According to the Melodious Tambura of Delight: Guide to the Maratika Cave, the Ultimate place of Immortality by Kyabje Chatral Rinpoche:

When you see this great place, you can’t help but be amazed
The mere hearing of its name spreads the seed of liberation.
The mere remembrance of it removes the danger of an early death
And by bowing, circumambulating and offering,
An ocean of merit is perfected and accumulated.

According to Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Maratika is one of the six most sacred places in the world, along with Bodhgaya in India, the Five Peaks of Manjushri and the Potala in Tibet. The two remaining places have not yet been “opened”: Uddiyana and Shambhala.

Beyond this, for us in the Dzogchen community, Maratika  is a supreme pilgrimage site because it was here that in April 1984 our Master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu revealed The Long Life Practice of the Immortal Dakini Mandarava, the Sphere of the Vital Essence of the Vajra.

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu at Maratika. Photo by Carlo D’Angelo

Precisely last April, was the 40th anniversary of this revelatory event. To mark this auspicious anniversary, two institutions founded by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, the Shang Shung Institute UK and the Museo di Arte e Cultura Orientale (MACO), organised what was a  successful and harmonious tour in Nepal, including several days practicing in the caves of Maratika, attended by forty-three people from all over the world.   

According to Will Shea who participated in the April 2024 Tour:

“When we finally entered the Maratika Eight Heruka cavern, all the previous sites visited were forgotten… the powerful energy of the place is incomparable”. 

You can read the article his article about the trip HERE.

Following up on the requests of several people who either hadn’t heard about the last trip or who couldn’t attend it or some of those who, given their liking, wanted to go again, we decided to offer the trip again. We made several changes to improve the schedule of activities and we extended the  duration of the practice in the Maratika caves.

The tour will take place from February 25th to March 12th 2025, thus allowing people to participate in the joyful celebrations of the Tibetan New Year, which this year will take place on 28 February. 

From the 1st of March (departure from Kathmandu) until the 9th of March, it will be possible to join in an intensive long life practice retreat in the sacred Maratika Caves. 

There will be Yantra Yoga and Vajra Dance sessions.

Vajra Dance teacher Kyu will kindly bring a Vajra Dance mandala from Japan, giving us the unique opportunity to dance the V.D. for the first time in such an auspicious place. 

Last year we were only able to dance the 12 A’s in the cave on the the full moon day, and it was still a wonderful experience.

 Besides practising mainly at the Heruka Cave, where Chögyal Namkhai Norbu led the Amitayus Long Life Retreat in 1984, we will be visiting other auspicious caves, each with a specific function, some on the nearby Vajrapani and Manjushri Hills, others further away such as the powerful Naga Cave and the Secret Mandarava Cave.

We will also hoist lungta flags for the New Year at the Mandarava Cave.

For those who wish to learn more about aspects of the practices, two qualified SMS teachers, Oliver Leick  and Che Goh, are willing to give some  explanations. Oliver Leick  will also tell us more about the Changchub Dorje stupas project, as he has offered to coordinate fundraising efforts for bringing a Changchub Dorje stupa to Maratika in 2026. 

Happy international participants from France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Turkey outside the cave where we will practice every day.

Personally, this will be my fifth visit to Maratika, and each time it’s a new, wonderful, unpredictable experience. From the adventurous, myth like first time in 1980, when its whereabouts were unknown even to the Tibetans, we reached the sacred caves, inhabited by colonies of bats, after more than a week’s trek led by a Sherpa, with recurrent sightings of wild peacocks. The main Long Life cave, was guarded by a giant white and brown snake, who once eyed us from a rock while Giacomella, Maria Simmons and I were practising inside. That time, we managed to pass through all four gates, which purify negative karma, squeezing through narrow stalactites and stalagmites. Before leaving, I was told that when leaving Maratika it was customary to make two wishes, the first being to  return there, the second being optional. I wished to return with my Master. Finally, after four years, in 1984, Rinpoche decided that it was the right time for him to come to Nepal.

That second time in Maratika with my Master was an ineffable experience, witnessing the unfathomable unfolding process of the revelation of his mind terma.

Then in 2014, after thirty years I was back in Maratika, noting the transformation the place had gone through, from a tiny lost, remote Nepali village to a renown holy place connected to the capital by a newly build road that was still in construction, forcing travellers to change jeep and cross the bridge on foot over the fast flowing Himalayan  rivers, the Dudkoshi and the Sunkoshi, catching each time another jeep on the other side. Now the road runs all the way from Khatmandu to Haleshi, the Nepali name for Maratika.

Every new time Maratika has surprised me with unexpected experiences, adventures, encounters. I hope that you will be able to join us for what promises to be a fantastic tour. 

Those interested in the tour should sign up by the end of December.

For detailed information on the tour you can click below:

https://www.shangshunguk.org/maratika2025/?external=1

Jacobella  Gaetani

Featured photo: The April 2024 Maratika group participants in the Heruka Cave.