Himachal Pradesh

Overlooking Kaza from a height of about 13,500 ft, the Kye monastery is the largest in the valley and holds a powerful sway over the most populous part of the valley around Kaza. The gompa is an irregular heap of low rooms and narrow corridors on a monolithic conical hill. From a distance is resembles the Thiksey monastery near Leh in Ladakh. The irregular prayer chambers are interconnected by dark passages, tortuous staircases and small doors.

Hundreds of lamas receive their religious training in the monastery. It is also known for its beautiful murals, thankas, rare manuscripts, stucco images and peculiar wind instruments that form part of the orchestra whenever Chham is enacted in the gompa in summer. Another interesting aspect of the gompa is its collection of weapons which may have been used to ward off marauders as also to maintain its control over people betraying a church-militant character.

Thousands of devotees from all over the world here attended the Kalachakra ceremony which was performed in August, 2000 by His Holiness Dalai Lama.Kalachakra initiation (Skt. Abhisheka, Tibetan Wang) is not just an elaborate puja or a religious congregation. It is a workshop in a grand scale to make an earnest effort by both the teacher and disciples to awaken their Buddha nature by the combined forces of teaching, prayer, blessing, devotion, mantra, yoga and meditation. It is an effort by every participant to try to discover the true and permanent peace for the sake of all others. The Buddhists believe mere presence during this elaborate initiation ceremony stretching over a few days, liberates the participant from suffering and bestows on him the bliss of Enlightenment.

The ceremony focuses on five main subjects – cosmology, psycho-physiology, initiation, sadhana and Buddhahood. A Kalachakra mandala and Viswatma deitiy in union with his consort are at the centre of this ceremony guiding the disciple through the tedious process of initiation.

The gompa is approached by road from Kaza (only 12 km). However, it is only 8.5 kms trek from Kaza.

Dhankar Gompa (also spelled as Dhangkar Gompa) is a Gompa, a Buddhist temple in the district of Lahul and Spiti in India. It is situated at an elevation of 12,774 feet in the Spiti Valley between the towns of Kaza and Tabo. The complex is built on a 1000-foot (300-metre) high spur overlooking the confluence of the Spiti and Pin Rivers – one of the world’s most spectacular settings for a gompa. Dhang or dang means cliff, and kar or khar means fort. Hence Dhangkar means fort on a cliff.

On the left bank of the Spiti river at a distance of 32 kms downstream from Kaza, near Shichling at an altitude of 3870 m, nestles the citadel of Dhankar, the official capital of Spiti. The citadel is built on a spur which projects into the main valley and ends in a precipice. The location of this fort is strategic as Spiti always had to suffer innumerable aggressions by its neighbors. The location allowed the Spitian to keep vigil on the approaches and to submit messages to surrounding inhabitations in case of danger. Whenever the Spitians were attacked, they built huge fires to signal meeting in the safe sanctuary of rocks, i.e., Dhankars. In the meeting all men and women decided the course of action to be taken against the aggressors.

According to the State Gazetteer, “(The fort) became notorious for housing a cavernous dungeon which the Nono used as prison. It contained a cell without doors having only a small opening at the top through which the condemned person was lowered and received his meals.”
The fort of Dhankar now lies in ruins, but still is a place worthy of visit. From the remnants of the fort one can see vast expanses of the Spiti valley.

Dhankar is also of art historical importance. Founded between 7th and the 9th centuries, Dhankar’s oldtemple complex occupies the southern part of the steep mountain slope of the village. It is known by the name of Lha-O-pa Gompa (monastery of the followers of Lha-O).

The monastery consists of a number of multi-storeyed buildings perched together, giving a fortress like impression. There are five different halls including Kanjur, Lhakhang, and Dukhang where a life size silver statue of Vajradhara, the Diamond Being, is placed in a glass altar embellished with scarves and flowers.

Most interesting at the Lha-O-pa gompa is the small chapel on the uppermost peak above the main monastery – Lhakhang Gongma. The building is decorated with depictions of Shakyamuni, Tsongkhapa and Lama Chodrag on the central wall Dhankar’s main attraction, although least publicised, is a fresh water lake about 2.5 km from the village at a height of 13500 ft. Set amidst lush green pastures, the lake offers a perfect idyllic camping site. Some boating facilities are proposed to be introduced in the near future. Under the Desert Development Project of Spiti the common carp variety of fish has been introduced in this lake. No angling is, however, allowed in the lake.

Dhankar is approachable by a motorable road, good for small vehicles only, that branches off for Dhankar from the main Kaza – Samdu road at a point around 24 kms from Kaza. The branch road is 8 kms in length upto Dhankar.

Little Monks at play- Dhankar Monastery

There is no rest house in the village. If you plan to halt for night, do carry tents, sleeping bags and other provisions.

