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!

A glimpse of Sikkim

My visit to this land of snow-capped mountains and serene beauty was way back in 2008. It’s special in many ways- this being my first trip with my dearest husband soon after marriage and not to forget my first experience in a flight.

Most of the information we gathered in the internet mentioned about visiting Gangtok along with Darjeeling. But we wanted to avoid the crowded tourist destination so we mapped out a plan to go visit Gangtok and dropped Darjeeling and decided to explore Pelling (to get a closer look at Mt. Khangchendzonga/ Mt. Kanchenjunga).

Our route map was simple: Hyderabad- Kolkata, Kolkata- Bagdogara (by flight); Bagdogara- Gangtok (by taxi). And, there we were lucky enough to get company of two kind people (visitors from Assam) who readily agreed to share the taxi with us that cut down our travelling rates almost by Rs. 600.

The photographs were shot (either by me or my husband) with a simple Sony point and shoot camera (which is still my favourite) and at a time when I least knew anything about a ‘digital camera’.

This post attempts to provide a glimpse of a vast land that holds on to nature so closely. These photographs are a just a drop in the big ocean of Sikkim’s beauty and serenity.  

Our first stop was, of course, Gangtok (meaning Hill-Top) - located at an altitude of 5,410 ft. in the Eastern Himalayan Range. 

View of Gangtok from Ganesh Tok point and next to it is the quietly flowing Rangit river (a major tributary of Tista River).

The semi-circular rice fields...

The Rumtek Dharma Chakra Center near Gangtok.

Monks chanting their prayers in Rumtek Monastery.                                                                                                                                                

Morning rays piercing through the clouds outside Rumtek Monastery.

Our second day was exclusively for witnessing the snowy peaks- visit to Changu/ Tsomgo lake and the Indo- China border, Nathula pass. But unfortunately, due to heavy snow fall we could not reach up to Nathula Pass and had to be content with only frozen Tsomgo lake.

Tsomgo or Changu (as called by the locals) lake is a glacial lake located at an elevation of 12,000 ft. Having visited the lake in the month of March, the lake was still frozen and we were told it would start melting somewhere in April and that's the time when that place got most tourists.

The frozen Tsomgo lake.

Our journey to Pelling started on the third day and rather with a gloomy sight on the way as we witnessed a jeep toppled down in the hilly terrain. This made us think how safe 'we were' in this whole journey. 

Travelling through the narrow hilly areas is quite a challenge in itself as most of the places get blocked due to landslides and other natural calamities or an accident! 

Nevertheless, we came across these famous flowers of the region- Rhododendron flowers on our way. 

That red!

It is from Pelling that one can witness the Mt. Khangchendzonga (more easily Kanchenjunga) very closely. Our day would start with a chilly morning, a roof top breakfast overlooking the mountain ranges. Heaven!

Mt. Kanchenjunga range

The most quiet place that we visited during our journey is the Khecheopalri lake, situated at a distance of 30 kms from Pelling. This lake is also known as the 'Wish Lake'. This tranquil lake is located midst forest and it is considered to be one of the sacred lakes of Sikkim. Though surrounded by thick forest, we cannot see a single leaf floating on the lake. It is believed birds of that place do not permit even a single leaf to float on the surface. As soon as a leaf falls they pick it up immediately and the one who sees the bird is a very lucky person. 

Khecheopalri lake

There are many more places about which I have not mentioned here but have visited. There are numerous waterfalls that we watched with childish fervor while driving along hilly regions of Pelling. 

Our stay at Hotel Silk Route and Chiminda (both the hotels owned by the same person) at Gangtok and Pelling respectively was like icing on the cake. Chiminda also has a resto- bar that plays live music in the night for its' visitors. What a lovely note to end the journey!