Dhankar
town · 14.1 km away
temple51 min from Kaza
Kungri Monastery
Kungri Monastery in the Pin valley is second only to Key Monastery in age among Spiti's gompas, known for a sword dance performed each year.
What it is
A monastery of the Nyingma school in the Pin valley, founded roughly seven centuries ago — second only to Key Monastery in age among Spiti's gompas. Three detached rectangular blocks, facing east, make up the complex.
Getting there
About 51 minutes by road from Kaza, on a different road from the main Kibber–Dhankar circuit, into the Pin valley.
The visit
Kungri is quieter than the monasteries on Kaza's main loop, simply because the Pin valley is a detour rather than a stop on the way to anywhere else. Inside, the halls hold the wrathful-deity imagery typical of Nyingma iconography. The monastery is known locally for an annual sword dance performed by buzhens — dancers who come from Mud, a village facing the monastery across the river — on festival days that shift with the local calendar.
> around if the dates line up, and easy to miss entirely otherwise.
When to go
June to September, matching the rest of the Pin valley's open season.
Around it
Lhalung Gompa sits further up the same valley. Both are day three of the three-day full-circuit plan, after Key Monastery, Dhankar and the rest of the main circuit on the two days before it.
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Questions people ask
What makes Kungri Monastery different from Kaza's other monasteries?
It's in the Pin valley, a quieter side road off the main Kaza–Kibber–Dhankar circuit, and belongs to the Nyingma school rather than the Gelug or Drukpa lineages found elsewhere in the valley. Fewer visitors make the detour, which keeps it calmer.
What is the sword dance at Kungri?
An annual ritual dance performed by buzhens, dancers who come from Mud, a village facing the monastery across the Pin River. It happens on specific festival days rather than on demand, so timing a visit around it takes local knowledge of that year's dates.
How far is Kungri Monastery from Kaza?
About 51 minutes by road, roughly 34 km, into the Pin valley — a different road from the one that reaches Key Monastery, Kibber and Dhankar, so it's usually its own day rather than added onto the main circuit around Kaza.