Himachal Pradesh Monasteries
Dhankar Monastery
Dhankar Gompa is a Buddhist monastery situated in the Spiti Valley of India. It stands perched at a height of 12,774 feet and falls between the towns of Kaza and Tabo. Dhankar was the erstwhile capital of Spiti Valley Kingdom during the 17th century. The monastery was built approximately one thousand years ago. One of the major attractions of Dhankar Monastery is statue of Vairochana (Dhayan Buddha), consisting of 4 figures seated back to back. It also houses a collection of various crumbling thankas.
Situated around 1 km away Dhankar Gompa is the small village of Shichilling, which houses the new Dhankar Monastery. The new monastery belongs to the Gelugkpa School of Order and serves as the residence of approximately 150 monks. To the south of the gompa is a national park, where you might get to see the snow leopard.
Tabo Monastery
Tabo Monastery is situated in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh. Perched at an altitude of 3050 m, it offers magnificent views of the valley below. The monastery was founded by the great scholar, Richen Zangpo, in the year 960 AD. Tabo Gompa, located in India, was meant to serve as an institution for advanced learning. Infact, it saw tremendous growth in the Tibetan art between 11th century and 20th century.
The entire complex of the monastery consists of nine structures, out of which the most popular one is the Duwang Lakhang. The huge Chaitya Hall boasts of magnificent architecture as well as a few splendid Buddhist sculptures. Apart from these, there is the four-faced magnificent Buddha idol, the Amitay Buddha (in seated position), a stucco idol of Bodhisattva Maitreya, etc. Because of its beautiful murals and stucco images, Tabo has been given the name of 'The Ajanta of the Himalayas'.
The monastery serves as the residence of approximately sixty monks. The main shrine inside the monastery is that of Tsug Lhakang and it is situated at the heart of the complex. Tabo Monastery also has a rich collection of clay statues of the Buddha, painted in the Kashmiri style.
