Hemis Monastery

Hemis is the largest (in terms of membership) in Ladakh with over 500 monks calling it their home monastery. Sitting right next to a small stream and forest, it is quiet and isolated, with the nearest town hidden from sight. The monastery adheres to a strict policy of not allowing foreign guests to stay the night in one of their many empty rooms, which is great for preserving religious monastic life but not so great for us, as the only campground was not open when we arrived during the first month of May. The monks did give us permission to camp on the monastery grounds however, which was appreciated and a young visiting carpenter let us use his kitchen for cooking. The description of largest monastery is rather deceiving since most of the monks do not reside at the monastery all year long, travelling to other smaller monasteries around Ladakh.