Stakna Monastery- a picture perfect wonderland

If there was one photograph that was etched in my memory of Ladakh even before visiting it was that of Stakna Monastery. Soon after the first glimpse, I had looked up for information and various other photographs about the monastery and it seemed to have emerged from a wonderland.

I got the first glimpse of the stunning monastery on our way to Pangong. Sadly, our 'not so friendly' driver had brushed us aside saying that would be our stop on our way back from Pangong. And I knew that would be only after two days. Cursing him, I had only wished that I wouldn't miss seeing the beauty of monastery as well as that of Indus river which makes it a popular view point for tourists.

To my utter dismay, on the way back from Pangong the weather turned so bad that it was extremely cloudy at one end and snowy on the other! It even drizzled at few places. I was convinced that the moment I was waiting for wouldn't be the same. Surprisingly, as we approached the vicinity of the monastery the clouds cleared, the drizzling stopped and there was the brilliance of sunshine ahead of us! My joy had no limits. I then realized, because of the rain and the sunshine that followed the whole area was illuminated as if emerging from a magical land. The slow moving water of Indus, the autumn colors on the Poplar trees stood out in that light. As we stepped out of the car, we witnessed a rainbow right next to the monastery. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. 

The following photographs do no justice to equal its beauty but am sure they will take your breath away. 

 View of the monastery from across the view point

The sky after the rain...can you spot the monastery?

A closer look at the monastery

P.S. Ignore the zip line rope that runs across in each photograph. It's just an example how natural beauty can be ruined in the name of tourism.

Unfortunately, we did not visit the monastery from inside but I did not feel it was necessary too. The view that I had encountered had given me enough satisfaction.

Some quick Facts about Stakna Monastery:

- It is about 25 kms from Leh city.

-It was founded in the 16th century by a Bhutanese scholar Chosje Jamyang Palkar.

-Stakna literally means 'a tiger's nose'. Since it was built on a hill that shaped like a tiger's nose, it was named so.

Thiksey Monastery

Visiting numerous monasteries for almost 10 days that we spent in Ladakh hadn't brought down our spirit to look at one more on the last day; each and every 'Gompa' beckoned us with something different in its store. Every monastery in Ladakh has various forms of Buddha depicted in them- Maitreya, Avalokiteshwar, Sakyamuni and so on. The shades of red, white and ochre painted on each quarters of the monasteries appealed to us every time we looked at a cliff from which they literally 'hung'. It was like the cliffs wanted to disrobe themselves of their barren cloaks and wanted to be painted in colours so there came up a monastery but with as much simplicity as possible. But Thiksey cannot be termed simple; it is grand. It is grand in scale-it is one of the largest monasteries in Ladakh and it is grand in its beauty- the colourful mural arts with contrasting pillars and paintings are proof of it. The drive to the top of the hill where it is located is an example of it's grandeur. Situated at an altitude of 11,800 feet with 12 storied structures cannot be called 'simple'. 

Thiksey Monastery view

Mural paintings on the wall

Colourful walls and pillars

This picture-postcard perfect monastery was founded by the Gelupka sect in 15th century and built under the guidance of Tsongkhapa by his disciple Sherab Sangpo. Overlooking the vast Indus valley, Thikey is called as 'Mini Potala' as it resembles the Potala palace in Tibet. The main attraction of this 'Gompa' is the 49 feet (covers two stories) Maitreya Buddha statue built in 1970 to commemorate the visit of Dalai Lama to this monastery. 

According to popular legend, Sherab Sangpo along with his disciple Paden Zangpo was performing a ritual by offering 'torma' (made with flour and butter) when a crow grabbed the torma and flew away. After searching, they found the torma at a hill but in same order and not consumed by the crow. This was considered auspicious and they decided to build the monastery on the exact location. Thiksey means 'perfect order', in accordance with the order in which the crow had placed the torma.

The huge prayer wheel

Smaller prayer wheels on the way

Ascending the monasteries in Ladakh is a breathtaking experience- in two ways. Breathtaking it is because of the landscape that you get to experience as you go up and breathtaking it is also because you literally have to stop ofttimes  to catch your breath! Each time we climbed one flight of stairs, we would stop to take few minutes to enjoy the view and catch up with some air too. There is a new dimension added to the beauty of colourful poplar trees of autumn against the clear blue skies and snow capped mountain ranges at every corner of the monastery. 

