Rumtek Monastery

No trip to Gangtok is complete without the visit to Rumtek Monastery. One of the sacred pilgrimage center for Buddhists, Rumtek is the richest buddhist monastic center in india and the largest monastery in Sikkim. Also known as Dharma Chakra Centre it is the headquarters of Kagyu (black hat) order of Tibetan Lamaistic Buddhism.

Stands 5500 feet above sea level, it is 24 km away in a picturesque environs on the lower valleys of south west Gangtok, the capital of the Sikkim.

When Chinese invaded Tibet, Rigpe Dorjee, the head of Kaguypa (one of Tibetan Buddhism's four major sects) took refuge in Sikkim.The Chogyal (ruler of Sikkim) of Sikkim gifted him some land to established a new monastery and Rigpe Dorjee chose Rumtek as his main seat in exile. Said to be a model of the Tsurphu Monastery of the Kaguypa order,in Tibet, it was originally constructed by the 9th Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje in 1740. Built in 1730, by the ninth Karmapa, it was destroyed and renovatd completely to the present state. It was here late Gyalwa Karmapa lived till the completion of the Rumtek Monastery. The old Rumtek monastery built in the reign of the fourth Chogyal,is a short distance away.

It is here, a large community of monks of the Karma Kaguypa order are being trained meditation and the study and practice of Buddhism, which have been taught and practiced for the last 800 years.

A fine example of the Tibetan monastic art, it has exquisitely carved wood work, mangnificent thangka paintings and treasures of sacred and rare objects, religious scriptures, the Golden Stupa containing the remains of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, scriptures of the Kangyur translated from Sanskrit and a Tibetan translation of an ancient Indian religious text which contains 225 volumes.

Inside the monastery complex houses a main shrine temple, a three-year retreat center, a Buddhist College called the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute, Karme Dechen Chökhor a nunnery, stupas, a protector's shrine, institutions for the lay community, residential quarters for the monks etc. 

Spread over an area of about 74 acres, the complex is surrounded by monks' quarters. The main temple is a four storey structure which encloses a spacious stone courtyard. During the festivals monks perform ritual lama dances including the very famous 'Cham Festival' (December) in this courtyard and it draws many visitors during these times.

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