The former monasterial site of Nyarma is located 20km in the East of Leh within the vegetational belt of the Hindus (river) not far away from Thikse, the administrative district to which the site belongs today. The village Nyarma is situated in the immediate proximity of the old site and consists of 23 houses counting about 100 inhabitants. In the year 1992, the inhabitants of Nyarma founded the Nyarma Society, i.e. a society presided over by the headlama of the monastery in Thikse, Rev Chamba Nawang Slanzin, with the aim of guaranteeing the conservation and protection of the remaining building structures.

Building Technique
As regards the building technique, important and at the same time instructive insights into the used material and the shape of the bricks can be derived from the differing state of preservation of the brickwork masonry. At the same time, the structure and property of the various layers of plastering can be observed in some places. Similarly, several remnants of consoles allow for the reconstruction of the decoration of the statues, whereas most traces of paintings are – except for one Stupa – no longer existant.

Text: Holger Neuwirth
Fotos: Ikonos/ Holger Neuwirth/ Carmen Auer