Nako, a base for trekking, has tourist hotels, homestays, restaurants, lake, gompa, a hospital, dispensary, veterinary hospital, and schools from pre-primary up to secondary level.
Nako monastery Nako monastery (
Tibetan language:
Lob-dpon-zhabrjes ) dated to the 11th century (1025 AD), oriented towards
Tibet, similar in style to the
Tabo Monastery consists of four large halls of which the oldest and largest is known as Dukhong. It is also known as 'Lotsava Jhakang' meaning "complex of the translator" named so in honour of
Rinchen Zangpo who translated
Buddhist scriptures from
Sanskrit to the Tibetan language. The iconographic art work in the monastery is related to
Vajrayana Buddhism. The dukhong's walls have decorations of a complete
mandala with "gates, fire-circle and secondary non-Buddhist deities in attendance". To the east of this dukhong there is another hall of smaller size which has a sculpture of
Yellow Tara (known as
Grolgster) made in
stucco, with its roof and walls painted with mandalas. In the third hall there is an elegant image of
Vairochana. Within the complex there is a shrine dedicated to Purgyal, a local deity with attribution as the "spirit of the mountain". Sculptures of five
Dhyani Buddhas made out of clay are defied in the main hall where there are also many images. In the
earthquake of 1975 the buildings were affected. Many bright artworks in the monastery were vandalized. During this earthquake event roofs of the monastery and other buildings in the village were damaged. Further, during the severe winter season of 1998 the monastery was in near collapse stage. Following these disastrous events, in May 1998, the
University of Vienna launched a research Project in association with the
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), the Buddhist Association of Nako, and local residents of Nako to carry out restoration works. In July 2002, the Nako Preservation Project (NPP) came to be established for conservation of the monastery and other buildings in Nako.
Nako lake Nako Lake, a small lake at elevation in the Kinnaur district, is away from the district headquarter town of
Reckong Peo. The lake is an integral part of the Nako village, which is created on the slopes of the Reo Purgyal mountain of the Srikhand range. During the evening twilight hours a very large number of birds flock the lake. There is a rock here which is believed to have the foot print of
Padmasambhava., recording his visit to the area. A shrine has been built around this foot print and there is also stucco statue of Padmasambhava above it in addition to murals. The periphery of the lake has plantations of
willow and
poplar trees. The lake has boating facilities during the summer months and
ice skating is practiced on the lake's surface which gets frozen during the winter months. ==Transport==