Likir Monastery , Ladakh

Likir Monastery or Likir Gompa is a Buddhist monastery located near Leh. It is an isolated monastery, which is famous for architecture and culture.

Likir Monastery Attractions

View of the monastery from the foothill is the first attraction to enjoy here. As you enter the monastery, you will enter the courtyard with a verandah. The verandah is filled with paintings and a wheel of life. There are two assembly halls inside the monastery. You can find monks in the halls. There are many statues of Buddha inside the old assembly hall. There is a large Jupiter tree in the courtyard. It has bookcases, thangkas and others. You can find many thangka collections, manuscripts, ancient pots, old dresses and others in a collection room. The new assembly hall is 200 years old and it holds images of mythological figures, books and others. Walk past the new assembly hall to enter a courtyard. There is a glass room in front of the Gonkhang house, which is open only during the dance festival.

Best time to visit Likir Monastery

The monastery is open from May to October. There is no entry fee for the monastery. Summer is the best time to visit the monastery, as the climate will be pleasant. It will not take more than 2 hours to explore the monastery. Make sure to reach Leh before sunset or, stay back in the village and travel in the morning.

How to reach Likir Monastery

The monastery is located 52 km away from Leh. You can find buses, cabs and jeeps from Leh to Likir village. The monastery is located 6 km away from the Srinagar Leh highway. From the village, you need to hike to reach the monastery. It takes 90 minutes to reach the monastery from Leh. The last bus from Likir to Leh starts at 3:30 pm.

Festivals of Likir Monastery

You ought to visit the monastery during an annual festival. This festival is famous for exhibition of monastery collection, procession, masked dance of monks and others. This festival starts a couple of days before the Tibetan New Year.

Shopping & Dinning in Likir Monastery

The village is famous for Pashmina shawl, apricot, woolen clothing and others. There are no restaurants in Likir Monastery.