Aloobari Gompa - tourmet

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India /West Bengal /Darjeeling /Darjeeling

Sight Address : The Aloobari Monastery is 2 kilometres off the popular tourist circuit of Darjeeling city Edit

Detail InformationEdit

Aloobari Gomba also known as Mak Drong Gomba, along Tenzing Norgay Road, is situated 3km away from the centre of Darjeeling, is a grand monastery, in bright red and white, where one can find Tibetan and Sikkimese monks selling religious accessories and other handicrafts. It is a right place for shopping and sight seeing. Thupten Sangachoeling Gompa and Sonada Gomba is other monasteries also seen nearby, in between Aloobari Gomba and Darjeeling. Also known as the Mak Drong Gompa , the Aloobari Gompa is an attractive and typical Tibetan style Gompa on the Tenzing Norgay Road about two kilometres northeast of the Ghoom Railway Station and 7 kilometres south of the Darjeeling Railway Station at an altitude of 7000 feet above sea level. Modeled in the architecture of a typical Tibetan Buddhist Gompa, the Aloobari Gompa is 3-tiered with red pillars. The unique feature about this Gompa is that it is the only one with 2 dragons at its entrance. On its inner walls are paintings of Lord Buddha in his several postures painted in vibrant shades of red, yellow, blue, green and white. It has a gorgeous and bright painting in the centre of the ceiling in all five Buddhist colours where the chandelier is hung. The red pillars have intricate and bright coloured floral paintings on them. Just outside the Aloobari Gompa, Buddhist monks of Tibet and Sikkim sell their respective handicrafts and Buddhist spiritual artefacts. It is a good idea to shop for your home-display as well as for gifting your folks back home.

Aloobari Gompa

HistoryEdit

Aloobari Gompa architecture plan has been taken from the Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries. Aloobari Gomba, which is situated three kilometers away from the center of Darjeeling, is a monastery where you can find Tibetan and Sikkimese monks. These monks sell religious accessories and other handicrafts. If you are interested in shopping as well as sightseeing, then Aloobari Gomba is a place of choice to visit. Aloobari Gomba is known as Mak Drong Gomba and is along Tenzing Norgay Road. Thupten Sangachoeling Gompa and Sonada Gomba are other monasteries also seen nearby, in between Aloobari Gomba and Darjeeling.

Must SeeEdit

Popular

Visiting TimeEdit

8:00 am to 4:30 pm

Closed OnEdit

N.A.

Best Season to VisitEdit

Winter (December to January)
Spring (February to March)
Summer (April to June)
Autumn (September to November)

Best Time To VisitEdit

Morning , Afternoon.

Time Required for SightseeingEdit

N.A.

Ticket Required : Yes Edit

Individual National Adult Rs. : Rs. 15

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Individual Foreigner Adult Rs. : Rs. 15

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Still Photo Camera Rs. : N.A.

Video Camera Rs. : N.A.

Guide Required : No Edit

Approximate cost: N.A.

Dress Code (If Any) : No Edit

Dress Require: N.A.

Restaurants NearbyAdd / Edit

N.A. ; N.A. ; Ph/M – N.A. ; Food Serve – N.A.

How to ReachEdit

Taxi : Intra-city transport is mostly by hired taxis. The private taxis or cars are essentially of two types – small cars like Maruti Vans or Santros, and large ones like Scorpio, Tata Sumo etc. While you can always take a private taxi/car from outside the station or airport, negotiate the rates and move for Darjeeling, it is always advisable to take one from the Pre-Paid taxi counters located inside the station and the airport.

Bus : You will get buses only from the Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus located on Hill Cart Road in Siliguri. It is about 8kms from NJP station. The usual route is by Hill Cart Road and the travel duration is about 4 hours. Bus fare from Siliguri to Darjeeling Via Hill Cart Road: Rs. 50.00 per person Bus fare from Siliguri to Darjeeling Via Mongpu: Rs. 80.00 per person. The Mongpu route is taken in case the Hill Cart Road is closed. After getting down at the bus stop, you can take an auto-rickshaw, or hire a taxi to reach the destination within the city.

Train : New Jalpaiguri is the nearest major railway station. New Jalpaiguri is well connected to major Indian cities, especially Kolkata. The diesel engine hauled toy train leaves NJP station at 9am and takes about 7 hours 15 minutes to reach Darjeeling. You can also board the train from Siliguri Town Station or Siliguri Junction Station that are 5kms and 8kms away from NJP respectively. There are also toy trains available from Siliguri Junction and Darjeeling for joy rides. These are steam engine hauled toy trains. Check out Darjeeling Toy Train Services for current status and schedules.
NJP to Darjeeling (1st Class): Not operational since Sept 2010 due to track damage
NJP to Darjeeling (2nd Class): Not operational since Sept 2010 due to track damage
Darjeeling to Ghoom & back Joy Ride (First Class): Rs. 270.00 per person if booked through IRCTC website. This two hours ride includes entry fee for the DHR Museum at Ghoom.
Siliguri Junction Station to Tindharia & back Joy Ride: Rs. 496.00 per person. After getting down at the railway station, you can take an auto-rickshaw, bus or hire a taxi to reach the destination within the city.

Air : Darjeeling does not have an airstrip. The nearest airport is Bagdogra airport (IXB), near Siliguri, which is a 3-hour (approx. 90 km) drive from Darjeeling. Indian, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are the three major carriers that fly to Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati from Bagdogra. Indian Airlines (2254230; Chowrasta) (10am-5.30pm Mon-Sat). Pineridge Travels (2253912; pineridge@mail.com; Nehru Rd; h10am-5pm Mon-Sat) For domestic and international flight tickets. After getting down at the airport, you can take an auto-rickshaw, bus or hire a taxi to reach the destination within the city.

Others : Toy train are also available for this destination.

Things to CarryEdit

Carry bottle of drinking water.Sun-screen, sun glasses, tissue-rolls, roll of duct-tape, extra batteries, torchlight, water, energy-bars are ‘must-carry’ along with a First-aid kit.
•Medicines to carry when you are travelling to a new place or when you’re away from home town (which must be approved and prescribed by your physician or medical practitioner) are:
• Painkillers
• Anti-inflammatory
• Wide-spectrum antibiotic
• Anti-diarrhea
• Anti-constipation pills
• Mild sleeping pills – just in case you feel very overwhelmed by the altitude and atmosphere because of which you are unable to sleep.