Holiday Ideas >> Festivals >> Hemis Festival
Hemis Festival

When: 20 - 18 June 2010
Where: Hemis Gompa, Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir)

Come summer, and the cold desert region of Ladakh awakes from a long and harsh winter. This is the time when tourists from far and wide arrive to trek, to climb mountains, to go river-rafting and to stare, awe-struck, at some of the most beautiful examples of Indo-Tibetan culture. And if you go to Ladakh in the summer, you really shouldn’t miss the memorable Hemis Festival, held at the Hemis Gompa, the largest Buddhist monastery in Ladakh. Hemis is home to more than 500 monks and, at the time of the festival, plays host to hundreds of eager devotees, local villagers and tourists. The two-day festival is marked by prayers and the display of an age-old thangka (religious painting) which is just one of the treasures housed at Hemis. All through the festival, traditional dances are performed by masked monks. The dances, which are accompanied by cymbals, drums and trumpets, portray the triumph of good over evil.

During the Hemis festival, hawkers and shopkeepers set up stalls outside the monastery, selling a variety of wares- most of them souvenirs to cater to the crowds of tourists coming to see the festival.


Arriving At The Hemis Festival
Hemis lies 45-km southeast of Leh, the headquarters of Ladakh
By Flight : The nearest airport is at Leh
By Roadways : By car, Hemis is an easy day trip from Leh. By bus, services are only frequent during the festival; at other times a single daily service leaves at 9.00 am and returns at 12.30 pm, leaving no time to have a good look round.

	Hemis Festival :			Book This Tour
	Experience the Hemis festival , sightseeing visits to Sankar Monastery / Stok Palace & Museum.
	Day 01:		Delhi/Leh - Flight : Early morning transfer to domestic airport to board flight for Leh. Welcome upon arrival at the Leh airport and transfer to Hotel. Day at rest for high altitude acclamatisation. Afternoon VISIT: SANKAR MONASTERY (gompa) situated on a valley floor right in the town. Sankar is the home for the Geluks-pa sect (yellow hat sect) and later visit the ruins of Tisseru Chorten, Changspa Chorten and Sanchi Stupa.
	Day 02:		Leh - Jeep : Morning proceed to visit the imposing Leh Palace which was the Royal seat of the Namgyal Dynasty of Ladakh. The huge Palace dominates the whole landscape of the town. Afternoon free at rest. Evening proceed to witness the Folkdances of Ladakh. Overnight stay at the hotel.
	Day 03:		Leh/Stok/Leh - Jeep : Morning drive to stok 11 kms to visit STOK PALACE AND MUSEUM. The Royal Palace houses the only museum in Ladakh which unfolds the rich heritage of ancient Ladakh. In its many halls find coins, precious stones, old thankas, Queens jwellery and the Royal crown of the king. Afternoon free at leisure. Overnight stay at the hotel.
	Day 04:		Leh/Hemis/Leh - Jeep : Morning drive to Hemis to witness the most famous monastic festival of Ladakh. HEMIS GOMPA: Founded in 1630's by Stag-tsang-ras-pa under the royal patronage of Sengge Namgayl, Hemis is the is one of the largest and richest gompa of Ladakh. The two day festival is dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava. During the festival the monks dressed in colourful robes wearing different forms of masks dance slowly around the main tarchen(flagpole) in the main courtyard. Afternoon join the 2nd session of the dance which takes into different forms. Later explore the richness of Hemis in its various Dukhangs(halls). Find the huge silver Chortens(stupas) studded with precious stones, old to very old Thankas brought from Tibet, huge statue of maitriya Buddha & many statues of different god & goddesses. Late afternoon drive back to Leh. Overnight stay at the hotel.
	Day 05:		Leh/Thiksay/Shey/Leh - Jeep : Morning drive to Hemis. On arrival witness the concluding rituals of the festival. Afternoon drive back to Leh enroute visit THIKSAY GOMPA: The Monastery is actually acomplex of buildings on a crag rising in tire upon tier above the village. The temple was dedicated by His Holiness Dalai in 1980 and houses an immense image of Maitreya Buddha (Future Buddha) in an unusual manifestation known as Chon-kor. A little further stop at SHEY PALACE: It was the ancient capital of Ladakh. The monastery has a huge copper-giltimage of Sakyamuni and the large silver lamp burning in front of the statue. Arrive Leh and overnight stay at the hotel.
	Day 06:		Leh/Alchi - Jeep : Morning drive to Alchi. Upon arrival check in at the hotel. Afternoon visit ALCHI GOMPA: Built in 1100 AD by the great Tibetan translator Lotsava Rinchen Zangpo, Alchi Gompa preserves one of the most beautiful wall paintings of entire Himalayan monasteries. Inspired by the sheer creativity of Lotsava Rinchen, the still fresh looking paintings reflect the richness & skill of the artists of those times. The painting has drawn the world attention and today it's one of the heritage monuments of India. Rest of the day free at leisure.
	Day 07:		Alchi/Lamayuru/Leh - Jeep : Morning drive to Lamayuru along the river. Drive past villages of Nurla and Kkhaltse. Upon arrival visit LAMAYURU GOMPA: The gompa is one of the most dramatically situated. The 10th century gompa belongs to Kargyu-pa sect(red hat sect). In the main prayer hall Chamba Dukhang you will find statues of Nyingmapa(old sect) who took control of the gompa bt 11th-15 century. Later drive back to Leh. Arrive and overnight stay at the hotel.
	Day 08:		Leh/Delhi - Flight : Morning transfer to the airport to board flight for Delhi.