Location : Ladakh
Month of Celebration – June and July
Venue of Festival – Courtyard, Hemis Monastery
Importance – Birth Anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava
Tour to Ladakh gives you the opportunity to be part of the famous Hemis festival celebrated in the courtyard of the Hemis Gompa – the biggest Buddhists monastery in Ladakh. The festival is consecrated to Lord Padmasambhava (Gur Rimpoche) revered as the representative corporeal of Lord Buddha. It is two day festival, which falls on the tenth day of lunar month in the Tibetan calender.
Hemis festival holds great religious and cultural significance, as this is the only day in an year when almost all the families from the nearby and far away places altogether visit the monastery for the festival. During the festival local people are seen dressed up in their finest traditional costumes, men usually wear cummerbands and women wear colorful headdresses along with lot of traditional jewelry.
Lamas and monks perform special mask dances and sacred plays to the accompaniment of drums and long horns, that depict the celebration of good over the evil forces. The head of lamas 'Rimpoche' take charge over the function. When the event comes to an end, the leader of lamas destroys the idol made of dough, pieces of which are spread in four directions. Than there is also a devil dance, which is another important aspect of the cultural entertainment of the Ladakh people.
One of the most famous attractions of the Hemis festival is the Hemis fair displaying some of the most interesting handicrafts of the Ladakh region. But what's most important is the display of two storey high 'Thanka' of the monastery, which is beautifully embellished with pearls and semi precious stones. It is displayed once in twelve years.
Reaching at Hemis Festival :
By Air : Nearest airport is at Leh
By Roadways : You can take a bus from Leh which leaves every day at 9 am and returns at 12 :30 pm. Otherwise, it's easy to reach there by car.
Aparana Chauhan
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