Mekhyim Monastery (me khyim, lit. “Fire House”) sits atop a ridge high above the Tarap (rta rab) Valley in Lower Dolpo, at an altitude of nearly 4,300 meters. Its strategic position affords wide views over the valley in both directions. The complex consists of a main temple, surrounded by several stūpas and two nearby hermitages (mtshams khang). While some of the stūpas and hermitages are partially in ruins, the main temple remains in relatively good condition; a new tin roof has been added in recent years to protect the structure from increasing rainfall. The monastery is managed by an association and is closely connected, in religious terms, to the nearby Ghagar Monastery (gad dkar).
The site houses a collection of 51 manuscripts and three printed volumes, all containing canonical texts. According to preliminary observations, the core of the collection consists of a 30-volume Sūtra collection and a 14-volume set of the Śatasāhasrikā-Prajñāpāramitā (‘bum), both of which are complete. These manuscripts are also the oldest in the collection, and are tentatively dated to the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries. In addition, several individual works (brgyad stong pa, mdo bskal bzang) and smaller textual collections (tog gzungs) were added at later stages. The three printed volumes comprise the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-Prajñāpāramitā (nyi khri). All manuscript volumes have now been fully digitized and will be made accessible through the rKTs archive.
Due to time constraints, this year’s documentation had to be scheduled slightly earlier than usual, requiring work during the final phase of Dolpo’s winter in April. Although this posed considerable challenges for both equipment and personnel, it also offered strikingly picturesque impressions of the wintry Tarap Valley.