Zangla Monastery is one of the famous and prime tourist attractions in India. It is a Buddhist monastery and is home to around 150 lamas. The monastery belongs to the Drukpa order. Zangla monastery is popular among the tourists for its rich collection of ancient wall paintings and murals. It is also famous for the Hungarian scholar named Sandor Korosi Csoma.
Location of Zangla Monastery
The monastery is located in the village of Tsa-zar near Zangla, Zanskar, Kargil district, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, northern India. Zangla town is about 35km from Padum. The monastery is situated at an altitude of 3500m.
Attractions of Zangla Monastery
Zangla monastery is notable for housing rich collection of wall paintings. It also has some beautiful frescoes and elegant murals. Near the monastery there is a nunnery where the nuns meditate and lead a simple and regulated life. The nunnery shelters around 20 nuns. The nunnery also has a small school attached to it where the children of neighbouring areas study. Another attraction of this monastery is the nearby ruined hilltop castle which once housed the royal family.
The monastery is a much loved and visited spot also because the Hungarian scholar Saándor Korosi Csoma lived in this monastery between July 26, 1823 and October 22, 1824. He is the person to have edited the first English-Tibetan dictionary while living at the monastery. The dictionary was published in the year 1824. Csoma carried out his work in a small cell of 10 sq m. The room where he studied can still be seen and is a huge attraction of the monastery.
Connectivity of Zangla Monastery
The monastery can be accessed by air and road. The closest airports are Srinagar and Leh Airport. These airports can be used to reach Kargil. Visitors can avail buses from Kargil. Every other day at three in the morning buses leave from Kargil for Padum. The journey takes two days to reach Padum with an overnight halt at Rangdum. From Padum, Zangla can be reached on a horseback or jeep which takes 5 hours and 1 hour respectively. The best time to visit this ancient monastery is from June to early October.
