PHUGTAL CAVE
33.266700,77.200000
Description
Part of the Tibetan Buddhists monastery Phugtal Gompa (note 1) is built into a daylight lit sacred cave or spacious rock shelter (temple cave), which probably represents -- but this is mere guesswork -- a frost pocket with lateral extensions (in the range of 20 m) and a narrow murky staircase down a so-called »black throat« (DARGYAY, E & GRUBER, U 1980: 228-236), a source of water (note 2) with an apparently constant water level (HIRSCHBERG, H 1977: 230; 1987: 228-229). SITUATION: At a walking distance of about 3 hours (about 8 km or 10 km along the path) north-east from the village of Char (note 3) and 270 m above the valley floor of the Tsarap Lingti Chu. »Phuktal Gompa« is indicated near N33°16': E077°11' at an altitude of about 3700 m asl on AMS sheet NI43-12 Martselang (U502 series, 1963 edition) above the orographically right (north-west) bank of the Niri Chu (also: Tsarap Chu, note 4), a tributary to the Tsarap Lingti Chu (chu, Tibetan, river / stream), which itself joins near N33°31': E076°56' the river Zanskar (Zaskar, Zangskar). APPROACH 2009: On the trek from Zanskar (the Great Himalayan mountain range south of the Indus valley) generally southwards to Darcha / Dharcha (note 5), you can make a detour (five hours return) from Purne »to the dramatic Gelukpa Phuktal Gompa, a cave monastery clinging to the side of the near vertical Shadi gorge« (LONELY PLANET, India 2009: 298). APPROACH 2003: The trek from »Padum to Darcha via Shingo La follows the well-defined route up the Tsarap Valley for the first three stages before diverting to Phugtal Monastery, one of the oldest and most impressively sited monasteries in Zanskar« (LONELY PLANET, India 2003: 319). APPROACH 1990: On the way from Manali (Himachal Pradesh) to Padum, »you can make a detour to the spectacular Phuctal Gompa« (LONELY PLANET, India 1990: 254).CAVE DESCRIPTION 1981: The semicircular cave entrance leads to a vaulted chamber, approximately 20 m high, and containing several buildings. The front part is occupied by a large gathering hall and a two-storied chapel. Shacks at the back wall had probably served formerly as hermit cells (note 6) but now (in the late 1970s) are used as store rooms (PEISSEL, M 1981: 243-245). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2005: »Clinging to the side of the vertical Shadi gorge, Phugtal must surely be one of India's most impressively situated monasteries, and certaily one of the most isolated. Phugtal means 'Through the Cave', and that's how the monastery appears, built out of a large cave that contains a natural spring renowned for its healing properties. Around 700 years old, it is home to 60 monks, and contains frescoes similar in style to those at Alchi. The great reward of Phugtal's location is getting there. It can only be reached by walking -- the best way is as part of the Padum to Darcha trek« (LONELY PLANET, India 2005: 338). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1987: »Speleologicamente il Ladakh ha poco da raccontare: un imponente grottone a Phuctal con sottostante "gompa" ed alcune grotticelle di dubbia consistenza a Hemis, peraltro utilizzate dai monaci in eremitaggio. Del resto la componente calcarea della regione è insiginificante per con dire nulla« (ANGELETTI RIGON, A & BANTI, R 1987: 55). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1980: DARGYAY, E K & GRUBER, U (1980: 228-236). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1977: Behind the large cave entrance are the appartments of the monks from where intricate alleys and steps lead to the upper part [of the Phugtal monastery] and it's cave and dukhang. Unforgettable impressions of this prayer flag adorned meditation cave are a flock of nesting birds, a source of water of which the water level seems never to lower, the white chörten with the reliquiae of Shesrab Zangpo, as well as the great view across the valley below (note 7). CAVE LIFE: PEISSEL, M (1979a, 1979b, 1979c, 1981: 243-245, 1983) had noticed in the late 1970ies the presence of bats (Chiroptera indet.) and pigeons (Columbidae: Columbinae: conf. Columba). HIRSCHBERG, H (1977: 230; 1987: 228-229) mentions a »Schwarm nistender Vögel« (flock of nesting birds).
