"Guarded by Serpents", a photo from Jammu and Kashmir, North

Photographer's Note

The Likir Monastery or gompa is one of the oldest and well maintained Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh. The monastery is located in Likir village is believed to have been in existence since 11th century. About 62 km from Leh, Likir village located in Indus Valley is believed to be among the oldest villages of India.

Likir means the Naga or serpent encircled. The monastery got its name as it is believed two serpent spirits –Nanda and Taksako – guard it.

The original name of Likir monastery is Klu-kkhyil gompa. Besides being the oldest, the monastery is also known for the 75 feet statue of Maitreya Buddha, which you can see to the left of the monastery building. The gompa belongs to Gelugpa sect of Buddhism which is also referred as Yellow Hat sect. It was founded by Tsongkhapa in 15th century.

The monastery was built like a fort so that it offered sanctuary to local inhabitants during war. Fields are located at the base, above which are located the monks’ residences. The temples and the assembly hall are located above the monks’ residence. About 120 monks reside in the monastery.

Didi, papagolf21, macjake, jhm, pierrefonds, holmertz, cornejo, PaulVDV, nikkitta, Tue, PiotrF, jjcordier, pajaran, npecanhuk, ChrisJ, omid266, shreya2000, kordinator, ourania, COSTANTINO, adores, abmdsudi, lucasgalodoido, fotka ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

lousat (139236) 2015-05-12 2:28

Hi Anghsu,magnificent capture of this well preserved monastery and its scenery too with the mountains in background,.Interesting history in the note of this old architechture gem,no comment about the quality always super! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

Didi (61589) 2015-05-12 2:31

Salam Angshu
Awesome viewon this monastery with a magnificient background
Good point of view
You used the beta version of TE and the small pic is not visible in the new version
Best regards

papagolf21 (152607) 2015-05-12 2:41

Bonjour, cher Angshu,
Je découvre toujours avec un grand plaisir ces lieux étonnants qui semblent perdus dans les montagnes au creux d'un vallon.
Note riche et documentée.
Très bonne journée.
Amitiés.
Philippe

macjake (98454) 2015-05-12 3:22

Hi Angshu
its hard to believe we had almost a month in India, and we STILL didn't have enough time to see the North.
what a shame. Some other time perhaps.

at least I can see what i missed from your photos!

and thanks for pointing out the statue on the left in your note, I may have missed it otherwise.

a very dry landscape, but still very beautiful, especially with the mountains, the slopes, the occasional tree and the blue skyline. lots to like here!

sweet shot
cheers
craig

jhm (211736) 2015-05-12 3:46

Hello Anghsu,

Pleasant panorama with the Likir Monastery in centre of the picture, also lovely mountain landscape in background.
Nice perspective and depth picture.
Sharpness and clarity are made in high quality.
Nice presentation too.
Very well done, TFS.

Kind regards,
John.

dta (98848) 2015-05-12 4:02

Hello Angshuman .
This monastaery is so beautiful , setted in an amazing wild mountain landscape . Perfectly composed .
Regards

adidas5nb (5743) 2015-05-12 4:19

wow. thats an amazing wide frame and location. just love the elements in it and the framing. stunning.
regards
dwaipayan

pierrefonds (114422) 2015-05-12 4:22

Hi Angshuman,

I like the way that you have divided the composition, the sky, the mountains and the monastery. The point of view is showing the details of the mountains and of the monastery. The good luminosity is enhancing the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Nicou (193806) 2015-05-12 5:40

Hello

Le fond de la vallée fait une très belle cuvette quelle vue et compo avec le saupoudrage de la neige sur les montagne ce village blanc sueprbe.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

Sergiom (117241) 2015-05-12 5:42

Bonjour Angshuman,

J'espère que le récent tremblement de terre n'a pas trop endommagé ce superbe village dans les montagnes, Une belle contre plongée qui donne de l'ampleur et qui utilise parfaitement les montagnes enneigées comme arrière plan.

Amicalement

Serge

holmertz (102672) 2015-05-12 7:43

Hello Angshuman,
Another magnificent view from Ladakh. I have commented many times on the beauty of the monasteries and the mountains. This time I am especially impressed by the mild colours and light and the excellent balance of the composition.
Kind regards,
Gert

dip (21408) 2015-05-12 8:57

Hello Angshu,
an impressive landscape and architecture of monastery,
very well captured and composed,
tfs,
Dimitris.

Hunkar (7440) 2015-05-12 10:30

A mysterious atmosphere with the natural environment,
Best regards,

cornejo (61504) 2015-05-12 10:32

Hello Angshu, very good view of this interesting monastery with the beautiful mountains in the background, very well captured with great pov in this great and beautiful picture. An interesting image with interesting buildings, very good sharpness, depth and quality. A great job well done, congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.

Good evening and happy week.
All the best from southern Spain.
Angel.

