Now the hillside has become very eroded. Locals were concerned the
ruins would be lost and began an initiative to stabilize and preserve
the Palace and Gompa. They built a large mud brick restraining wall
beneath the Chamba Lhakhang, using a human chain to pass the bricks up
to the work face. The area is now being extensively restored with money
from the World Monument fund.
The Gompa and Palace are reached along a side road which turns up a
side valley and crosses a ford. Locals are still rebuilding the bridge
washed away in the floods last year. There are good views of the ruins
from the road.
Basgo Palace
There is little left of the Palace which was built in the 11thC. The
remains of walls include a long lower wall with the remains of pens for
animals and ruined towers. There is no written history and little is
known about the building.
Basgo Gompa
Chamba Lhakhang is built at the top of the hill and dominates the site.
It is reached by a steep set of stairs and there are excellent views of
the rest of the site and Basgo village from here.
The building is thought to be 15/16thC with the original wall
paintings, which run those at Alchi a close second. Every available
space on the pillars and ceilings are covered with paintings.
Photographs are allowed and it is a photographers delight.
There is a huge statue of Buddha with two smaller Bodhisattvas. There
are large paintings on the walls of the founder of the Red Hat Sect,
Arhats and Buddhas. These are surrounded by small circles containing
images of the different Bodhisattvas. Along the bottom of the wall is a
frieze showing the different stages in the life of Buddha including his
early life. It is a beautiful painting with lots of detail. Around the
top of the walls is another frieze representing the heavens with sun
and moon and animal heads holding up yellow material which represents
the umbrella protecting the world, with protector gods underneath.
The Serzing Lhakhang is lower down the hillside and is slightly older
and smaller than the Chamba Lahakhang. It is very dark inside. It
contains a huge statue of Buddha which is so big, the head is hidden by
the upper story of the temple. The side walls are painted but hidden by
glass fronted cabinets containing Holy Books.
The tiny Chan Chung temple is at the bottom of the site and is built
at the end of a promontory with views down to Basgo and is the best
place for taking pictures of the village and fields.
It was originally built as an Islamic shrine by the Muslim Baltistani
wife of a local king and looks very different from other Ladakhi
temples. It is surrounded by a veranda. The inside is dwarfed by a huge
statue of Buddha with pictures of the protector gods on the walls, each
in intricate detail. Below is a row of Mahasiddhas with Bodhisattvas
below. On top, surrounding the gods, are images of the peaceful poets
(listener and translator) who help spread Buddhism. Above the doorway
is the image of a protector Buddha surrounded by three of his
manifestations and a protector god in bottom left hand corner. There are
images of the cardinal kings on either side. The main colours used are
dark blues and reds with some yellows and white, so it is fairly dark
inside.
This is a delightful place to visit. It is not on the tourist tick
list and receives few visitors. This is a shame as the paintings in
Chamba Lhakhang are among some of the best in Ladakh.
