Spituk Monastery Leh Ladakh

Spituk Monastery is also known as Pethup Gompa or Spituk Gompa. The place is the Buddhist monastery in the district of Leh and is situated at 8 kilometers from Leh. The monastery consists of the giant statue of Kali as with 100 monks.

The monastery was in the blessings ofArhatNyimagung and was started by Od-de who is the elder brother of Lha Lama Changchub Od when he came here in the 11th century. He was the one who introduced Monastic community.

The architecture of the monastery

The place is famous for the Buddhist objects like antique icons, arms, various Thanka paintings, ancient masks, all of them are in best colors. Spituk Monastery is famous as well as oldest in Ladakh. The interiors of the monastery are influenced highly by the place where it is built. It also consists of the center for meditation and chairs and benches for the monks to perform their meditation and prayers.

Festivities at the monastery

Gustor Festival takes place every year from 27th to 29th day in the eleventh month of Tibetan calendar. The festival is enjoyed by the locals for two days and mask dance is the hallmark of the festival which is performed by the monks. The festival is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. After finishing the dance for 2 days, prayer starts for seven days. The dance is performed at several places including Spituk Monastery and Lobzang Rinchen. The festival ends after burning the symbolic evils and effigy.

The place has the average elevation of about 3,307 meters.

History of the place

The monastery was in the blessings ofArhatNyimagung and was founded by Od-de who was the elder brother of Lha Lama Changchub Od when he came here in the 11th century. He introduced this community.

At the time of Dharma RajaGragspa Bum-ide, the monastery got restored by the orders of Tsongkhapa and Lama Lhawang Lodos and till now it is present. Founded as the Red Hat institution, it was later taken over by Yellow Hat in the 15th century. 

How to reach to the monastery?

The place is located at 8 Km from Leh. If you want to reach the place, you can easily get the local transport to it.

It is recommended to visit the place if you are interested in knowing other traditions and cultures. Make sure not to miss the Spituk festival which is also the best experience giving a glimpse of the local customs.