Basgo Monastery in Black and White | Photos of Ladakh

A dramatic black & white photo of the magnificent Buddhist monastery at Basgo in Ladakh.

Basgo stands out like a magnificent ruin on a small hill above the road as you drive east from Leh to Lamayuru. 
There is road access to Basgo but it's better approached by walking from the main road up through the semi-ruined village and past a huge gateway stupa. The lower monastery buildings are in disrepair but there has been careful restoration work on the elegant lower exterior walls of the main monastery building. 
There are three temples; inside the highest building, the main prayer hall with massive red wooden pillars, is a magnificent huge statue of Maitreya, the future Buddha, surrounded by detailed wall paintings. 
In many ways it's the exterior of Basgo that is so impressive. The setting is spectacular but we passed by for several years before realising we could visit the site.
Connected by a narrow ridge and not shown in the photo is the ruin of a tall thin building that was once the lookout post. In times of danger, fires would be lit at the top of these lookouts to warn people to take protection in the nearby fort.

Landscape format.

A guide to approx sizes
A3: paper size 42x29.7cm, image size 40x28cm
A2: paper size 59.4x42cm, image size 57x40cm
70x50cm paper size, image size 68x48cm

Photo by Silk Road Gallery director Peter Bennion, 2012.

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