Hemis Monastery

History

UT Ladakh tourism lists Hemis alongside Alchi, Lamayuru, Shey, and Thiksey as flagship monasteries.

The monastery is widely associated with the Hemis festival and Drukpa heritage; district pages route visitors via Leh-based circuits.

Stories

Re-established by a King

Hemis, on the Indus about 45 km from Leh, is a monastery of the Drukpa lineage. A monastery is recorded here before the 11th century, and the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal re-established it in 1672. It is today the principal seat of the Drukpa Kagyu order in Ladakh.

The Hemis Festival

Each year in early June the monastery holds the Hemis festival in honour of Padmasambhava, also called Guru Rinpoche, who is revered in Tibetan Buddhism. Monks perform masked dances in the courtyard, and the festival is among the best known in Ladakh.

The Lost Gospel That Never Was

In 1894 the Russian journalist Nicolas Notovitch claimed that monks at Hemis showed him an old text saying Jesus travelled in India. Historians regard the account as invented, and the scholar Bart Ehrman says no recognised scholar doubts that. The story remains a famous footnote in Hemis's history.

Good to know

Flagship Ladakh monastery per UT tourism

Hemis Tsechu is the best-known annual draw

Indus valley location south-east of Leh

Getting there

Road from Leh (roughly 45 km). Airport: Leh. Rail via Jammu Tawi to Srinagar or Manali road approaches.