The main attraction of the monastery is the Maitreya Buddha statue built in 1970. It took four years for the craftsmen to build the statue that stands at a height of 49 feet covering two stories (we get to see only face of the Buddha as entry is denied for the first storey). The statue is made of clay and copper and painted with gold. The interiors of the hall are completely filled with mural paintings depicting life events of Buddha. A quiet peace filled our hearts as we entered the Statue hall and the tiny window in front of the statue filled our eyes with awe-inspiring landscape. 

Maitreya Buddha statue

Window of happiness

No sooner had we come out of the Buddha statue hall than we entered another hall where there was plenty of Ladakhi 'butter tea' offered to all the visitors. The butter tea had failed to impress me all those 10 days and I knew this day would be no different but my husband had acquired the taste for it and wasn't ready to miss a cup or two. 

There are two main temples in Thiksey- the Tara temple and Lomakhang temple. Tara (also known as 'Mother of Liberation') is an important figure in Mahayana Buddhism who is appears as a female Bodhisattva. There are 12 images of Tara placed in wooden shelves in this temple.

Lamokhang temple is repository of scriptures where only men are allowed. 

View from the topmost point of the monastery

The mountains and the poplar trees

The more higher we went up the monastery, the beauty of the monastery looked miniscule as the overlooking landscapes took its place. Every corner gives a stunning panoramic view of the mountain ranges with patches of green and yellow poplar trees. And, we had decided to absorb all the beauty in our eyes and hearts leisurely as it was our last day of our trip!

Ruins of Basgo Monastery in Ladakh

While I was still trying to absorb the stunning beauty of clear blue skies, barren brown mountains with patches of green pastures and gushing turquoise waters of Indus river in Ladakh, I visited the Basgo Monastery or the Basgo Castle/Palace.

Situated at distance of just 40 kms from Leh city, Basgo monastery gives the impression of a part of history holding and hanging down the crumbling walls and cliffs of the surrounding landscape. It's difficult to distinguish between the landscape and the walls of the monastery as it gives the impression that the monastery is trying to camouflage its' ruined state with the landscape.

View of Basgo Palace/ Monastery from the highway...

Chamba Lhakhang, highest point in Basgo

Built atop a hill in 15th century, it was declared one of the 100 endangered world monuments by UNESCO in the year 2000. Due to its' strategic location, it was built to stop the constant attack by Muslim rulers. Back then, there were two important rulers who ruled over the Northern and Southern Ladakh- King Takbumde and King Takpabum who passed over Basgo among each other as a treaty. Later, the original king of Basgo fought back the kingdom and his descendants Dharmaraj Jamayang Namgyal and Dharmaraj Singay Namgyal built the Basgo monstery and castle.

Landscape around the  monastery...

Ruined walls in the midst of mountains...

The excitement of having visited a unique land made me wander around the deserted monastery. None of the three temple doors were open though I had followed the entry ticket counter searching for someone to provide the ticket. The altitude, the narrow alleys and the steps kept me gasping for breath even as I put forth slower than usual paces. The only sounds were that of our (my family) excited voices and rustle of the wind. Though my heart longed to see the massive Maitreya Buddha idol that is believed to be situated in one of the temples, I had to pacify myself and spend time basking around the palace with stunning views.

Steps leading to temple

Chamba temple

Allure of Ajanta Caves

Our visit to Ajanta caves was a part of trip to Aurangabad. Find the blog posts about Ellora cave temples here. Though Ajanta caves are in no way comparable to vastness and size of Ellora caves, they are more tourist friendly and totally worth the visit. The reflectors that are placed inside the caves is admirable which is completely missing in Ellora caves. And, the caves in Ajanta are not scattered unlike Ellora that makes it less exhausting.

Ajanta is about 100 kms away from the city of Aurangabad that consists of approximately 30 caves housing rock-cut monuments and paintings. The Indhyadri range of Western Ghats that lead to Ajanta from Aurangabad is very picturesque during the monsoons. The Chaityas and Viharas overlooking the Waghora (Tiger) river are cut in a horse-shoe pattern which gives a panoramic view of all the 30 caves to the visitors. Each cave has a unique Buddha sculpture, mural paintings and motifs. Some of the oldest caves date back to 2nd century B.C.E. and were accidentally discovered in 1819 by a British Officer Cpt. John Smith.

