I am sure many of adventure travel enthusiasts would like to
visit places that are hidden from rest of the world or that are inaccessible.
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| Phugtal(Phutkal) Monastery - Ladakh |
There is an isolated location in Ladakh region of Jammu and
Kashmir which is still not known by many of us. I am sure many of you who are
reading this blog must have visited Ladakh once in your life but not aware of
this place. The place is called as Phugtal Monastery or Phutkal Gonpa.
Phugtal Monastery is a Buddhist Monastery located in the
remote Lungnak Valley in south-eastern Zanskar, in the Himalaya region of
Ladakh in Northern India who is the home for monks from several years and it is
the only Monastery in the Ladakh that can be accessible through foot (Trek) as
no road, transport is available to reach Phutkal. So if you are planning to
visit Phugtal Monastery better do preparation first as it’s a day walk from Dorzang
village, the end of the road leading from Padum.
Phugtal Monastery is built around a natural cave, which is
believed to have been visited by numerous sages, scholars, translators and
monks around 2550 years ago. The monastery is a unique construction of mud and
timber built at the entrance of the cave on the cliff face of a lateral gorge
of a major tributary of the Lugnak (Lingti-Tsarap) River. From a distance, the
monastery looks like a giant honeycomb.
The remote location of the monastery is ideal for sages
& monks looking for peace and solitude to Meditate. Among the earliest
residents of Phuktal caves were the 16 Arhats or the legendary followers of
Buddha, whose images appear on the caves walls.
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| Phugtal Monastery During Monsoons |
Phutkal Gompa was hidden treasure from many until Hungarian scholar
and linguist Alexander Csoma de Koros visited the place and stayed between the
periods of 1826-27 working on the first Tibetan-English dictionary. He studied
at Phuktal Gompa with his Tibetan tutor. There is a stone tablet at Phugtal
Monastery which serves as a reminder of his stay.
The Phuktal Gompa owes its legacy to powerful and renowned
scholars and teachers who resided in the cave, around which the monastery has
been built, and has for long a place for retreat, meditation, learning and
teaching. The name Phuktal (or Phukthal) reflects this, coming from the two
words “Phuk” meaning “cave” and “tal” or “thal” meaning “at leisure”; second
Phukthal – “Thar” meaning “liberation”. Hence the name Phuktal means ‘the caves
of leisure’ or ‘the cave of liberation’.
Recently a team of volunteer’s set-up solar micro-grid that
produces Green Energy. So now electricity is available at Phugtal Monastery
through Solar Panel.
So now if you are planning your next trip to Ladakh do visit
Phugtal(Phutkal) Monastery.
