Tibetan Tourism Info > Places and Regions > Featured Places > Katok gön Monastery
Katok Monastery (ཀཿ ཐོག་དགོན།,Katok gön)
Place names
Katok Monastery
ཀཿ ཐོག་དགོན།
kaH thog dgon (ETWS romanization)
Katok gön (THDL phonetics)
噶妥寺
Gatuo si (Pinyin)
Tourism Introduction
Katok Monastery is a remote and yet bustling monastery in rural Kham. It is one of the most important monasteries in the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and is of astonishing beauty in its mountain top setting. It is off the beaten track without service by public transportation, but is only a two hour drive from the Pelyul county seat. Travelers who have hired jeeps and guides often come to Katok on day trips. Three or four hours at the monastery is enough for a picnic lunch and a visit to some of the scenic spots along the pilgrimage trail that circles the monastery. The monastery doesn't have a guest house or restaurant but backpackers might be able to find lodging with the friendly monks or nearby villagers. In this case one can rent a jeep in Pelyul for a drop off at the monastery, and at the end of the stay hike down the mountain to Horpo township to catch the shuttle bus back to Pelyul. JAN CAN YOU SAY HERE HOW MANY MINUTES THE RIDE IS FROM HORPO TO KATHOK, AND SUGGEST POEPLE COULD STAY IN HORPO IF THEY HAVE A JEEP AND GO UP FOR DAYS? ALSO IS THER ANY WAY IF YOU BACKPACK TO HORPO TO RENT A JEEP, OR IS THERE REGULAR BUS SERVICE FORM HORPO TO KATHOK THEY MIGHT RELIY ON?
Gazetteer Description
Katok Monastery is an 800 year old monastery of the Nyingma sect in northern Kham that has played an important role in Tibetan religion and Kham society during its long history. It thrives to this day, with a large seminary and many lamas and wealthy benefactors.
The name Katok means "above the Ka" and refers to the sacred geography of the land on which it was founded. The founder, Dampa Deshek (1122-1192), was told by his lama to seek out a rock formation in the shape of the Tibetan letter Ka (ཀཿ) and build a monastery upon it.
Founded in 1159, Katok was the first large center for monasticism and scriptural studies in Kham and upon its founding quickly attracted many monks. Katok Monastery is well known for its curricular specialization in the rituals and philosophies of the Nyingma Kama, liturgical and commentarial works based on canonical tantras. The extant writings of Katok lamas runs to several dozen volumes and over the centuries many Katok lamas have been broadly influential in Nyingma scholarship. Lamas from Katok have also founded branch monasteries throughout the Tibetan cultural world. Beyond its numerous branch monasteries in Kham, Katok also maintains branches in southern Tibet and Bhutan.
Katok lies on the side of a mountain in a valley off the Dzing river in an area called Horpo. Horpo was acquired by the Derge kingdom during the latter's initial rise to power in the middle of the seventeenth century. Since then Katok lamas have been chaplains to the Derge royal family and the monastery enjoyed their financial support. The king and queen would attend festivals at the monastery and regularly invite the lamas to their palaces to perform rituals and give advice. An especially high point in the relationship between Derge and Katok was the period in the late eighteenth century when queen Tsewang Lhamo commissioned Katok lama Tsewang Chokdrup (also known as Getsé Mahapandita) to be the chief editor for several major printing projects at the Derge Printing House. The Derge kingdom ended in the early 20th century and Katok is now part of Pelyul County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan.
Katok was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Rebuilding began in the 1980s and now that all of its old temples have been restored, new temples are now under construction. The monastery has three major divisions: the ritual college, seminary, and retreat center. The seminary is the most numerous and visible, with three hundred monks who attend classes in the main hall every day. The monasteries finances are strong thanks to the generous donations of Han Chinese disciples of Katok lamas. Nevertheless because of its remote mountaintop location the monastery is accessed by dangerous dirt roads and only became connected to the county's electricity grid in 2007.
Featured Resources & Sites
TBA.
Tourism Information
Accommodations
Katok does not have a guest house or a restaurant. The public bathrooms are simple outhouses. Nevertheless, the monks and nearby villagers can be hospitable and open their homes to foreign travelers for a night or two.
Area
The monastery sits high upon a tall mountain at the end of a switchback dirt road. The surrounding area is somewhat wooded and very peaceful. From the monastery one can see across the valley to idyllic hamlets, and beyond to ranges of snow mountains.
Around
Horpo Township
Changing Money
No banks in rural Kham are equipped to exchange foreign currency. You will need to change your money in Kangding.
Email & Internet Access
Katok has phone service but no access to electronic communication. JANN CAN YOU MAKE CLEAR IF THERE IS CELL COVERAGE? AND ALSO WHAT TYPE OF PHONE SERVICE - YOU PAY A MONK AND THERE IS A PHONE OFFICE? OR ITS VERY PERSONL AND NOT CLEAR HOW TO MAKE A PHONE CALL?
Embassies & Consulate
Entertainment
This is a quiet monastery without a single TV in the living quarters of the common monks. Do not expect any nightlife at Katok.
Food & Drink
There is no restaurant at Katok, but rather just private and communal kitchens. Instant noodles, sodas, and the like can be purchased at one of two small stores at the monastery.
Getting Around (Transportation)
Getting Information
Katok Monastery does not have a web presence and people from outside of the monastery's immediate vicinity cannot be relied on for current information about road conditions and the festival schedule. There is no central office within the Monastery where visitors can get information or orientation.
Getting There & Away
Katok is not serviced by public transportation. To get there one can hire a car or hitchhike. Cars may be hired in Pelyul for a drop off or one-day round trip. In the case of hitchhiking, one can take the daily morning shuttle bus from Pelyul to Horpo, and from Horpo begin to inquire about jeeps and trucks going from there to Katok. JAN WHAT ABOUT SHUTTLE BACK DOWN HILL AT EVNEING IF SOMEONE WANTS TO STAY A FEW DAYS I NHORPO AND GO BACK AND FORTH??? There are also trails linking the monastery to Horpo township. HOW LONG BY FOOT IF YOU WALKT DOWN???
Health care
Katok has no regularly-staffed medical clinic. There is a small pharmacy stocked with Tibetan medicines and a few allopathic medicines such as aspirin. Moreover, due to its mountaintop location and the poor local roads, an emergency trip to the nearest hospital would be very jarring and take over 2 hours.
Highlights
The natural beauty of the monastery's surroundings is one highlight. Additionally the monastery has several large temples, each with many statues and murals. The friendliness of the monks is also notable.
History
Please see the intro to the monastery posted above
Libraries /Information Centers
Maps
Medical Services
Money
Museum & Galleries
National Buildings & Monuments
Newspapers & Magazines
On your bike
Organized tours
Orientation
Population
Post & Communications
PSB
Seasonal Events
Every summer Katok celebrates a week-long festival that includes masked dancing and blessing ceremonies. The festival attracts monks from Katok's branch monasteries, Tibetan pilgrims from the local region, and many Chinese students of Katok lamas. The festival always falls between the 4rd and 10th of the 10th Tibetan month (July 18-24th, 2007)
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