Matho Monastery in Leh

A famous monastery of Leh is Matho Monastery. It provides a beautiful construction that one can witness when they take a tour to this place. Matho Monastery is standing upright in the district of Leh from 16th century. Lama Dugpa Dorje is believed to be the founder of this monastery.


This is nearly 26 km away from the main city of Leh. The most important factor about this monastery is that it the only monastery that belongs to the Sakya order of the Tibetans. Sakya is the school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Special Features of Matho Monastery

Dugpa Dorje the founder of this monastery brought Rongstan Kar & Mar, two brothers from Tibet. These brothers were famous for their exclusive protective powers. In the present day, two monks from this monastery are chosen who possess the power of these Tibetan brothers. These monks are chosen after four years. During the annual festival of this monastery, Nagrang which takes place in the month of February these monks perform magical activities that leaves one with awe. They perform magical acts like they cut their hands with sharp objects and bleed heavily. The cuts are so severe that any normal person will be afraid of. But surprisingly even after bleeding so much their cuts tend to vanish within just a day and it seems as if nothing ever happened.



They also perform stunning acts like walking across the roof and walls and they do not fall. It seems like a cake walk for them. Their predictions are perfect and people often come to them for their predictions. These two Lamas stay like normal monks in the rest of the year. It is a faith of the local people that the powers that these two monks possess are applicable during the festive weeks only.

What to See inside Matho Monastery

When one visit inside the monastery it is likely that they will fall in love with the beautifully structured assembly hall. The assembly hall inside the monastery is a perfect example of Tibetan architecture. The assembly hall contains beautiful pictures of Lord Buddha and each picture depicts some of His teachings. There is a museum that is attached to the monastery. This museum contains old paintings that were brought from Tibet in the 16th century.

Places to See around Matho Monastery

Shey Palace is nearly 7.9 km away from Matho Monastery. Although this place is mostly in ruins now but people who have an interest in archaeology can be highly attracted to this place. People can get to know about the past and also discover some of the items related to the history.

How to Reach Matho Monastery

Matho Monastery can be reached from Leh Airport which is nearly 17 km away. People can get bus or cab services. As a perfect tour of Leh and Ladakh one must not miss this monastery at any cost. This monastery gives one the beautiful outlook of the Tibetan traditions. The best time to visit this monastery is during the annual festival that is in the month of February and March.