the imposing ruins of an ancient castle complex
that are mainly situated on a rocky crag on the north-western side.

With
its walls painted in red and white the three storied temple is easily
recognized as a sacred building. Today it is the center of the whole
complex. The path around the temple allows the ritual circumambulation.
Despite the fact that Wanla is located within an active seismic zone,
this temple has survived for over 700 years.

The solitary
position of the temple within the castle and the hints on its founder in
the temple inscription indicate that the temple may have been used as
both a palace chapel and a three-storey initiation chapel. Compared to
other three-storey temple buildings, Wanla temple can be even described
as a typologically unique palace chapel.