Matho Monastery

Not so popular; Matho Monastery is located at a distance of 26 km from Leh city. It is believed that this monastery was built in 1410 by Lama Dugpa Dorje, alongside the Indus River. The monastery is located at the foot of Zanskar Range. Less number of tourists visit this monastery as it is located pretty far from the main road. But the monastery holds great religious value for the locals and it is one of the most important places for Pilgrimages in Ladakh.

Passing over the bridge spanned over Indus river is one of the most beautiful experiences here.

Things to do:

Witnessing ancient Thangkas is one of the best things to do in Matho Monastery. One must visit it during the Matho Nagrang Festival to see the Cham Dance and acrobatic skills performed by monks and locals. Tourists can visit Thangka Restoration Shop which is a kind of museum. It is restoring the ancient artifacts. The shop is decorated with bronze statues, Tibetan dance masks, ritual objects, and text scrolls.

The most fascinating thing you can notice there is its collection of paintings. It is the largest collection of Thangka paintings across the world. Some of the paintings were painted in 12th century and were in the bad condition. But they were restored by the Thangka Restoration Shop.

Best time to visit

The best time to visit this place is during the celebration of the Matho Narang Festival, which falls in the month of March. However, Snowfall can be the barrier for this time. So you can choose another best time between July and September.

How to get there?

It takes around 26 km to be there from Leh City. One can reach this village by a motorcycle or cab and few km of trekking.