Monastries around Leh

Ladakhi's are mainly Buddhism followers, and there are a large number of very old Buddhist monasteries in this region. The monasteries are typically located outside a town or a village, and on the top of a hill. The main prayer halls are at the summit, and the lama's dwellings cling to the hill's slope below the prayer hall. The monasteries are generally headed by a lama, who is chosen through a very elaborate and interesting procedure. When a child destined to be the head of a monastery is born, he identifies himself as the head of so and so monastery. The child is then asked certain questions about his claim, and is taken to the monastery. The current incumbent head lama then himself queries the child, and if he is satisfied, then the child is taken up in the monastery to spend the rest of his life there. He automatically takes over as the head lama when the present one dies. These monasteries are guided by Dalai Lama (the spiritual head of all Buddhists) who graces some of the monastic festivals in these monasteries.

On our way back from Zingral (after the unsuccessful attempt at Pangong Tso), we visited the Hemis monastery. Hemis was founded under the direct patronage of Namgyal dynasty. The biggest and most famous of monastic festivals, frequented by tourists and locals alike, falls in late June or the first half of July, and is dedicated to Padmasambhava. Every 12 years, the gompa's greatest treasure, a huge thangka - a religious icon painted or embroidered on cloth - is ritually exhibited. A solitary road from Karu crosses the Indus River and takes one to Hemis. One of the lamas in the monastery took us to the main prayer hall, which had many idols made of gold. Also, there were over hundred very old Buddhist scriptures.

Thikse Monastery

Another famous monastery is Thikse, which is located in between Karu and Leh. We visited Thikse on our way back from Pangong Tso, the day before we came back to Delhi. Althogh Thikse is older than Hemis, it is more clean and open than Hemis. The main prayer hall had a huge idol of Padmasambhava, the future incarnation of Buddha. A lama explained to us how Padmasambhava would be identified. The wall behind the idol described the whole story pictorially. Above the prayer hall was the room of the head lama. The Thikse monastery provided a commanding view of the entire Indus valley. Thikse has its monastic festival between November and March.

There are many other monasteries around Leh. Spituk was right in front of the transit camp where we stayed in Leh, alongside the runway. The aircraft landing at the Leh airport fly only a few hundred meters past the monastery! Spituk also has its festival in winter. The Tak-thok monastery at the foot of the Chang La incorporates one of the manu caves in Himalaya, where the Indian Buddhist apostle is said to have rested and meditated on his journey to Tibet.

Monasteries