Keylong, The Land of Monasteries

Keylong, popularly known as the ‘Land of Monasteries', is a beautiful sightseeing tourist destination of Himachal Pradesh. In praise of Keylong, the noted writer Rudyard Kipling said, "Surely the Gods live here; this is no place for men". The exhilarating and archaic mountain ranges along with lush green valleys makes this one of the best places to visit.

Photo Courtesy: Vyacheslav Argenberg

It offers visitors with the opportunity to visit several Buddhist pilgrimage centres, which are famous for their unique architectural designs and have historical relevance. The Kardang Monastery and the Shasur Monastery are two of the famous monasteries situated here. Located at an altitude of 3500 mt above sea level, is the 900 years old Kardang Monastery. Other popular sightseeing monasteries in the region are the Guru Ghantal Monastery, the Tayul Monastery and the Gemur Monastery.

There are more places you can visit in Keylong, and each place has a story of its own. For the adventure junkies Keylong is a paradise as it offers various adventure sports like trekking, fishing, camping, paragliding, skiing and jeep safari. Here is a travel guide to the sightseeing places you should visit in Keylong.

Gemur Monastery

Among the many places to visit in Keylong, Himachal Pradesh is Gemur Monastery, a 700 year old monastery situated in the Bhaga Valley. This gompa lies 600 to 700 yards above the Gemur Village and is a must visit sightseeing place here. Every year in the month of July, a ‘Devil Dance' is organised in the monastery. The main attraction of this religious shrine is a statue of the goddess Marichi and Vajravarahi, who are said to have their origins in Varahi, a Hindu goddess.

Guru Ghantal Monastery

Photo Courtesy: John Hill

Guru Ghantal Monastery, also known as the Gandhola Monastery is another sightseeing religious centre located at a distance of around 8 km from Keylong. The main feature of this monastery is its idols that are made of wood. This monastery has a unique architectural style having pyramid shaped roofs and intricate carvings. Most of the idols have been shifted to another monastery located at the Tupchilling Village due to the poor condition of this monastery. Located on the banks of Chandra and Bhaga, this monastery has a damaged marble head of Avalokitesvara, a Bodhisattva, who embodies the compassion of Lord Buddha. This monastery has a black stone image of the Hindu Goddess Kali in its private hall, which signifies that the monastery was a temple earlier.

Kardang Monastery

Kardang Monastery, an ancient gompa located at a distance of around 5 km from Keylong, Himachal Pradesh, is another must-visit place. It is a 900 year old monastery, which falls under Drukpa Kagyud school of Buddhism. Built in the 12th century, this monastery has an old library, which is known as the largest Buddhist library in the country. The library has Kangyur and Tangyur scriptures written in the Bhotia or Sherpa language. The monastery has a vast collection of Thanka paintings, musical instruments such as lutes, drums, horns, and some old weapons. The gompa was renovated in the year 1912 by Lama Norbu Rinpoche. The skull and ashes of Lama Norbu are preserved in the first room of the gompa.

Shasur Monastery

Shasur Monastery is a prominent tourist sightseeing place located at a distance of 3 km from Keylong in Himachal Pradesh. According to the local dialect, the word Shasur means blue pine and beautiful forests of blue pine are seen in the areas surrounding the monastery. A beautiful collection of Thangka paintings are exhibited in the monastery, and some of them are of 15 ft in height. The wall paintings represent the 84 Siddhas of Buddhism. An annual ritual, 'Chham' is performed in the monastery during the month of June and July.

Tayul Monastery

Tayul Monastery or gompa is a significant religious site situated 6 km from Keylong and is a must visit place for visitors coming here. Ta-Yul in Tibetan means the ‘chosen place' and it is known for its beautiful 12 ft sculpture of Guru Padmasambhava, along with Singhmukha and Vajravah, his two materialisations. The main feature of the monastery is the hundred million mani wheel, which is famous for self turnings on special Buddhist occasions. As per the lamas of Tayul, the wheel was self turned last time in 1986.

How to Reach Keylong

By Air: Bhuntar is the nearest air base to Keylong, located at a distance of 168 km from the city centre. This airport is well connected to main cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Srinagar, to mention a few.

By Train: Joginder Nagar railway station is the nearest railhead to Keylong, which is situated at a distance of 280 km. This railway junction is well connected with Mumbai, New Delhi and other main cities.

By Road: Several state and privately operated buses from Manali are available to Keylong. The distance between the two destinations is around 115 km, and buses for Keylong are available at regular intervals from Manali.