Home » List Of Monasteries In Leh Ladakh » Hemis Monastery
Ladakh is bedecked with numerous Buddhist monasteries, famed for its incredible beauty and charm. The Hemis monastery is one of the largest and richest Gompa of the hill town. It is the most affluent gompa, located at a distance of 47 km from Leh.
The stunning structure of Hemis monastery flourished under the Namgyal dynasty. Hemis monastery was founded by first incarnation of Stagsang Raspa Nawang Gyatso. It was built in the year 1630 AD during the reign of Sengge Namgyal.
Hemis monastery consists of two main sections. The main Temple lies on the left side and the assembly hall on the right side. Walls besides the rows of prayer wheels are beautified with exquisite frescoes, including the Buddhist “Wheel of life” and the Lords of four quarters.
The Gompa has well preserved many precious objects which are of great importance for the Buddhists. It showcases copper guilt statue of Lord Buddha, Thankas, gold and silver stupas and many other objects of religious importance.
The two ancient temple, Du-Khang and Tshgs-khang are of great architectural delight. Du-Khang temple houses a throne of the Rimpoche. Another sacred structure, the Tshgs-Khang treasures a large glided statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha. It is very impressive and beautifully adorned with semi-precious stones. Apart from that, there is another worth visiting holy place, the meditation cave of Gyalwa Kotsang. The foot prints and handprints of the saint can be still seen on the rocks.
Explore the cultural fiesta of Ladakh in the grand celebrations of Hemis festival, which is one of the spectacular monastic festival of the hill town. It is celebrate to commemorate the birth anniversary of Indian sage, Guru Padmasambhav, who was the founder Tantric Buddhism in Tibet. People celebrates the festival with great zeal and enthusiasm after every twelve. The festival offers a wonderful opportunity to catch a glimpse of a two-storey high embroidered “Thanka”, depicting Guru Padmasambhav.