GHHOUBRA GOMPA
28.700000,83.616700
Description
NOTE: RUBINSTEIN (1988b: 14) was mistaken by placing Ghhoubra Gompa »in the back of Khobang [sic! for Kobang, Chobang]« but this village (not visible from the main trail in the Kali Gandaki riverbed) lies above the rock chamber complex and on top of the conglomerate terrace, which terminates in the cliff that houses Ghhoubra Gompa (Gorkhali / Nepali) or Gompa U (Monastery Cave in Thakkali, the Tibetan dialect spoken in the Thakkhola).
One of the man-made rock-cut chambers of the dilapidating –>Larjung "Caves" is a troglodyte settlement excavated by humans from the obvious, overhanging cliff in the back of Larjung village on the right (western) bank of Kali Gandaki River (note). The Ghhoubra Monastery itself is a rock chamber extending over three storeys, visible by every passing wanderer who cares to look. These are partly walled (with windows), modified with wooden structures in a bad state of repair, and internally interconnected by vertical staircases (now empty perpendicular "potholes") and horizontal passages to neighbouring chambers. The abandoned monastery was apparently once used by Tibetan Buddhists but now lies wasted except of a few chorten which are said to contain the ashes of former priests, who, according to a peasant woman (personal communication 1991), lived there before her grandfather's time. SITUATION: Access is tricky and nicely described by RUBINSTEIN (1988b: 14): »Getting to the caves was very difficult. On a narrow overgrown trail I contoured high along a steep slope to a small flat area. From there I fought through brambles and prickly grass up a wall. The cliff was formed of small boulders in a dirty matrix. Making the last moves, which one could call committal, on handholds of rocks in dirt, I thought how absolute a faith was necessary to live here. And somebody did live here. The walls and ceiling of the domed room and its lowside chamber were charred. From the centre of the ceiling a metre-wide shaft led up to where it was blocked by wooden planks. Through the chinks I could see the sunlight, presumably from the mouth of the chamber above. This pattern of two connecting chambers, one on top of another, was repeated in the second hole I went into. I never found a way I fully trusted up to the house or to the holes on the far side of the house. ...In the centre of the first hole was a chorten containing, I presume, the bones of one of the lamas. My faith, not being as complete as his, I turned tail and headed for solid level ground.«
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.9 | CHUKSANG CAVE | ||
| 1.9 | GOMPA U | ||
| 1.9 | PYUNG KYU U | ||
| 2.9 | TUKCHE CAVES | ||
| 3.1 | DAMBUSH KHOLA (Cave in the) | ||
| 3.1 | DAMBUSH KHOLA ROCK SHELTER 1 | ||
| 3.1 | DAMBUSH KHOLA ROCK SHELTER 2 | ||
| 3.4 | GURU gSANG PHUG 3: dry cave | ||
| 3.4 | GURU gSANG PHUG 4: dwar |