Religious and Historical Places

Buddhism is the religion of the majority of Leh District’s population. The most attractive features of the Landscape of Leh are the Buddhists Gompas ( Monastries). The Gompas are situated on the highest points of the mountain spurs or sprawl over cliffsides, located in vicinity of villages and provide focus for the faith of Buddhists. TheseMany Gompas celebrate their annual festivals in winter marked by gay mask dances. Gompas have a wreath of artifacts. There are also some religious places of Muslims which constitute slightly more than 15% of the district’s population.

The famous religious places include :

MONASTERIES

Hemis

Situated 40 Kms from Leh, Hemis is the wealthiest, best known and biggest Gompa of Ladakh. The annual festival of the gompa is held in the summer in the honour of Guru Padma Sambhav’s birth anniversary. It also has the largest thanka (scroll painting n silk or brocade) in Ladakh which is unfurled once in 12 years. The next unfurling will take place in 2004. Hemis was built in 1630 A.D. during the reign of Sengge Namgyal and flourished under the Namgyal dynasty.

Alchi

The Gompa is situated on the banks of the Indus, 70 kms from Leh and dates a thousand years back. One of its wall features thousands of miniature sized pictures of the Buddha. The focal attraction of the gompa are three large sized images. The gompa is no longer an active religious centre and is looked after by monks from the Likir Monastery.

Spituk

The gompa stands prominently on the top of the hillock, 8 km from Leh, and commands a panoramic view of the Indus valley for miles. Many icons of Buddha and five thankas are found in the 15^th century monastery. There is also a collection of ancient masks, antique arms, and an awe inspiring of Mahakaal.

Phyang

The monastery is situated 17 kms from Leh, on the Leh- Kargil road. It was built by Tashi Namgyal in the later half of the 16^th century A.D. and looks like a palace from a distance. The gompa belongs to the Red Cap sect of the Buddhists. Hundreds of icons of Buddha are kept on wooden shelves.

Shey

15 kms upstream from Leh, the palace was once residence of the royal family. The palace is believed to have been the seat of power of the pre-Tibetian kings. A 7.5 metre high copper statue of Buddha, plated with Gold, and the largest of its kind, is installed in the palace.

Thikse

The Thikse monastery is spectacularly situated 19 kms from Leh. It is one of the largest and architecturally most impressive gompas. The gompa has images stupas and wall paintings of Buddha which are exquisite.

Other monasteries f equal importance include Chemrey 45 Kms from Leh, Stakna, Matho, Sankar, Stok and above all Lamayuru, the oldest religious centre of Ladakh.

Jama Masjid, Leh

The historical mosque is situated in the heart of Leh town. It was built in 1666-67 A.D. consequent to an agreement between the Mugal Emperor Aurangzeb and the then ruler of Ladakh, Deldan namgyal. Since then it has been repaired and extended several times. The Mugals has facilitated withdrawal of Mongol army from Ladakh. Although Muslims had arrived in Ladakh as early as in 15^th century, he Muslim shrines were constructed later than that. A couple of years ago, the jama Masjid was dismantled and a new mosque was constructed in its place, using modern mansonry skills.

Masjid-e-Shah-e-Hamdan

In Shey village, 15 km upstream from Leh, there is a small mosque of great historicalvalue. The mosque was built by one of the greatest preachers of Islam in Kashmir, Mir Syad Ali Hamdani, popularly known as Shah-e-Hamdan. He had arrived in Ladakh about seven centuries ago.