[1] The Phuktal Gompa owes its legacy to powerful and renowned scholars and teachers who resided in the cave, around which the monastery has been built, and has for long been a place for retreat, meditation, learning, and teaching.

The Phuktal Monastery is built around a natural cave, which is believed to have been visited by numerous sages, scholars, translators, and monks around 2,550 years ago.

The present Phuktal Gompa, of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, was established in the early 15th century by Jangsem Sherap Zangpo, a disciple of Je Tsongkhapa.

In the 12th century, the Tibetan translator Zanskar Lotsawa Phagpa Sherab also lived and worked from Phuktal.

The eminent scholars and brothers Dangsong, Pun, and Sum, who were believed to have the supernatural power of flight gave teachings on Dharma at Phuktal.

When Jangsem Sherap Zangpo arrived at Phuktal, the three brothers bequeathed the holy site to him and departed.

There is a stone tablet which serves as a reminder of the stay of Alexander Csoma de Kőrös at Phuktal, while he worked on the first English-Tibetan dictionary between 1826 and 1827, when he explored Ladakh.

The Phuktal Gompa maintains a Traditional Tibetan medical clinic, catering to the local community.

There is an on-site Amchi, a traditional Tibetan physician who provides natural Sowa-Rigpa medicine, many of which have been prepared at the monastery itself.

Monks from the monastery attend local village events of significance, such as birth, deaths and weddings, performing traditional prayer ceremonies.