Dhankar Gompa, Lahaul & Spiti

Dhankar Village is not a popular name today but once it was the capital of the entire Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh. The Nono kings used to seat here for ruling over Spiti. This small village is located at a distance of 34 km from Shimla. The entire village includes a total of 70 approximate odd houses. The major attraction of the village is its age-old monastery which is called Dhankar Gompa.

In total two monasteries are there in Dhankar Village, one is new and another is old. The older one is an ancient piece of wonder that attracts many tourists from the globe. The word ‘Dhang’ replies cliff and ‘Kar’ replies fort. So, the name ‘Dhankar’ for the monastery suggests a fort on the cliff, which it truly is. It is founded on 100 feet high edge on the hill.

Traveler Tips:

• Traveling from April – September? Carry lots of sunscreen lotion, sunblock lip balm, cold cream and also some thermals. Otherwise, regular cotton clothes are enough.

• Traveling from October – March? You should definitely pack all the heavy woolens, thermals and good quality jackets.

• There are no hotels available for staying in Dhankar Village, only homestays.

• Only the BSNL network is active here. Don’t you have a BSNL connection? Be ready to spend your holidays without your mobile phones. Only the new monastery has land phone connections.

Things to Do:

Dhankar Gompa, Lahaul & Spiti Valley tour is for those who want to spend some pleasant and undisturbed holidays in the lap of nature. There are not many things to do here. You will get a serene and tranquil surrounding to relax, far away from the daily humdrum of the city life.

Enjoy the beautiful views of the confluence of two Rivers – Spiti and Pin. From the hilltop, it is worth getting captured with your camera clicks. You can also enjoy an early morning trek here through the hills. And, last but not the least, talk to the monks and lamas, listen to their stories and understand their simple lifestyle.

You can also visit the Dhankat lake. You need to trek for 2 km uphill from Dhankar Gompa.

Architecture:

Dhankar Gompa, Lahaul & Spiti Valley was constructed as a fort style monastery. The entire structure is really spectacular. A Dhayan Buddha or Vairochana statue is there that consists of four figures and those are seating in a row. This is definitely a noteworthy attraction of Dhankar Gompa. Apart from that, there is a small museum where you can spot some scriptures of the Buddhists, murals showing Medicine Gautam Buddha, protector idols and several thangkas for visiting too. This monastery is almost 1200 years old and offers a phenomenal view of the surrounding. Today, all the lamas reside in the new one and not in the older monastery.

The older monastery has connections with Rinchen Zanggpo, who is a famous translator. The monastery complex includes several perched multi-story structures. The monastery has five separate halls – Dukhang, Lhakhang and Kanjur. A giant-sized Vajradhara image is there which is kept inside a glass altar and decorated with flowers and scarves.

Popular Culture:

There are about 150 lamas who reside in the new monastery.

Best Time to Visit:

The best time to visit Dhankar Gompa in the Dhankar Village is between May and September. Actually this time all the roads remain open and tourists may travel here through Shimla and Manali. In fact, to cover the entire valley of Spiti, you can enter through one end of it and exit via another on the other end. Weather remains pleasant this duration. To be here in winter require expertise and experience of living in this cold at this high altitude.

How to Reach?

By air –you need to reach Kullu airport as it is the nearby airport of the Spiti region. Hire a cab from there to reach Dhankar Village.

By train – you need to take trains for Joginder Nagar railway station or Shimla railway station to reach Spiti Valley.

By road – Spiti remains well-connected via roadways during May and November. You can travel by any transport via Kunzum la Paas. There is another route from Shimla which crosses the Kinnaur district. There are two alternative roads too to reach Spiti Valley which remains open throughout the year, are –

Via Shimla – Kinnaur valley -> Kinnaur -> Nako -> Sumdo ->Tabo -> Kaza

Via Manali – Rohtang Pass -> Gramphu -> Chattru -> kunzum Pass -> Kaza (capital of Spiti valley)

Nearby Attractions:

• Dhankar Fort

• Dhankar Lake

• Kye Monastery

• Kaza

• Kunzum Pass

• Pin Valley National Park

• Kibber

• Tabo Monastery

• Tabo Cave

• Langza Village, etc.

The authorities of Dhankar Village are concentrating on increasing tourist flow to raise the basic standard of living for the people and the village. Dhankar Gompa, Lahaul & Spiti Valley is definitely a heaven for the nature-lovers, peace-seekers, and photographers.