Lamayuru Monastery

History

Leh district tourism describes Lamayuru’s moonscape setting and day-return trips from Leh.

UT administration records Naropa’s 11th-century foundation and the annual Yuru Kabgyat festival with lama mask dances and effigy burning symbolising ego release.

Stories

The Lake That Was Drained

The Drikung account says the Indian scholar Naropa, who lived from 956 to 1041, caused a lake that filled this valley to dry up, and then founded Lamayuru Monastery. A meditation cave associated with Naropa is preserved within the central hall.

The strange eroded terrain around Lamayuru, often called moonscape, is what gives the story its force: visitors see a landscape that really does look like a dried lakebed.

Bon Roots and Rinchen Zangpo's Era

Popular tradition says Lamayuru was first the foremost Bon monastery of Ladakh, and its name Yungdrung, meaning swastika, is a Bon symbol of eternity. It is now affiliated with the Drikung Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The oldest surviving building is the Seng-ge-sgang temple, attributed to the monk-builder Rinchen Zangpo, who lived from 958 to 1055 and was tasked by the king of Ladakh to build 108 gompas. Lamayuru stands at 3,510 metres on the Srinagar-Leh highway.

Masked Dances in the Moonscape

Lamayuru hosts two annual masked dance festivals, in the second and fifth months of the Tibetan lunar calendar, when monks from the surrounding gompas gather to pray. One of them is known as Yuru Kabgyat.

The monastery has around 150 permanent monks, and in the past housed as many as 400, many of whom now live in gompas in nearby villages. Dates vary each year, so visitors should check locally before planning a trip.

Good to know

11th-century monastery in lunar terrain

Yuru Kabgyat festival with mask dances

115 km from Leh on Srinagar–Leh road

Getting there

By road from Leh (115 km) or en route from Srinagar–Kargil–Leh. Airport: Leh. Rail: Jammu Tawi.