Shankh Monastery

Shankh was founded by Zanabazar in 1647 and became one of the most important monasteries in the country, at its height housing well over a thousand monks and, by tradition, guarding Genghis Khan's black war banner for a period. It was closed in 1937, its monks dispersed and most buildings lost, and it stood empty for over fifty years before reopening in 1990. What survives is a small complex of temples with a working community of monks, modest after what was here, with some old religious art returned or recovered. The setting is open steppe with hills behind and a small village nearby. It is quiet and rarely visited compared with Erdene Zuu down the road, which is much of its appeal: services happen with a handful of monks and almost no audience.

History

Zanabazar founded the monastery in 1647, when he was just 12 years old, and for many years it was known as the Monastery of the West. It began as a monastery of gers that moved several times before settling here in 1787, and its main temple, built between 1710 and 1790, is known for seven Kalachakra mandalas showing all 722 Kalachakra deities, the only ones of their kind in Mongolia (Wikipedia, Shankh Monastery).

Highlights

• The main temple - the working hall with daily prayers.
• The revived community - monks who returned after 1990.
• Surviving art - religious pieces recovered or returned to the monastery.
• The steppe setting - open country with a village alongside.

When to go

May to September for the roads. Morning prayers are the best time to visit, usually around nine or ten. It takes under an hour and fits alongside Kharkhorin.

Before you go

The complex is small and modest; most of the historic monastery is gone. Interpretation is minimal and English is limited. Photography inside may be restricted or charged. Come for the atmosphere of a working monastery rather than for scale.

Nearby

Kharkhorin and Erdene Zuu are northwest; Tuvkhun lies further west.

Key facts