Sissu Monastery (Labrang Gompa)

Usually the first thing you have to sort out. If the main door is shut, walk into the Labrang village lanes, ask a local for the lama in charge of the gompa, and he will generally come up to open it. Mornings around 8 to 10 AM and late afternoons around 4 to 5 PM are your best chance, because that is when many Lahaul gompas see informal prayer time. Offer a small donation in the box inside as a matter of respect. Do not push it if the lama is unavailable, sometimes you just have to see the outside and move on.

Inside the main prayer hall you will find statues of different forms of the Buddha, prayer wheels lining the walls, thangka paintings in Tibetan Buddhist style, and butter lamps. The centrepiece is a Palden Lhamo figure. Walk clockwise around the hall, which is the usual convention. Do not photograph the statues unless the lama specifically says yes, and do not touch the ritual items. Ten to fifteen minutes is enough, there is not a huge amount to see.

The quiet hour most visitors skip. The gompa courtyard sits on slightly higher ground than Sissu village, with a clear open view across the Chandra valley, the green roofs of the village below, and the waterfall cliff on the far ridge. A simple 15 minute sit here, preferably in the morning before the valley fills with traffic from the tunnel, is the part of the visit that tends to stick. Keep voices low, do not play music, respect that this is still a working religious building.

The pairing most travellers miss. The waterfall across the Chandra is locally called Palden Lhamo Dhar, after the same deity the gompa is dedicated to, so doing the two together in a single half day, gompa first and then the waterfall from the helipad viewpoint, makes for a richer visit than either one alone. Walk the short distance from the village or drive up in 5 minutes, then head back down and across to the lake and helipad.

The Ghepan Lake trek, one of the popular treks from Sissu, starts in Sissu village and passes right through Labrang on the way up. If you are planning the trek, a stop at the gompa first is a natural warm up. The full trek is about 34 km round trip, and the walking time usually lands somewhere between 10 and 14 hours depending on your fitness and how well you have acclimatised. Rated moderately tough. Most people do it as an overnight camp. Summer to early autumn only.

From most Sissu homestays or the lake area, the gompa is a 10 to 20 minute walk uphill on a clear path, or a 5 minute drive on a narrow motorable road. The walk is moderate, not steep, but the altitude at around 3,200 metres makes even easy climbs feel heavier than they are, so pace yourself. Early morning before 10 AM is the best time, both for the light and for the quieter lanes.