Key Monastry

Key Monastrty :

Key monastery is the biggest monastery in the Spiti valley.

Spectacularly situated on a pyramid-shaped hill, it is at an altitude

of 4116 meters. It was established in 11th century, and it has ancient

buddhist scrolls and paintings. Key Monastery is considered to be a

very old seat of Buddhist learning. The seat of Lochen Tulku, the 24th

Lotsawa Rimpoche (reincarnation of Rinchen Zangpo, the great

translator). Its hilltop position points to a post thirteenth century

construction. The monks? dwellings rise in a closely packed cluster up

the south and east to the narrow summit, where the main temple

building is situated. The three-storeyed structure consists largely of

storage rooms at the bottom level while the middle floor houses the

dukhang and the upper floor has another temple and the head lama?s

residence on one side of an open terrace. The dukhang contains

well-executed wall paintings. But Key's major artistic wealth lies in

its collection of thankas.