The Phuktal Monastery
The Phuktal Monastery, located at 3900 meters above sea level, is a Buddhist monastery in the remote and hard-to-reach Zanskar Valley in the southeast of the Himalayan region of Ladakh in northern India.
The monastery is not only a sacred place, but also an architectural marvel shaped by its natural surroundings. Loose stones in the cave ceiling and around the monastery threaten the site, which is worthy of protection.
The Phuktal Monastery
The name Phuktal translates as "cave of silence" or "cave of liberation or place of retreat".
The monastery is home to numerous shrines and valuable wall paintings from the 16th century. It is an important spiritual and cultural place for the people of the Zanskar Valley.
Today, 30 to 80 monks (aged between 7 and 80) live in the monastery. One of the monks' main tasks is to perform rituals and prayers in the temple for the people, the animals, the environment and the whole world.
They also regularly visit the surrounding villages to perform prayers and protection rituals. In doing so, they undertake long and, especially in winter, dangerous journeys.
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Aim of the project
The aim of the project is to financially support the Phuktal Monastery in their efforts to implement the urgently needed rockfall protection measures.
Any amount of support is welcome and appreciated in order to start the implementation of the protection measures.
The monastic community, the "Tschudig Gyatso Switzerland" association and all those involved would like to thank you very much for your support!
Danger of falling rocks
As a result of the increasing temperature fluctuations with freezing and thawing from fall to spring and the more intensive rainfall in spring, rockfall occurs more frequently both in the cave and in the inhabited surrounding area. The local monks are particularly at risk. Entire houses have already been destroyed and unfortunately two monks have also died as a result of falling rocks.
It is therefore urgently necessary to implement various protective measures to ensure the protection and safety of the community and visitors from all over the world.
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The effects of permafrost
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Until a few years ago, the large Tsarap River froze completely at Phuktal Monastery in winter. The frozen river used to be crucial for transporting heavy goods to the foot of the monastery. The amount of snow used to be much greater and it snowed frequently. A thick layer of snow covered the area around the monastery, and the main reason for the thawing of the permafrost is the rising temperatures due to climate change. Permafrost consists of permanently frozen soil or rock. When it melts, the layers of soil and rock can be affected and become unstable. This instability causes rocks and boulders to come loose, posing a significant risk to people and buildings, and this melting process also affects the hydrology of the region. The underground flow patterns are changing and the availability of water resources may be limited or even dry up completely. It is therefore likely that the spring in the monastery's cave suddenly dried up a few years ago. Although the permafrost itself remains invisible, the catastrophic effects of its thawing are unfortunately clearly noticeable today.​​
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Planned measures
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The existing protective measures must be professionally supplemented by the construction of additional gabions.
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Surface water should be diverted away from the critical gullies (incised erosion channels) to prevent further erosion.
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A concept is needed for the regular maintenance of the gabions and for their accessibility.
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In addition, the planting of shrubs, e.g. sea buckthorn, rose hips, barberry or even trees should be implemented as a further additional measure.
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A ban on access to the area above the monastery is absolutely necessary to prevent people from unnecessarily causing rockfalls.
Overview plan for the measures in the outdoor area
The civil engineer Hans-Matthias Liechti of Gasser Felstechnik AG has prepared a very detailed technical report on the danger situation of the monastery and the associated buildings, in which he also explains the necessary protective measures to adequately protect the monastery from falling rocks.
The picture shows the measures to be taken in the surrounding area.