Dhankar Monastery, Fort & A Village In Spiti Valley

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Dhankar Monastery is a gravity-defying Gompa hanging on a cliff overlooking the Pin River. I clearly remember when I got the first glimpse of this monastery; my mouth remained wide open for quite some time. It feels like it would fall off the cliff any moment, till your rational mind takes over. And tells you that it has been standing like this for hundreds of years. The narrow winding road is as picturesque as it gets. It gets closer with every turn while the vistas of Pin Valley start expanding.

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Dhankar Monastery Spiti Valley Himachal Pradesh

Chaotic water channels of the River have a rhythm of their own and it gets enchanting as you keep going up and the view keeps getting wider.

Dhankar Monastery – Himachal Pradesh

En route to Dhankar
En route to Dhankar

Dhankar also pronounced as Dankhar, Drangkhar or Dhangkar literally means fort on the cliff. This monastery is located roughly midway between the Spiti Valley towns of Tabo and Kaza. You have to take a detour of about 8 kilometers, but the road is very good. As long as you have your own vehicle, you can easily reach it. The elevation is roughly 13000 feet. That means you may face a bit of a breathing problem if you are not acclimatized properly. Having said that, the road would invite you to quit the vehicle and walk.

The day we were there it was raining, but whatever little time it stopped, we walked and it was such a beautiful walk. It was like a dream come true to have the rugged mountains on one side, a quietly flowing river on the other side, and the whole vista to you. We hardly saw any people on this road till we reached the new Dhankar Gompa. Where there were monks and villagers going on with their day-to-day activities.

Cliff Fort or Dhankar Monastery
Cliff Fort or Dhankar Monastery

It is very old but it was at its peak in the 17th CE when it was the seat of power for Nono kings who ruled from there. There is a lake too, and a steep hike above the Dhankar fort & monastery. But you need to trek a bit so we let it go and just soaked in the views that were available from the monastery.

The door to Dalai Lama's room at Dhankar Monastery
The door to Dalai Lama’s room

Fragile Structure of Dhankar Monastery

Due to rain, the kuchcha road leading to the monastery was very slippery and a monk was kind enough to hold our hands and lead us to the gate of the monastery. At the simple stone gate, it was written that no more than 20 people should enter the monastery at any one time. As the structure is too fragile to handle more people. Along with it were the posters seeking help to Save Dhankar.

Posters seem to be printed in some upmarket urban centers. Not sure if they serve any purpose here as a limited number of people visit this place. Monks and villagers would anyway do what they need to do.

Prayer Room
Prayer Room

Through steep steps, we reached the first floor of the monastery which had a courtyard-like opening in the middle and rooms all around. In one room some monks were chanting and the other rooms were open. We went around and looked at the ornate doors of each room. One of the rooms was full of artifacts – which I guess are used for certain rituals.

Stuffed goat hanging at Dhankar Monastery, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh
Stuffed goat

At the landing, there was a stuffed mountain goat hanging. It felt a bit eerie to be here. I could sense tantric practices all around me. I could also spot the statue of Vairocana Buddha and many Thangka paintings on the walls of the monastery.

Ritual Masks at Dhankar Monastery, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh
Ritual Masks

One room had a series of stupas in it that were surrounded by Thangka paintings. Another room had colorful flags and big musical drums.

View of Spiti Valley from Dhankar Monastery
Window with a view

Monastery Rooftop

A fragile flight of steps led to the rooftop of the monastery. I was in dilemma – I wanted to go up but the monks were telling me not to go. Here it was written that no more than 3 persons should go up on the rooftop at any one point in time. You can imagine how fragile the structure must be. On top of it, it was raining constantly multiplying the probability of slipping down manifold.

I longingly looked through the hole leading to the top, but all I could see was the cloud-laden sky. Monks communicated through their smiles and carried on with their work.

Landscape view from Dhankar Monastery Spiti Valley Himachal Pradesh
Landscape view from the monastery

View of the confluence of Pin & Spiti Rivers

The spot that I would remember the most is the window that overlooks the confluence of the Pin and Spiti Rivers. If you get out of your head a bit and forget that you are sitting in a room; you could be a bird flying over Spiti Valley. This is when I understood why the monks would have chosen to build a monastery on this cliff. Where else would you be protected from the elements and yet be a part of them? The view that you get from this window is beyond what words can capture.

Colorful room with musical drums at Dhankar Monastery, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh
A colorful room with musical drums

New Monastery

The new monastery at the base of this cliff is the practicing monastery now. The old one is a treasure trove that conserves the energy of the past prayers. World Monuments Fund has included this monastery in the 100 most endangered monuments in the world. I hope it holds on for a few more generations to admire it.

Closed doors of Rural Museum
Closed Doors of Rural Museum

There is a rural museum just outside the monastery. It was closed on the day I was there. I later read a lot of blogs and figured out that no one has ever seen it open.

Video of a drive to Dhankar Monastery

Watch this video clip of the drive to the monastery.

On the way, we also had a brief rendezvous with Bharal. The Blue Sheep or mountain sheep/goats chase each other on the bare mountains – almost merging with the color of the earth.

One has to be really blessed to see the magic of places like this one.

Recommend you to read the following Places to visit in Himachal Pradesh on my travel blog.

Chitkul Himachal Pradesh – a Road trip in Sangla Valley

Things to do in Narkanda, Thanedhar, Himachal Pradesh

Eternity stops to see Kinner Kailash at Kalpa

Bhimakali – Unique Temple of Himachal

Chandratal – Blue Lake of Lahaul-Spiti Valley

16 COMMENTS

  1. As per as we all remember photography is prohibited inside these ancient monasteries. The lamas are peace loving simple people. They normally do not interfere in visitor’s affairs. But don’t we all have the responsibility to ensure that basic rules are adhered to? These are not only religious places but also our old heritages.Sone sensitivity is expected while dealing with them

  2. As per as we all remember photography is prohibited inside these ancient monasteries. The lamas are peace loving simple people. They normally do not interfere in visitor’s affairs. But don’t we all have the responsibility to ensure that basic rules are adhered to? These are not only religious places but also our old heritages.Sone sensitivity is expected while dealing with them

    • Right, Satarupa/Tuku – All these images were taken with the due permissions and blessings of the monks. They wanted us to write about the monastery so that more people can know about it.

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