Buddhist Cave Monasteries of Himalayas

 Text and Photographs by Mr. Sachin Vaidya Shergol Village lies in Kargil District of Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is situated across the Wakha River valley, right of the Kargil - Leh national highway. It is 10 km ahead of Mulbekh or 35 km before Kargil (while traveling from Leh). The main attraction is a small Buddhist (Gelug Pa sect), cave monastery noted for its frescoes. It houses wood images of Tara made by Tibetan artists. The monastery is just out of a brown, granite cliff and appears as if it is suspended in the middle of the mountain. I reached the Monastery twice in diferent years; however, it was closed. Views from outside the Monastery are of typical Ladakhi landscape. I hope to visit the Monastery again hoping that it will be open!

Text and Photographs by Mr. Sachin Vaidya Tabo's sanctity is next only to Tibet's Tholing Gompa. It was found ed  in 996 AD on the bank of the Spiti River by Rin-chen-Zang-po. It belongs to the Gelukpa order. It is the oldest among continuously functional Buddhist monasteries in India. The exquisite murals of the Monastery are famed all over the world and hence, the  Monastery  is called 'Ajanta of the Himalayas'. The Monastery is a World Heritage Site of UNESCO.  Tabo is located 364 km North East of Shimla in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Its altitude is 10,006 feet above sea level.     I visited Tabo Monastery for the second time during May 2014. Entry gate to Tabo Village was impressive.   The  Monastery was on a side of the road. On other side of the road, there were caves where monks used to live during winters. Following was the way to the cave shrine:   I had a bird's eye view of Tabo Village.   The cave shrine was very ...