Drakza Monastery is in Chiknyisep Township of Nangchen County. The monastery is situated on a rocky cliff surrounded by mountains. The locals believed that this place resembled of lotus flower, and the stiff mountains around the monastery represent the petals of the lotus flower.
The landscape of the monastery is stunning and peaceful. Drakza monastery belongs to the Karma Kargyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was built in the 15th century as a retreat center for yogis. But later its turned monastery as well as a retreat center. These days there are 20 monks, and a few are on retreat.
The monastery has so many ancient relics and Tibetan Buddhist scriptures. The most fantastic thing that the sanctuary has is the mummified Buddhist monk, who posted in a meditation state. It was believed to be 200 hundred years old but I could see the silky hair and long nails from the monk’s body. This body was found in a cave above the main monastery about 20km from the Drakza monastery. When they returned to this monastery a few years back, they said lots of encouraging signs appeared in the sky, such as rainbows appearing without rain. There is a heavy cave above the Drakza Monastery, where Guru Padmasambhava stayed a week retreat. There are lots of palm prints and footprints on those huge rocks. From the top of a rock behind the monastery, one could see the whole valley around.
Many wildlife animals are staying around the monastery. It’s hard to see such places where wildlife and humans live together. The monastery monk feeds them during harsh winter, and due to heavy snowfalls for weeks, this wildlife can’t survive.
How to travel to Drakza Monastery
The nearest city is Nangchen County, and from there it takes around 3 hours, depending on the weather. The roads from Chiknyisep township to the monastery are wrong, especially during summer and winter, due to heavy rains in summer and heavy snow in winter.
There is no accommodation at the monastery. Once you have finished touring around the monastery, there are two options. The first option is to go back to Nangchen county, and another one is to travel further to Tana Monastery. It was about 60km from the monastery. Tana Monastery is one the most famous monastery in Kham Nangchen. The roads are not suitable for small cars but SUV cars it’ll be fine. Kham Nangchen is one of the best places to travel in the Kham area. There are so many magical places around the Nangchen. The best time to travel to Nangchen is in the summer.
