Likir Monastery, Ladakh

Likir Gompa : is set on an isolated ridge a few kilometers north of Saspol. The road approaching the gompa makes a wide semi-circle around its base, affording beautiful views of the gompa from different vantage points. Likir was established around the 15th century and early in its history, became responsible for the oversight of Alchi gompa, to which it has posted lamas up to the present day. Likir belongs to the yellow-hat sect and currently houses about 120 lamas. It The gompa school has about 30 pupils who learn three languages besides Ladakhi: Hindi and English, as these are the national languages of India, and Tibetan for religious purposes. The pupils, some of whom will be selected as lamas, live part of the time in the monastery and part of the time with their parents. Likir's head lama, a younger brother of the Dalai Lama, has married (against the rule of the sect) and is permanently absent from the gompa.

Climb up to Likir's central courtyard and immediately on the right is the main Dukhang or assembly hall. The entrance verandah is painted with the Guardians of the Four Directions on either side of the entry door. On the right verandah wall is a Wheel of Life mandala held by Yama, the divinity that decides a person's future fate after death. Entering the main Dukhang, there are six rows of seats for the lamas. This is where the day's prayers take place and also where the lamas take their meals. Numerous thankhas hang from the columns and walls in the Dukhang. At the front on the left are two large chortens. Inside the chorten on the left is a statue of Avalokitesvara, a Bodhisattva whose name means "Lord of All He Surveys", believed to be reincarnated in the Dalai Lama. The chorten on the right contains a statue of Amitabha the Buddha of the West. In the centre at the front of the hall are three large statues: in the left and central position are statues of Sakyamuni (the Historical Buddha) and to the right is Maitreya (the Future Buddha or Buddha of Compassion). To the right of this are statues of Tsong-kha-pa (founder of the yellow-hat sect who lived from 1357 to 1419 AD) with his two disciples. The throne seat in the centre of the hall is reserved for the head lama of Likir and visiting head lamas from other gompas.

The walls on both sides of the Dukhang are lined with glass-fronted bookcases containing the Kandshur (the 108 volumes of the Buddha's teachings) and the Tandshur (the 225-volume commentary on the Kandshur). The entrance walls are painted with various guardian divinities. Near the entrance, one can see two large, rolled-up thankhas hanging from the beams which are displayed only during the winter festival. One depicts Sakyamuni and the other Likir's guardian divinity.

Exiting the Dukhang, diagonally across from the courtyard's entrance is the "new" Dukhang, about 200 years old. Interestingly, the entrance verandah is not painted with the Guardians of the Four Directions, as is the usual practice. Instead, the wall on the left depicts the different ways a lama may wear his robes while the wall on the right shows how lamas should behave in a gompa. The Guardians of the Four Directions appear on the right entrance wall inside the New Dukhang. The main image in this Dukhang is Avalokitesvara with 1,000 arms and eleven heads. On either side of this image are bookcases, filled mostly with volumes of the Sumbum, a narrative of the life of Tsong-kha-pa. The left side wall is painted with the Thirty-Five Confessional Buddhas. The right side wall depicts the Sixteen Arhats (worthy ones who have achieved Nirvana) on either side of a central image of Sakyamuni flanked by his two chief disciples.

After leaving the New Dukhang, turn left and go up a ladder for one flight. Step through the doorway to the left into a courtyard. On the far left side is an entry door into the Zinchun, the head lama's room, where the Dalai Lama stays when he visits Likir. The room is hung with numerous thankhas and contains images of various lamas. Of particular interest are the images of the 21 Manifestations of the White Tara (the Saviouress and consort of Avalokitesvara). Each image is decorated with lovely brocaded fabric and the entire effect of these 21 images arranged around the room is very striking.

Leave the courtyard outside the head lama's room, turn left and go down a few steps. On the left is a new Gonkhang, a temple devoted to guardian divinities. Work on this temple began in 1983 and was completed a year later. The artistry of this new temple vividly demonstrates the continuing vitality of Buddhism in this region of India. The left side wall depicts guardian divinities while the right side wall shows Sakyamuni, his disciples and various lamas. The right front wall depicts Tsong-kha-pa. The glass fronted room at the front of the Gonkhang contains images of the gompa's guardian divinities. These images are covered by cloth all year, being displayed only during Likir's annual festival. Women are not permitted in this room.

Attractions at Likir monastery:

While visiting Likir monastery make sure that you visit the nearby small villages in the area. The scenic beauty provides a unique appeal and magnetizes numerous travelers across the globe. Else you are advised to visit Gonkhang temple. This is a must visit the temple in Ladakh. If you are lucky thenyou will find monks doing rituals along with drum beats. The temple premises offer you magnificent scenic beauty for awesome photography. Else you are advised to visit the Likir Museum at the top. There is an entry charge of Rs. 20 per head.

How to reach Likir monastery ?

If you want to reach Likir monastery by road, then there are two important routes from Leh. One is the Manali-Leh route (473km) and other is Srinagar-Leh route (434 km).The first route remains open only for the months from July to September and the second route remains open between the months of June to October. It takes 1.5 to 2 hour to reach Likir monastery from Lehby car. You can also avail local buses as there are a number of buses ply between Leh and Likir from 5:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Else if you tend to reach Likir by air then there is only one Leh airport which is located 7 km from the main city of Leh. It is the nearest airport too. Jet Airways provide flights Leh to Delhi regularly while Alliance Air provides connecting flights from Srinagar to Jammu and Leh to Delhi.

Best time to visit Likir monastery ?

Your trip would be incomplete if you miss the annual festival at Likir. The huge festival involves music, dance, food, sports and much more. If you want to buy gifts for your family members then you can buy amazing items such and pashmina shawl, apricots, woolen clothes for your friends and family. For staying there are ample of guest houses and tourist lodges located near to the Likir monastery. In fact, maximum tourist lodges share a distance of 2 to 3 km from the monastery. The best time to visit this spectacular place is between June and September. Because after November all the routs remains closed due to heavy rainfall.

Festivals of Likir Monastery :

You ought to visit the monastery during an annual festival. This festival is famous for exhibition of monastery collection, procession, masked dance of monks and others. This festival starts a couple of days before the Tibetan New Year.

Shopping & Dinning in Likir Monastery :

The village is famous for Pashmina shawl, apricot, woolen clothing and others. There are no restaurants in Likir Monastery.