Monastery retreat in Ladakh: WHERE?
Replies: 3 - Last Post: Feb 6, 2013 7:08 AM Last Post By: Julay2006
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Monastery retreat in Ladakh: WHERE?
Dear travelers community,I'll be heading to Ladakh through Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in July 2013; and I would like to end my trip with the climax (in my view) of spending a few days in a monastery, in peace and silence, observing with respect the daily fascinating rituals of Buddhist monks. I have no interest in tourist "meditation package", and I am really looking for a human (and yes, possibly spiritual) experience. I am very well aware this might be difficult to find, even more since I am a woman, but I thought some of you might have suggestions?
And more generally, if you know of a remote hardly visited lovely little village close to a monastery, I'd be most grateful to know about it.
Thank you so much in advance for your help (which I hope I can return one day)!
1
In summer 2011 we spent a couple of days in the village of Likir in Ladakh, just off the main road in the Indus Valley, ca. 3 hrs by bus from Leh. It is not remote nor hardly visited but most visitors either start trekking right away or just drop in for a short visit to the monastery during daytime, so there are definitely no tourist crowds. The whole place is a sort of a peaceful green oasis in the midst of arid mountainous landscape and the village is situated in a nice long valley which is fun to explore at a leisurely pace.The monastery is nice, situated in a spectacular setting in the upper part of the village. It is quite lively, there are quite many monks, as it's the main monastery in the region. We had the luck to watch the monks making a sand mandala. I have no idea if it is possible to stay in the monastery, as we stayed in the lower village. I think the best idea is just to arrive there and ask. Any such places that would be easily recognizable on the internet would probably quickly evolve towards "meditation package".
3
Likir is a good suggestion. Women shouldn't stay at a monastery in Ladakh, but there are guesthouses and family homestays in Likir, at least three of them so no problem for you. Or the nunnery at Nyarma near Thiksey has rooms to let, and you can spend time with nuns there.ADVERTISEMENT
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