Monastries In India

Jammu & Kashmir Sankar Gompa Monastery

Sankar Monastery at Ladakh is within 30 minutes walking distance from Leh and it is the official residence of the Senior Incarnate Lama of Ladakh, the Venerable KushokBakula Abbot of Spituk.

SankarGompa is famous for its architecture, and  Avalokitesvara’s figure with 1,000 heads and arms is an amazing sight in the Monastary.  While there are about 20 monks living here, the visitors time is restricted to morning 7 to 10 am and evening 5 to 7 pm.

Founded by

Sankar Monastery is the subsidiary of Spituk Monastery which was founded by by the Red Hat Institution , however they were taken over by the Yellow Hat sect during 15th Century. Those who arrive at these Monastery for staying are mostly from Gelugpa Order and they are considered successive incarnations foSkyabsjeBakula Rinpoche.

Description

Sankar Monastery is one of modern type with impressive cluster of buildings constructed amidst trees across the town, in the Khardung La area in a 5,359 m  pass  that leads to the Shyok and Nubra Valleys from Leh.

The monastery has steps that  lead to 'Dukhang' which is the assembly hall. One has to go through a double door entry to reach Dukhang, while  on the right of the doors, three green drums are located which is the  place for Gyeskos. The left side of Dukhang  entrance door leads to Wheel of Life with Yama holding it.

The paintings of the Monastery  walls carry figures of  mandalas and also the details of  Tibetan calendar. The Monastery has  guest rooms and a  library, while the rooms where  Abbot uses  are those in the first floor. 
The monastery houses many other  images too, like that of Sakyamuni , the Historical Buddha, the Present image of  Buddha, also the future Buddha Maitreya , besides the  White Guardian and the Buddha of Medicine  Amchi.

As a matter of routine a lama from this  Monastery  would make a  visit every day , morning and evening,  to the mid-sixteenth century fort at NamgyalTsemo, situated at the peak above Leh to perform the rituals at the temples associated with the fort and also to  light the lamps lit with  butter.

Nearby Attractions

Those who visit SankarGompa Monastery should visit the following places as well:

• General Zorawar's Fort is an ancient fort, situated above Leh Palace, but presently in a dilapidated condition, was the place where the  private wealth of the rulers of Dogra those days was kept. One can reach this place in 30 minutes trekking.
• Hall of Fame is a museum kept in  SpitukKargil Road, in about 4 km from Leh City, maintained in memory of those warriors who gave their lives in Indo Pakistan war.
• Leh Palace is an imposing structure of 17th century, which is a nine storey residential place of Namgyal Kings. One can walk down to this spot which is within 2 km reach.
• Shanti Stupa is a monument established by Japanese Buddhist propagating Peace, which was opened in 1985 by Dalai Lama.
• Stok Palace is a wonderful piece of architecture in Leh district, across the Indus River, built by King TsespalNamgyal  in 1825 AD, which place one can reach by travel by jeeps or share taxis.

How to Reach

For reaching Leh by train , one can travel upto the nearest Jammu railway station,   which is 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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