Detailed Information about Hemis Gompa Festival & Its Importance

India is known to celebrate the festivals like no other nation does. There are hundreds of the festivals that are celebrated across the country by the different communities of the Indian subcontinent but the common feature in these celebrations is that the enthusiasm and the energy in the celebrations. In the state of Jammu and Kashmir of the province of Ladakh is located the Hemis Gompa which is the biggest monastery in Ladakh. The tourists flock in large numbers to this monastery to witness the grand celebrations of the Hemis Gompa festival. It is celebrated every year on the tenth day of the Tibetan lunar month which coincides usually with the month of June- July according to the Gregorian calendar.

The two day festival showcases the culture and the tradition of the Tibetan monks. The festival is a dance festival that pays homage to the Guru Padmasambhava on his birth anniversary that falls in the fifth Tibetan month. He is also known to be the 12th Gyalwang Drukchen Rinpoche who is known to have established the Buddhism in the state. Guru Padmasambhava is known to have founded the tantric form of the Buddhism here in Ladakh and is also known as Guru Rimpoche. Once in every 12 years in the monkey year according to the Tibetan calendar the two storeys high Tanka of the Guru Padmasambhava is displayed in the courtyard of the monastery for the witnessing of the disciples. The Tanka is decorated with plenty of the semi precious gems. The Tibetan monks or the lamas perform the famous masked dance also known as the Cham dance on the tunes of the cymbals, the drums and the long horns that fill the ambience with a strong vibes of powerful energy. The last time the Tanka was displayed was in the year 2004.

A wonderful fair is organized alongside the festival that sells the Tibetan handicrafts that the tourists take pride to carry back home as souvenir. The monastery where the celebrations take place is more than 350 years old is known to be one of the wealthiest monasteries of Ladakh region and unlike the other monasteries in the region the monastery has withstood the plunderers in the past. The sect of the Buddhism, the Kagupa Brugpa, followed here is similar to that found in Bhutan. The monastery was founded by the Stagtshang Rinchen and is built in the Tibetan style. Stagtshang Rinchen was invited to Ladakh by king Singe Namgyel and for a long time in the past the monastery relied on the Namgyel Dynasty for the economic support from the royal treasury.

The monastery lies 40 km southeast of the Leh region and at an altitude of 10,000 ft above the sea level making it one of the highest settlements in the world. The Hemis monastery is also called "chang chub sam ling" which means "the lone place of the compassionate person". The monastery itself is located in a splendid location among the mountain rocks and the inside the peace environment of the Hemis national park.