Alchi is a village in the

Leh district Leh district is a district in the union territory of Ladakh, India. With an area of 45,110 ''km'2'', it is the second largest district in the country smaller only to Kutch. It is bounded on the north by Gilgit-Baltistan's Kharmang and Gha ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is located in the

Likir Likir is a village and headquarter of eponymous Subdivision in the Leh district of Ladakh, India.tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, on the banks of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

70 km downstream from the capital

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...

. Unlike the other gompas in Ladakh, Alchi is situated on lowland, not on a hilltop. The

Alchi Monastery Alchi Monastery or Alchi Gompa (also Alci) is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, known more as a monastic complex (chos-'khor) of temples in Alchi village in the Leh District, under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council of the Ladakh Unio ...

or Alchi Gompa lies about 65 km from Leh on the banks of the Indus River.

History

The village is famous for the existence of one of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh (a national heritage)

, mainly known for its magnificent and well-preserved 11th- or 12th-century wall paintings, all in an Indo- Himalayan style.Rizvi (1996), p. 60. The monastery houses thousands of rare and unique sculptures and paintings back to 11th century Western Tibet.

Demographics

According to the

2011 census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Alchi has 145 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 72.51%. Image of Kannon in Ladakh 001.jpg, Image of

Tara (Buddhism) Tara ( sa, तारा, ; bo, སྒྲོལ་མ, ), Ārya Tārā, or Shayama Tara, also known as Jetsun Dölma (Tibetan: ''rje btsun sgrol ma'') is an important figure in Buddhism, especially revered in Tibetan Buddhism. She appears as a f ...

Alchi2.jpg, Alchi village, Ladakh. Alchi-Sonam-Dorje-01.jpg, Palace of Sonam-Dorje Alchi is a small village with several tourist homestays, most offering modern conveniences for overnight stays, The best time to visit is from June to September.

References

External links

Alchi monastery
{{Leh district Villages in Likir tehsil