Lahul and Spiti and Kinnaur Districts of Himachal and Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir form a distinct religio-cultural entity in the Western Himalayan region. Tibetan Buddhism has been a living and thriving religion in this region. The popular folk traditions and material archaeological evidences amply testify that before the Tibetan Buddhism was introduced in this region, Indian Mahayanic Buddhism flourished here since the days of Kushanas. Thus, in this Trans-Himalayan Shangrila, one may find Buddhism flourishing in continuity from the earliest to the present times. Some of the earliest and most outstanding Buddhist monasteries are located in this remote Trans-Himalayan region. In this work, those splendid and ancient monasteries located in Lahul and Spiti and Kinnaur Districts have been taken up for a detailed discussion in their historical, archaeological and architectural contexts. Cultural, sociological and political aspects of these edifices have also been studied in depth. An in-depth study of important ancient monasteries in the Trans-Himalayan region of Himachal and the modern Buddhist and Non-Buddhist Bon establishments has been accomplished in this volume. How far these establishments have been able to vouchsafe the traditional Tibetan customs and practices under the obtaining alien environment has also been discussed. The present work is a result of strenuous field-work and deep research of many decades. All the available source material–traditional, literary and archaeological–has been pooled together to present a comprehensive picture of this exotic land in its spatio-temporal context. It is hoped that this pioneering study shall prove to be an important trailblazer for the regional historiography.
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