The view that leads to Ajanta Caves

Panoramic view of the caves

Cave No. 1
Ascending a good number of steps, when we reached the first cave an array of pillars with reflectors placed at various corners welcomed us. It takes a while to get adjusted to the lighting within the caves. This is the cave that holds maximum mural paintings that explains the stories of Bodhisathva (on the path of becoming a Buddha), Jataka Tales. One such stories include the Sibi Jataka: the story goes that a pigeon chased by a hawk sought protection of King Sibi who was a Bodhisathva. The hawk followed and demanded the king its' lawful prey. King Sibi struck a bargain to save the little bird's life by offering a measure of his own flesh equal to bird's weight. These paintings are depicted in cave number 1.

The cave paintings also show the Temptation of Mara: Buddha was tempted by the demon Mara during his course of meditations. When Buddha had left his palace and taken to the ascetic's life, Mara had been at his heels. "Turn back", Mara had told Buddha, "the jewel wheel of empire will be yours". Since Gautam scorned the prospect, Mara had made the threat,"Whenever you have a bad thought I shall know". For seven years Mara had followed Gautam like a shadow, he even sent his daughters to seduce him but after all this Buddha attains Enlightenment.

Read a very detailed blog post about all the paintings of Cave No.1 in Inditales. I love reading Anuradha Goyal's posts, they portray an in depth knowledge about the subjects she studies.

Notable thing to observe when one visits the caves is, the Viharas/ the monastery halls have  symmetrical square plans while the Chaityas/ the prayer halls have symmetrical rectangular plans.
Cave No. 1 contains the much famed paintings of Bodhisattva Padmapani (one who holds the lotus) and Vajrapani.

In contrast to this, the paintings on ceilings mainly contain motifs and other decorative designs unlike the paintings on walls that depict life scenes from Buddha's life and other Bodhisathvas,

The exterior of Cave No.1

Bodhisathva Padmapani at Cave No.1

Another painting from Cave No. 1

Cave No. 4
This is one of the largest monasteries planned that has a colossal image of Lord Buddha in the sanctum flanked by Bodhisathvas. The hall has 28 magnificent pillars. The ceiling of this cave has unique feature of lava flow called as 'Ropy'.

Pillars of Cave No.4

Cave No.9
This is one of the oldest Chaitya halls dating back to 1st century B.C. The hall is very simplistic with a stupa in the center with 23 pillars on both the sides that have intricate paintings which has faded. The walls have paintings of Jataka tales again.

Cave No.16 and 17
Records show that this cave was a gift from Varahadeva, a minister belonging Vakataka dynasty. The architectural beauty of these cave temples are striking. The paintings portray the various episodes from Buddha's life such as Maya's dream and Sujata's offering. Queen Maya, Gautama's mother, has a strange dream in her sleep- a white elephant with 6 tusks enters her body. When the Brahmanas in the royal court hear this, they interpret its' meaning. They say the queen is about to bear a son with all the auspicious marks of greatness. If he accepts the princely role, he will be a monarch of monarchs but if he renounces it would become a Buddha.

The portico of Cave No. 17 has the famous "Wheel of Life" depicted on it which is a living symbol in Tibetan monasteries.

Buddha relief inside Cave No.17

Flower motifs on the ceilings of Cave No.17

Cave No. 19
The entrance and the facade of this cave is richly decorated. The two life-size yakshas, statues of standing Buddha, sitting Buddha and flying Apsaras are very prominent here. Inside, there are 15 pillars dividing the hall into two aisles.  The ceiling has columns with paintings which adds beauty to the standing Buddha statue. It is a chaitya hall that depicts minute details from Mahayana period. Because of its' large number of stone figures it has been called 'the sculptor's treasure chest'.

Entrance of Cave No.19

Interiors of Cave No.19

Cave No.26
This cave which very similar to cave number 19 is one of my favourite! It is much bigger than cave 19, the sculptures around the aisle of this Chaitya hall is breathtakingly beautiful and intricate. There is a colossal reclining Buddha on one side of the wall. This cave is famous for its' Mahaparinirvana (demise) of Buddha.

On the way to Cave No.26

Entrance of Cave No.26

Stupa inside Cave No.26

Reclining Buddha...

Sculptures on the aisle 

The beauty of reclining Buddha through the huge pillars...

There are view points on the opposite side of these caves which can be accesses through a flight of stairs on the hillock. The water streams of Waghora river can also be seen in this area. But we could reach the view points as we were too tired after an exhausting walk through all the caves. On our way back, we stopped at the tourism department canteen that serves some amazing thalis. 

P.S: Once in Aurangabad, don't forget to devour the delicious 'Jalebi-Rabdi' dessert served at Green Leaf restaurant.