Classic Zanskar

Karsha Monastery

I stood on top of the Parfi-La (3900 metres), the last pass on the high trail to Zanskar. Below me, like a detailed tapestry, was spread cultivated fields in neat checkerboard patterns of yellow and brown with the  aqua marine Zanskar River running through the valley. Next to me, my guide and cook Tenzing Tsondup’s smile was infectious. He could not hide the joy at looking down on his homeland.  Tenzing and I had come to Zanskar the hard way. Eight days earlier a Tata Sumo had dropped us from Leh to the village of Wanla, near the monastery of Lamayuru. From Wanla we had crossed seven passes, some above 5000 metres, until finally we stood on the last one – Parfi La.The prayer flags atop the pass danced crazily in the breeze while all around us were gnarled ochre coloured hills weather beaten by the snow and wind.  We took a deep breath and started walking down. In a few hours we were at the Ibex Hotel, Padum back in civilization.
 Karsha, situated 10 km from Padum,  is a monastery of the Gelukpa sect and houses around a hundred monks. The monastery was founded by the famous translator Phagspa Shesrab around the tenth century. Like many of the monasteries in Ladakh and Tibet, Karsha is built like a fortress and stands defiant against the hillside.  As we drove across the central plain, we could see the monastery from a great distance. It seemed that the monastery and mountain were part of the same hill so well had they been enmeshed together.  We parked at the bottom of the hill and started walking to the top. The buildings are at different levels with white washed walls and bold maroon borders.  Dogs lay asleep in the sun while young lamas laughed and giggled at us vanishing from view the instant we tried to take a photograph! We passed a line of chortens, freshly painted. Prayer wheels were being turned by the locals as they too did their pilgrimage of the monastery. We finally reached the main prayer hall where the central image of the Maitreya Buddha was about three storeys high.  All around were intricate paintings of the life of Buddha, the Bodhisattvas and scenes depicting the victory of good over evil. The “wheel of life” occupied a prominent place at the entrance of the hall. On one side were the Tibetan religious texts, the “kangyurs” hundreds of books lining one entire wall.  Tenzing immediately prostrated himself in prayer before the altar.

The King of Zangla

The next day we were to return to Kargil and then to Leh. Tenzing mentioned that we had not visited the Sani and Bardhan monasteries.   “Another time Tenzing” I said and it was a good excuse to return to the land of white copper.