Dhankar Gompa is a Buddhist monastery situated in the Spiti Valley of India. It stands perched at a height of 12,774 feet and falls between the towns of Kaza and Tabo. Dhankar was the erstwhile capital of Spiti Valley Kingdom during the 17th century. The monastery was built approximately one thousand years ago. One of the major attractions of Dhankar Monastery is statue of Vairochana (Dhayan Buddha), consisting of 4 figures seated back to back. It also houses a collection of various crumbling thankas.

Situated around 1 km away Dhankar Gompa is the small village of Shichilling, which houses the new Dhankar Monastery. The new monastery belongs to the Gelugkpa School of Order and serves as the residence of approximately 150 monks. To the south of the gompa is a national park, where you might get to see the snow leopard.

How to reach Dhankar Gompa

By Air
Shimla airport is the nearest to Spiti Valley.

By Rail
The nearest railway station of Kalka is well connected with most of the major cities of India.

By Road
One can easily get buses, jeeps and taxis for Spiti, from Shimla and Rampur.

Location

Lahaul Spiti is the largest district in Himachal Pradesh. The Lahaul region is located at an altitude of 3000-3900 m. The Spiti valley is connected to Lahaul through the 4500 m long Kunzam Pass. Kaza is the main town and the administrative center of Spiti.

Sight Seeing

The town of Kaza is divided into two areas, the old town and the new town. The new town has some government buildings. The monastery of Ki Gompa is 11 km from Kaza. It is the biggest gompa in entire Spiti and almost 400 monks live over here. The monks of the monastery are busy in the construction and maintenance of the monastery and welcome all the donations. Kibber has the reputation of being the highest village in the world at an altitude of 4250 m. it is 11 km from Ki Gompa. Around 150 monks live at Dankar Gompa.

It has some very beautiful paintings, sculptures and thangkas. Thang Yud Gompa is 14 km to the north of Kaza. The Sakyapa Order built it in the 14th century AD. There is a very difficult trek to this monastery. Tabo Gompa is 45 km from Kaza. Ringchen Zangpo, the “Great translator” built this monastery in 996 AD and has a collection of some very pretty murals and sculptures. Dalai Lama has supposedly planned to retire here.

How to Reach

By Air: Shimla and Kullu are the nearest airports to Kaza.

By Rail: Shimla and Pathankot are the nearest railheads to Kaza.

Road: National Highway No.21 connects Manali to Lahaul Spiti. There are frequent bus and taxi services from Manali and Shimla.

Lahaul & Spiti is a big district having international boundary with Tibet. It  attained the status of a district in the year 1960. Till then it was merely a tehsil of Kullu Sub-division. The valleys. mountains, glaciers, rivers, forests, pastures, gompas (monastries) and ancient buildings of the former ruling dynasty are the principal objects of study.

The rugged awe-inspiring snow clad mountains are standing invitation to the hikers, mountaineers and adventurers. The entire district is full of natural scenery exorting the tourists and visitors to explore and imbibe its hidden grandeur. The customs, myths, beliefs and conventions of the simple unsophisticated people are the unique features of this border highland. Every village or a hamlet has a prayer flag fluttering over the Buddhist monastery. These shrines are the centers of the cultural life of the people that have influenced their religious beliefs for centuries and round which their social life revolves.

Origin of the Name of the District

Lahaul & Spiti, which now form, a district of Himachal Pradesh, bordering Tibet, were at one time separate Himalayan waziries or cantons of the Kullu sub-divisions, and Kullu itself formed a part of Kangra district of Punjab.

As is clear from the name ‘Lahaul & Spiti’, the district comprises two different mountains tracts, one known as Lahaul and the other as Spiti. Hence the name of the district came into being with the formation of these two parts into a revenue district. The names, Lahaul & Spiti, have different origins.

Hiuen Tsiang stated Lahaul to be 1800 or 1900 li (575 or 610 Km) distant by road from the middle of Kiu-lu-to (Kulu). It is a gross overestimate as the first village in Lahaul is only about 70 kms from Sultanpur. Despite this error, whatever its source may be, Lahaul is clearly the country referred to here. But the Tibetan Li-yul has also ben identified by Rockhill with Khotan. If this is correct Hiuen Tsiang’s placing Lo-u-lo at 1800 or 1900 li north of Kulu might be intelligible though an under-estimate. Probably Hiuen Tsiang confused the two countries as Li-yul (Khotan) and Lo-u-lo (Lahaul) in his estimate of distances, admittedly derived from hearsay.

In ancient Buddhist scripures, ‘Padma thangyiang’ and ‘Mam-kambum’ there is mention of a country named Khasa or Hasha to the south of Ladakh and Zangskar. It is possible also that ‘Garzha’ may be corruption of Khasa or Hasha. Between the 6th century B.C. and the 5th century A.D., the Saka and Khasa tribes, after having been driven out from Central Asia by the Huns, crossed over into India. many of these settled down in the valleys of Mid-Himalayas between Garhwal and Ladakh. This is borne out by the numerous remains of their graves found in these valleys. There is a nullah near Keylong known as Shaks, which seems to have taken its name after the Saka tribe settled in the Bhaga valley.

District Of Lahul & Spiti