PaulVDV (62886) 2015-05-12 11:01

Hello Angshu,
A very beautiful monastery with the different buildings built nicely behind each other on the steep hill. The surrounding nature is overwhelming.
Beautiful alternation of parts in the shadow and sunlit places.
Excellently composed.
Best regards, Paul

nikkitta (17070) 2015-05-12 13:10

Hola Angshu
Another impressive view of Ladakh, taken with good POV to admire landscape as well as monastery and the mountains at the back
Very interesting note depicting well the place

Good work, regards
Maria

cargus (13954) 2015-05-12 13:12

Beautiful architectural composition, beautiful colors, well framed and rendered, image well done.!
cordially
Adrian

Tue (92328) 2015-05-12 14:46

Hello Angshuman,
A breathtaking view. You put the monastery very well in the composition, slightly off-centred. The view of the majestic mountains in the background is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing!
Lars

federico (6109) 2015-05-12 15:24

hello Angshuman, another splendid photo from Ladakh,the snow still present in june on the peaks add a great touch to your composition, the old monastery of course is the subject of the photo
warm regards
Fred

PiotrF (54636) 2015-05-12 17:05

Hello Angshu,
This is a unique view of this amazing place, very original mountains.Thank you for interesting notes. I like very much good composition and beautiful colors.
Nice image, for me superb.I like it.
Regards
Piotr

jjcordier (79299) 2015-05-12 23:54

Angshuman
Ce monastère est situé dans un magnifique environnement. Une belle photo qui invite à sa découverte.
Amicalement
JJ

dkmurphys (79209) 2015-05-13 0:25

Hello,
Very attractive place, a splendid mountain scene! I like the POV and the frame, artistic result.

Daniel

Matyas (0) 2015-05-13 0:54

Hello Angshuman! Amazing landscape. Wonderful buildings. Superb valley. Fine lightness and colours. Perspective is very good. Perfect capture, cut and frame. Well done!

pajaran (115861) 2015-05-13 5:15

Dobar dan, popodne.
Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Dobar snimak, kontrast i perspektiva, lepo pokazan manastir i planina sa snegom.
Lepa stara arhitektura i priroda.
Lepo popodne i sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good afternoon, this afternoon.
Nice view, interesting and good text ...
Good picture, contrast and perspective, nicely shown monastery and the mountains with snow.
Beautiful old architecture and nature.
A nice afternoon and all the best.
Paja.

npecanhuk (79329) 2015-05-13 6:26

Hello Angshuman!
Very beautiful place!
Truly attractive picture!
Sharpness, exposure, colors, chosen pov and composition are all excellent!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

Fis2 (170717) 2015-05-13 12:15

Witaj Angshu!
Wonderful landscape,
beautiful place.
I like POV and colours.
Buildings add flavor of composition.
Well done.
Good night
Krzysztof

ChrisJ (171822) 2015-05-13 16:47

Hi Anghsu,

A fantastic alpine view of the western extension of the mighty Himalayas. Good sharpness and the snow capped peaks make a magnificent backdrop. The monastery looks almost Tibetan in style. Tfs.

omid266 (6816) 2015-05-13 20:48

Salam dear Angshu,

So beautiful photography from this old Monastery in your country,

with spectacular landscape around, fine clarity and useful note,

well done!

TFS,***

.......

PS: the Castle Mountain in my town made several centuries ago by a branch of Shiah-Muslims named

Esmailian,

shreya2000 (2815) 2015-05-13 23:30

Dear Dada,

This is really a fantastic shot taken by you. Technically very good. Composition and colours are very nice. Light management is very good.
This Boddhist monastry is unique in itself. A nice place to visit. I like your picture.

Regards,
joginder

kordinator (8738) 2015-05-13 23:47

Dear Angshuman
Fantastic view on this monastery with a magnificient background.
Interesting history in the note.
Nice perspective and depth picture.
Sharpness and clarity are excellent.
Excellent composition and predsentation.
Kind regards
Saša

ourania (51103) 2015-05-14 9:24

Hello Angshu,
this presentation of the Likir Monastery is superb, it illustrates excellently everything you mention in your note and, although the view is perfectly bright and clear, the place looks mysterious and dream-like. I like very much the balance of your composition, the highlights on the snow capped ridge and the suggestive shadows. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great day,
Ourania

COSTANTINO (116452) 2015-05-15 14:21

Hello dear friend and have a nice
weekend
interesting capture of this place
with the Likir Monastery
your notes are really useful
and thanks for sharing them
with us
regards
Costantino

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2015-05-18 8:27

Hello Angshuman,
What quality for a beautiful and romantic view to this monasstery. Very nice
best wishes,
Achim

adores (46979) 2015-05-20 16:14

Hi Angshuman!
You have a great series from this region! This is another great one, I like the composition and the good light. It's surely not the easiest place to travel around but it's so amazing!

mkamionka (74375) 2015-05-25 13:01

Hi Angshu,
this is quite a spectacular presentation. I like very much the amazing location of the monastery which you have captured from a great POV. I like how you have used the diagonals made by the mountains to create a lovely framing for the monastery which is of course positioned nicely off centre of the frame.
Excellent work!!
M

abmdsudi (95869) 2015-06-01 7:41

Namaste Angshu
A breathing taking colourful image with immense detail in depth ensurng focus is all pointing to the bright monastery which clearly stands out amidst the rugged environment. A strong image indeed with fine elements well put together which is further enhanced by the awesome snow mountain and lovely touch of lively green patches, and it's always encouraging to have you useful narrative to back up this superb capture. Great shot, Congrats.
Best regards

rtpng (51) 2015-07-11 0:36 [Comment]

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lucasgalodoido (27698) 2015-08-05 17:04

Olá Angshuman,
realmente um local muito bonito esse mesmo, e sua foto ficou ótima. Belo trabalho.
Parabéns e Abraço,
Lucas

fotka (8993) 2015-12-09 6:15

Hi Angshuman,
Beautiful landscape photo from hight Himalayan mountains. Typical white color of monastery in this part of the world. Very severe climate on high elevation made impossible to grow many trees.
Great quality shot as well colors, light and sharpness.
Kind regards,
Zbigniew