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Pilgrimage Guide › Sacred Sites 28–36 › Rumtek Monastery
Rumtek Monastery near Gangtok, Sikkim, is the Dharma Chakra Centre, the great monastery built by the 16th Karmapa in the 1960s. It is one of the most important monasteries of the Karma Kagyu tradition outside Tibet.
Rumtek, about 24 km from Gangtok, Sikkim
Karma Kagyu school
Completed in 1966
Bagdogra (about 125 km from Gangtok); Pakyong
March to May, October to December
Foreign visitors need a Sikkim permit
A monastery was first built at Rumtek in the 18th century. After 1959, the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, came to Sikkim and, with the support of the Sikkim royal family, built a new monastery here. Completed in 1966, the Dharma Chakra Centre was designed after the Karmapa’s main seat at Tsurphu in Tibet.
The complex has a grand main prayer hall with fine murals and images, a Golden Stupa holding the relics of the 16th Karmapa, and the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for higher Buddhist studies. Rumtek is known for its sacred Cham dances, held before Losar (Tibetan New Year) and at other festivals.
Rumtek is a centre of the Karma Kagyu lineage and a place of strong devotion. Pilgrims can join prayers in the main hall and pay respect at the Golden Stupa of the 16th Karmapa.
Visiting Rumtek helps pilgrims from the Theravada tradition see how the Buddha’s teaching has flowered in many forms across Asia, all sharing the same roots.
Rumtek is about 24 km from Gangtok, around one hour by road. The main airport for Sikkim is Bagdogra in West Bengal, about 125 km from Gangtok (4–5 hours by road). Pakyong Airport near Gangtok has limited flights. New Jalpaiguri (NJP) is the nearest major railway station. Foreign visitors need a Restricted Area Permit to enter Sikkim; we arrange this for our groups.
March to May and October to December are the best seasons. June to September is very rainy and landslides can slow travel. Carry your passport and permit for security checks at the monastery gate. Dress modestly and remove your hat inside the prayer hall.
Prime Value Tours can include this sacred place in a private tour for your group, with an English or Thai-speaking guide, comfortable air-conditioned transport, vegetarian meals and unhurried time for chanting and meditation at every stop. Tell us your group size and travel dates, and we will plan the best route and send your quotation within 24 hours.
The present Rumtek Monastery was built by the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and completed in 1966, on the site of an older 18th-century monastery.
Rumtek Monastery is about 24 km from Gangtok, around one hour by road.
Yes. Foreign visitors need a Restricted Area Permit to enter Sikkim. Prime Value Tours arranges this for its groups.
The Golden Stupa holds the relics of the 16th Karmapa and is one of the most sacred objects at Rumtek.
The main Cham dances are held just before Losar (Tibetan New Year) and at other festivals in the Tibetan calendar.
Government-approved tour operator from Varanasi since 1999. Private Buddhist pilgrimage tours for Thai and Southeast Asian groups, with English or Thai-speaking guides.
