A day trip to Rumtek Monastery

Rumtek Monastery or The Dharma Chakra Centre is located in the Indian State Sikkim, near the capital Gangtok. This place is 23 km away from Gangtok at an altitude of 1500 metres (4900 ft).

The main building of the Monastery is a three-storeyed building. It houses some of the rarest Buddhist Artwork in the world in the form of wall murals and thankas.

It is also a renowned centre of Kargyu teaching.  The students are provided with well-authenticated hostels where they lodge and study.

The ground floor of the monastery consists of a large prayer hall where photo shooting isn’t allowed then surely I would have shared the glimpse of the calm and holy place of this monastery. 

Way to the prayer hall

The calm and serene atmosphere of the monastery is a total getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city life. It’s quite sure that the secret of happiness in the face of the students lies in this place only. This holy place assures that no complications touch their children. 

I stayed there for quite a long time and the air gave me a mysterious satisfaction and blew me to some other world away from the hitches of daily life. 

Behind the monastery lies the Nalanda Institute. 

Hostel of the students of the Nalanda Institute.

Gardening of the Monastery, plastic bottles recycled into pots.

As the Monastery is located at a high altitude, one can get a wide panoramic view of the Gangtok city from the top at the opposite foothill of the Rumtek Monastery. 

Gangtok city from Rumtek Monastery.

If you’re luckier enough to get clear sky then you can too have the magnificent view of the Kanchenjunga from here. 

Message from Gyalwang Karmapa

With the students of the Monastery.

a unique variety of flower in Rumtek. The Rumtek Monastery is highly guarded and requires special verification of identity proof for entry. It’s a long way uphill walk from the entry point to the monastery. As heavy vehicles are not allowed inside.  Though the way from Gangtok to Rumtek is quite hectic and bumpy at certain parts but as we all know  : “Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations” The route to Rumtek Monastery is usually covered from Gangtok including few other spots.