Guru Ghantal monastery is an 800 year old Buddhist monastery. It is also called by the name of the Trilokinath Temple. The monastery was established at a place where Chandra and Bagha River met. There are various idols in this monastery that are made up of wood and not of clay. This is one of the characteristic features of the monastery, which marks it from the other monasteries of the state.

Location of Guru Ghantal Monastery
It is located at the hill above the Tunde village, in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India.

History of Guru Ghantal Monastery
The monastery was founded by Guru Padmasambhava- the great Indian teacher and Tantric, in 1200 AD. The monastery is associated with the Drukpa order.

Attractions of Guru Ghantal Monastery
There are various features of this monastery that attracts many adventure lovers to this place from various corner of the world. The monastery is made of wood and the walls are painted in stone colour. The various idols exhibited here are also made of wood. Along with numerous other lamas, there are idols of Padmasambhava and Brajeshwari Devi. The monastery houses an idol of Padmasambhava, an image of the Goddess Vajreshwari Devi, a wooden image of the Buddha and a marble head of Avalokitesvara.

Other than these, there is an image of Kali in Blackstone inside the monastery. It gives strength to the belief that the monastery was once a temple. However, the monastery is not maintained well. There are seepages inside the monastery. The paintings have also lost their colours. But apart from all these, the workmanship of the Gompa is far better than many other monasteries in the state.

Festival of Guru Ghantal Monastery
In earlier times, a festival named `ghantal` was celebrated in the monastery on the 15th lunar day, corresponding to mid June. At this festival the visiting lamas and thakur feasted for a day. However, currently it is no more celebrated.

Connectivity of Guru Ghantal Monastery
The monastery can be well accessed by air, rail and road. Bhuntar airport is the nearest airport to reach Lahaul. And Shimla and Pathankot are the closest railheads from Lahaul. Keylong is also well connected by state as well as private bus services from Manali. Taxis can also be availed from Manali to reach Keylong.