Jammu & Kashmir Basgo Monastery
BasgoMonastery, is situated at Basgo in Leh part of Ladakh, in a location approximately at a distance of 40 km from Ley. This monastery is also referred as BazgoGompa.
The monastery is positioned on top of the hill in the spot where the ruins of the ancient town Basgo is found and this monastery is known for the Buddha statue it has and the murals which are adorning its walls.
Founded by
Basgo monastery was raised in the seventeenth century by the Namgyal rulers and Basgo has been a part of Ladakh as found in the Ladakhi Chronicles of earlier times, as political and cultural center.
There had been a Palace which was in the 15th century, at Basgo, which is now in ruins. During this period, it was the seat of power for the Namgyal kingdom.
Attractions Around
Basgo monastery location is surrounded by a number of monasteries, which are having uniqueness of their own right. These include
- Shey Monastery’s uniqueness comes from its three-storey copper-coated Buddha Shakyamuni statue, commissioned in the year 1655 and King DeldanNamgial constructed it.
- Thiksey Monastery, which is of Gelug Pa order pertaining to Tibetan Buddhism, established in 15th Century, which is considered one of the most beautiful monasteries in Ladakh circuit, where Shrines and paintings are of very adorable nature and it is one of 12 Storey Structure.
- Matho Monastery, situated on the banks of Indus River, the village Matho located at the tip of a deep gorge in the Zanskar Range and this is the only Monastry in the circuit which belongs to Sakya Pa sect.
- Hemis Monastery is one intitiated in the year 1630, belonging to the Drug Pa Order of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the biggest and large among monasteries in the circuit.
- PhyangMonastery,which is located 15 or 16 kilometres west of Leh , established in 1515 is unique for its frescoes collections from the earliest royal period, and its 900 year old museum of thangkas, war implements and paintings.
- Likir Monastery is known for its picturesque location belonging to Gulug Pa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which was established in 1605.
- Alchi Monastery is another Buddhist monastery and it is known more for its structure as monastic complex, situated in Alchi Village.
- Stakna Monastery is a monastery of the Drugpa sect in Leh district which was founded ChosjeJamyangPalkar of Bhutan in the late 16th century .
- The ChemdayMonastery which was founded by Lama TagsangRaschen in the early 1640s, with a Padmaasambhava statue and rare paintings as its treasure.
- The Takthok Monastery which was the abode of MahasiddhaKungaPhuntsog and is established in Caves.
How to Reach
BasgoMonastery is about 40 km distance from Leh, which can be reached by road. One can commute to Leh by train , by traveling upto the Jammu which has the nearest railway station, in about 734 km far.
A bus from Manali , which is in 453 km distance from Leh would be a good choice, however, the Manali - Leh road is not open throughout the year, although one can take the bus during the months from mid-June to mid-October, when the road will be open.
There are air services available to Leh from Delhi and also from Srinagar , different airlines offering services.
JKSRTC provides bus service to Leh from Srinagar to Leh covering 700 km, sometimes taking two days travel time, while HRTC provides service to Leh from Manali , covering 474 km distance , which also takes about 20 hours travel.
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