The amazing Key Gompa Buddhist monastery!

Key Gompa or Ki Monastery is a thousand year old Tibetan Buddhist monastery located prominently on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 meters (13,668 feet) in the Spiti Valley. The village of Kibar below the monastery is said to be the highest village in India. The monastery has been attacked many times during its long history by Mongol and other armies and was also ravaged by fire and earthquakes. The successive trails of destruction and restorations have resulted in a box-like construction, and the monastery looks like a fort, where temples are built on top of one another. It is the biggest monastery of Spiti Valley and a religious training centre for Lamas. It reportedly had 100 monks in 1855. In the architectural definitions given to various monasteries, Ki falls in the 'Pasada' style which is characterised by more stories than one and often plays the role of a fort-monastery.

The Spiti Valley is a desert mountain valley located high in the Himalaya mountains in the north-eastern part of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The Middle Land", i.e. the land between Tibet and India. Spiti Valley lies in the idyllic Himalayas of North India and is appropriately known as 'the middle country'. Nestled between Nepal and Pakistan's wild Northwest Frontier Province, and bordering on the ancient kingdom of Tibet, the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Kashmir make up India's own Northwest.

For centuries these remote valleys lived largely isolated from one another, preserving homogenous and distinct cultures and traditions. To this day, from one valley to the next people speak completely different languages and within the same valley up to 7 dialects may be spoken.

The valleys of the Himalayas hold the treasures and secrets of ancient civilizations. Monastic traditions developed enormous architectural marvels and perhaps in no other society does religion play such a defining role in the political and economic development of the region. Desolate, high altitude deserts support monastery-cities perched precariously on sheer cliff faces. These fascinating edifices are a display of the rich cultures completely indigenous to the high valleys.

The area has always drawn wanderers and explorers with its rich cultural heritage and spiritual prosperity. Increasingly, it has been the spiritual appeal of Himalayan Buddhism which has drawn western travellers to the mountains. Indeed, it is often said the Himalayas are the closest humankind get to the heavens and the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain faiths can all trace roots to these mountains.

It possesses a distinctive Buddhist culture similar to that found in the nearby Tibet Autonomous Region and the Ladakh region of India. The valley and surrounding region is one of the least populated regions in India and is the gateway to the northernmost reaches of the nation. Along the northern route from Manali, Himachal Pradesh or Keylong via the Rohtang Pass or Kunzum Pass respectively, the valley lies in the North East of the Indian hill state of Himachal Pradesh, and forms part of the Lahaul and Spiti district. The sub-divisional headquarters (capital) is Kaza, Himachal Pradesh[2] which is situated along the Spiti River at an elevation of about 12,500 feet (3,800 m) above mean sea level.

Lahaul and Spiti is surrounded by high mountain ranges. The Rohtang Pass, at 13,054 feet (3,979 m), separates Lahul and Spiti from the Kulu Valley. Lahul and Spiti are cut off from each other by the higher Kunzum Pass, at 15,059 feet (4,590 m).[2] A road connects the two divisions, but is cut off frequently in winter and spring due to heavy snow. The valley is likewise cut off from the north up to eight months of the year by heavy snowfalls and thick icing conditions. A southern route to India proper is periodically closed for brief periods in the winter storms of November through June, but road access is usually restored a few days after storms end via Shimla and the Sutlej valley in the Kinnaur district.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

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