Monasteries of Sikkim - Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centre

The XVIth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu sect, accepted the Sikkim Government’s invitation to settle here after his flight from Tibet in 1958. While residing in the old Rumtek Monastery he began the construction of the present Dharma Chakra Centre, an exact replica of his monastery at Tsurphu in Tibet, which was completed in the 1960s.

The monastery is home to many relics of the Kagyu sect which were carried from Tibet. Besides the monastery there is the Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies and an aviary.

The monastery is famous for Tse Chu Chaam representing the eight manifestations of Guru Padma Sambhava performed every alternate year on the 10th day of the 4th month of the Tibetan calendar.

Places of interest around Gangtok town

Excursions