Hemis Festival

Hemis Monastery Festival
Image credit:- Madhav Pai

Hemis festival - It is a famous annual festival is held in late June or early July every year at 'Hemis monastery' the largest and richest monastery in all of Ladakh. This year it'll be celebrated on 14th to 15th July 2016.

The ceremony of this two day festival begins on the 10th day of the Tibetan lunar month and commemorates the birth of lord 'Padmasambhava' (founder of Tantric Buddhism in Tibet). The local people of Leh Ladakh come to celebrate the festival in their traditional dresses.  The festival take place in the courtyards of monastery with Cham dance or masked dance, performed by the resident Lamas of the monastery on the music of cymbals, drums and long horns. The cham dance represents the victory of good over evil. 

Chams are essentially a part of Tantric tradition, performed only in the gompas that follow the Tantric Vajrayana teachings.

How to reach :

It is 40 kms away from the south-east of the main city of Leh in Ladhak district.

By air:- 

Nearest airport is Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport at Leh. There are good avaibility of direct flights from Delhi, Srinagar and Jammu. From airport you can hire a cab in advance to reach Hemis monastery.

By train:- 

Chandigarh and Pathankot are the nearest railway station to Leh and Chandigarh to Leh and Panthankot to Leh distance are 750 kms and 772 kms  respectively. 

By Road:-  

You can reach Leh from Jammu, Kashmir and Manali by private vehicle or public buses.

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