Gue Monastery in Spiti Valley: A Complete Travel Guide 2025

While traveling from Nako Village towards Tabo Village, there is a diversion ahead of Sumdo, with a road sign that will take you to Gue Monastery in Spiti. Here, you will find the famous 500-year-old Gue Village Mummy in Spiti Valley. It is believed that Sangha Tenzin, a Buddhist monk started his mummification process while he was still alive to protect the village from a deadly infestation of scorpions. It is believed that once the mummification of the monk was complete and his spirit left his body, a rainbow appeared and all the scorpions were gone.

To witness this fascinating mummification process you will need to first reach Spiti Valley and you can plan your Spiti Trip Packages here.

The mummified body of the monk was found after an earthquake in 1975 opened an old tomb but it was excavated much later in 2004.

The mummification here is quite different from those mummies of Egypt. It is said to be the result of a natural self-mummification process called Sokushinbutsu, which strips the body away from its fats and fluids. It is attributed to Buddhist monks in Japan’s Yamagata. This entire process could take up to ten years.

The monks go into slow starvation with a diet consisting of poisonous nuts, roots, herbs, and tree sap. Seated in a meditating posture, the monks die without any moisture in the body, but having all essentials preserved.

The mummy of Sangha Tenzin is seated in a temple in a glass box inside a small room next to the Gue Monastery Spiti Valley, with his mouth open, his teeth and hair intact, and hollow eyes. It is believed that monks who were successful in the self-mummification process were given the honor and status of the Living Buddha.

Only 30 such mummies have been found till date and most of them are found in Japan.

Suggested Read: Sakya Tangyud Monastery