Ladakh’s Stunning Buddhist Monasteries

Think Ladakh and the picture that arises in your mind is of a landscape of snowclad Himalayan peaks dotted by those quaint architectural buildings ; many of them on hills with winding roads and steps leading to them. Well , these are the Buddhist monasteries of Ladakh which add unique charm to the Himalayan landscape.

These monasteries of Ladakh have an old world charm about them and are remnants of Tibetan culture that has been retained here. Most monasteries are complexes that comprise of prayer halls, temples, courtyards, stupas and the living quarters of the monks.

They have typical architectural features with white exteriors , windows lined by delicately carved woodwork and painted in red, black and yellow colours , stupas in the courtyard, and multi colour prayer flags fluttering all over. Prayer wheels of different sizes adorn both the exterior and interior and the soothing chants of Buddhist hymns calms our minds as we explore them. Monasteries are store houses of ancient manuscripts, thangka paintings and house beautiful statues.

In most monasteries , bowls filled with water are seen offered at the altars in addition food, flowers and incense.

Let us walk through some of these monasteries…

Hemis Monastery

Hemis monastery is one of the largest and wealthiest of the monasteries and is located about 40 kms from Leh. One needs to climb a flight of stairs to reach the monastery and there are beautiful arches and prayer wheels along the passage.

The stairs with decorated arches leading to the monastery.

The stairs lead us to an open courtyard with the monastery building right ahead. The balconies and windows have delicate wooden carvings on them painted in attractive colours.

The courtyard and monastery building

The Hemis monastery is most famous for the Hemis festival held in this courtyard in the month of July. The famous Cham dances are enacted here with the dancers wearing colourful masks.

File picture of Hemis festival

We had a wonderful experience when we reached the monastery. It suddenly started snowing and we enjoyed the experience along with views of the monastery.

This also acquainted us with how fickle the weather in Ladakh can be as it had been bright and sunny earlier on

Snowing at Hemis….click on video to enjoy the experience!!

Thiksey Monastery

This largest monastery of Ladakh is built identical to the Potala Palace in Lhasa in the 15th century overlooking the Indus Valley and is often called mini Potala.

This monastery has 12 floors and houses 10 temples with precious and rare statues and stupas .

Thiksey Monastery

Thiksey Monastery

Our group in front of Thiksey monastery

Here too, there stairs adorned with colourful arches that lead to the main monastery building.

A huge prayer wheel

The main monastery building

One of the main attractions here is the beautifully decorated and adorned Maithreya Buddha statue that is 40 feet tall. He is known as the future Buddha or Buddha of Compassion and was consecrated by the Dalai Lama.

Maitreya Buddha statue

Photography restrictions were minimal here and hence here are some pictures from inside the monastery…..

Some pictures from inside the monastery.

Tara devi who is believed to be the mother of Buddhas has a temple dedicated to her here.

There are beautiful murals on the walls of the monastery

Beautiful murals

Views of the Indus River and valley and the Himalayan peaks from the top of the monastery are beautiful…

Beautiful view of the Himalayas, Indus river and valley from Thiksey

This monastery is home to about 80 monks.

Some of the monks in traditional attire

Alchi Monastery or Alchi Choskor

Alchi monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh built in the 11th century by Lama Rinchen Zangpo on the banks of the Indus river. He is believed to have travelled from Kashmir across the Zojila pass and translated many texts from Sanskrit to the Bodhi language. Due to this, this monastery has a mix of Indian and Tibetan cultures.

Built on level ground and surrounded by brick walls, this simple structure, escaped attention of invaders and survives till date.

A walking stick belonging to the lama from which a tree has grown is preserved at the complex. It is decorated with the traditional Ladakhi white scarf .

This monastery is unique in that it is a conglomerate of small buildings and wooden structures . There are three main buildings here : the Assembly hall, the Sum-tsek and the Manjushri temple. The Sum-tsek is a three storey structure with the statues of Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshwara and Manjushri.

It is well known for the beautiful paintings and frescoes that adorn its walls. They depict Buddhist teachings, celestial beings and Mandala art in great detail. Many of the murals have faded and restoration work is on at the monastery. The beautiful murals and vivid Mandala art in the monastery cannot be brought to you as photography is prohibited in those areas.

Here are some pictures from the exteriors which will clearly show the difference between Alchi and the pomp and splendor of the other monasteries. Take a look…

The walking stick of Rinchen Zangpo from which a tree has grown

The exterior of the buildings at Alchi monastery

The prayer wheels

The Indus river which flows right behind the monastery

Dikshit Monastery

This monastery is located in the Nubra Valley on a hill and houses the giant Maithreya Buddha statue. The views of Nubra valley from atop the monastery are beautiful.

Dikshit Monastery

The giant Maithreya Buddha statue is placed facing the direction of Baltistan in Pakistan and it is believed that the Buddha will bring peace to the region.