NOTE 1: "Phug" is the Tibetan word for cave. So far, I saw the name of this site spelled Phuctal ANGELETTI RIGON, BANTI & BANTI (1987); LONELY PLANET, India (1993: 254) Phug-thal PETER, F A (1975: 21) Phugtal HIRSCHBERG, H (1977, 1980, 1987: 228); LONELY PLANET, India (2003: 319; 2005: 338); LONELY PLANET, India (2001: 402) Phuktal LONELY PLANET, India (2009: 298); nima.mil/geonames (accessed 16.11.2003); AMS sheet NI43-12 Martselang (U502 series, 1963 edition) Puktal DARGYAY, E & GRUBER, U (1980: 110, 228-236); FEA, G (1978); PEISSEL, M (1979a, 1979b, 1979c, 1981, 1983). NOTE 2: PEISSEL, M (1979) noticed a store of unspecified "brushwood" stacked around the source of water. NOTE 3: Char N33°15': E077°08' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) falls on the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) grid square 3 E4. NOTE 4: PEISSEL, M (1981: 244) wants the white-blue floods of River Zanskar itself streaming by. NOTE 5: Darcha (LONELY PLANET, India 2009: 298), also: Dharcha (India Road Atlas, Eicher Goodearth 2006: 3 E5), in Himachal Pradesh near N32°41': E077°12' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 04.10.2003), is indicated as »Darcha (Sumdo)« on the AMS sheet NI43-16 Palampur (U502 series, 1963 edition) and lies on the road from Manali (N32°16': E077°10') in the Kullu (Kulu) Valley generally northwards and across the Baralacha La (N32°44': E077°26': 4883 m asl) to Leh (N34°10': E077°35'). NOTE 6: »Rund zwanzig Meter über unseren Köpfen wölbte sich, fast unsichtbar, das Halbrund der Höhle wie eine Kuppel über dem gewaltigen Raum, dessen bogenförmige Öffnung den Blick auf die Klippe freigab, an deren Fuß die weißblauen Fluten des Zanskar entlangströmten. ... Fledermäuse, Tauben ... An der Rückwand des Raumes standen mehrere kleine, schuppenartige Gebäude, die vielleicht ursprünglich als Mönchszellen gedient hatten, aber jetzt als Lagerräume benutzt wurden. Rund um die Quelle in der Mitte war Reisig aufgestapelt, während eine große Versammlungshalle und eine zweistöckige Kapelle den vorderen Teil der Höhle einnahmen« (PEISSEL, M 1981: 243-245). NOTE 7: »Kloster Phugtal … Hinter dem großen Eingangstor liegen zunächst die Mönchswohnungen, von denen verwinkelte Gänge und Treppen zum oberen Teil mit Dukhang und Höhle führen. Ein Schwarm nistender Vögel, eine Quelle, deren Wasserspiegel nie abzunehmen scheint, der weiße Chörten mit den Reliquien Shesrab Zangpos sowie der gewaltige Ausblick auf den tiefer gelegenen Talabschnitt, sind unvergessliche Eindrücke von dieser mit Gebetsfahnen geschmückten Meditationshöhle. Einen Teil davon nimmt der von acht hohen Säulen unterteilte Dukhang ein. … Thankas … Statuen …« (HIRSCHBERG, H 1977: 230; 1987: 228-231).
Documents
Bibliography 01/05/2016- Angeletti Rigon, A, Banti, M & Banti, R 1987; Dargyay, Eva K & Gruber, Ulrich 1980; Fea, Giuliana 1978; Hirschberg, Helga 1977, 1980, 1987; Lonely Planet, India 1990, 1993, 2003, 2005, 2009; Lonely Planet, North India 2001; Peissel, Michel 1979a, 1979b, 1979c, 1981, 1983; Peter, F A 1975; Snellgrove, David L, Skorupski, Tadeuz 1980; Snellgrove, David L, Skorupski, Tadeuz & Denwood, Philip 1980.
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.1 | DRANGZE PHUG | ||
| 15.1 | SHADE / SHADI (Caves near) | ||
| 18.4 | TANTHAK PHUG | ||
| 52.9 | TILATSUMDO | ||
| 56.3 | SAMGYAL (Caves at) | ||
| 58.9 | KIUNG (Cavity at) | ||
| 65.3 | THAKOOR DWARA (Caves near) | ||
| 85.1 | KOTSANG PHUG, Hemis | ||
| 91.2 | PHARKA GOMPA |