When visiting Ladakh you will always find something new. This place has so much to offer that sometimes it will make you think what God was exactly thinking before making such a picture perfect place. Ladakh’s popularity for snow capped mountains is known by all but have your thought about the different monastery festivals that take place in Ladakh throughout the year. Matho Nagrang is a colorful festival of Ladakh.

Matho Nagrang festival is a part of the small village Matho. People from all over the world come to this small village to celebrate this festival. During these festival two special monks chosen by the entire village community predicts the future of the people. It is believed that during this festival some special power comes in their hands and they can actually predict everything perfectly.

The monks who predict the future of the people are chosen. Each year the monks change. All the eligible monks who want to predict the future willing place their names in a bowl and then their names are selected through a lottery. The monks are chosen nine months prior to this festival. During these nine months the selected monks undergo different activities in order to purify themselves.

They stay away from their family and closed ones and attain deep meditation along with fasting. During the festivals these monks perform impossible tasks which seem unnatural for normal people but they perform. This marks that their souls are purified and that God is residing in them.

The first day of the monastery witness a masked dance performance by the chosen monks. They wear masks that depict the features of many Gods and Goddess. They dress up in vibrant colours before starting their performance. In the second day, these monks start predicting the future of the people who come from different parts. The fact of knowing future draws many people’s attention to this festival. The end of the festival marks with the amazing performances by the monks. These monks perform surprising acts which seems impossible for any normal person. They run around the balcony and perform different acrobatics and all these acts are performed blindfolded.

The small village named Matho is located just 26 km away from Leh. The name of this village is kept after the name of a famous monastery of Ladakh “Matho Monastery”. The meaning of the term “matho” means “many happiness” and hence the name of the village is kept after this. This village is located mainly near the outskirts and hence generally visitors do not pay a visit to this village but during this festival people from all over the world come to this village

This festival is celebrated during the 15th Day of the first month of the Tibetan Calendar. Since the timing of this festival is fixed you can plan a visit to this festival prior. You will get to visit the small village of Matho as you come to this place for the festival. Also the famous Matho Monastery can be visited by you during this time. Hence, if you are visiting Ladakh during this time then coming to Matho and witnessing all these will be a pure bliss for your eyes.