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Location: Near Hemis Gompa,
Souteast Of Leh, Ladakh Region, J&K
Founded In: 1664
Significance: A Memorial To King Sengge Namgyal
Clinging like a swallow's nest to the sides of a shay conical
hill, the magnificent Gompa of Chemrey sees very few visitors
because of its location - tucked up the side valley that runs
from Karu, below
Hemis, to the Chang-la pass into Pangong. If one isn't having
one's own vehicle, then be prepared to do some walking to get
there. It takes around fifty minutes to follow the dirt track
down to the river and up to the monastery after the Leh -Thak
Thok bus drops one off beside the main road.
Founded in 1664 as a memorial to King Sengge Namgyal, the
monastery is staffed by a dwindling community of around twenty
Drugpa monks and their young novices. Its set of ancient Tibetan
texts whose title pages are illuminated with opulent gold and
silver calligraphy. Upstairs in the revamped Guru-La-Khang,
reached via several flights of rickety wooden steps, sits a
giant brass statue of Padmasambhava (founder of the Nyingmapa
school), swatched in silk brocade and encrusted with semi
precious stones. Its murals, painted in the early 1980s, are the
work of an artist from Nimmu village. |