If I have to think about most talked and popular monastery in Spiti Valley, it would be Geu Monastery where one can see 500 years old mummy. More than that I loved it's location and third photograph of this post would give you better sense why do I say that. I don't know how I missed doing this series on Monasteries of Spiti valley when I was sharing about my week long trip to Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh. But it's not too late, so let's know more about Gue Monastery in Spiti and some interesting facts/tips.
Above photograph shows the popular 500 years old mummy of Spiti Valley. One of the most interesting things I found in Spiti valley is the mummy of Sangha Tenzin, which is preserved in Gue Monastery. Supposedly it’s 500 years old mummy which was found in a village called Ghuen in chilling & remote district of Himachal Pradesh - Lahaul & Spiti. This region is located at about 6000 meters above sea level.
This mummy was discovered first time in 1975 because of earthquake which opened an old tomb. And one of the scholars from USA declared that its at least 500 years old.
This is how Gue Monastery looks from a distance when you are driving towards it. This mummy is places in a room near this Monastery. Gue village comes on the way, so if you are planning to visit the place just take a pause in village to check if the room is open. If not, you need to take someone with you so that room can be opened to see this mummy.
The mummy of Sangha Tenzin is placed in the room you see on the left of Gue Monastery. It's rare to find mummies made naturally. Most of the mummies we have read about are mostly created with a chemical process. Natural preservation needs a very specific set of conditions and interesting Spiti has that. Spiti is a cold desert with extreme weather conditions and probably that helped in whole process.
There is this interesting article on web which talks about Sangha Tenzin mummy, it's formation and how it's different from mummies made in Japan. Supposedly, Japan has various mummies of lamas.
In Japan, there is a practice that monks start starvation process and start eating less gradually. Eat some specific stuff and start exposing their skin to lamps for drying it gradually. That's how they lead towards dead and prepare the body for becoming a mummy.
We had already been awed by the barren mountain slopes of Spiti and the grandness of these landscapes. As we spent more time in Spiti we realized that this land has lot of secrets to explore and a week is not enough for that. Be it the culture of the place, buddhist influence, dramatic sunsets, cloud play in bright blue sky - everything brings lot of energy. And on top of all that exploring the mummy of Sangha Tenzin was a very special experience.
Related Post - How to reach Spiti Valley from Delhi and things to do around Kinnaur/Spiti in Himachal Pradesh
If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -
1. Manage your waste well and don’t litter Use dustbins.
2. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.
3. Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.
4. Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.
5. Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite
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