Ghoom Monastery

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India /West Bengal /Darjeeling /Darjeeling

Sight Address : Ghoom Monastery is eight kilometers far from Darjeeling, West Bengal. Edit

Detail InformationEdit

Ghoom Monastery or Ghum Monastery is the popular name of Yiga Choeling Monastery located at Ghum at an elevation of 8,000 feet, 8 km from Darjeeling in the state of West Bengal, India. The monastery follows the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. There is a 15-feet high statue of “Maitreya Buddha” (Coming Buddha) in the monastery. It contains images of Buddha’s disciples, Chenrezi and ChongapaIt was built in 1875 by Lama Sherab Gyatso and is the largest of the three monasteries in Ghum. Amongst the Buddhist texts available are the Kangyur, the Tibetan Buddhist canon, running into 108 volumes. The monks fly prayer flags in the Tibetan tradition. The Monastery belongs to the Yellow Hat sect also known as the Gelupka. One of the key Arrractions inside the monastery is the 15-foot model of the Lord Buddha which is known as The Maitreya Buddha or the Gyalwa Shampa which means the Buddha of the future or the Coming Buddha. This is one of the biggest and oldest statues of Buddha in Darjeeling area. This statue was created with clay that was all brought from Tibet. In front of the Buddha’s statue there are two huge oil lamps that keep burning all the time and all through the year. There is a charge for taking photograph inside. When I took my last picture, amount for a still picture was Rs. 10/- per photo and Rs. 50/- for a video shot. The cash needs be to be dropped into the donation box. There is a board outside that clearly talks about the charges, and a monk inside reminds you of the same. I wondered why such forced donation when some of the other monasteries in the area simply don’t allow you to take pictures inside and the rest do not even ask for money. I learned that for the last several years the monastery is going through severe financial crisis. Some of the grants that it earlier received for its operational expenses have been pending for decades. One of the only ways that the monastery today runs is by way of donations. And hence the charges.

Ghoom Monastery

HistoryEdit

Ghoom Monastery has more names such as Monastery of Sampten Choling or monastery of Yiga Choeling. This lies in the place called Ghum. It is situated at a height of 8,000 feet. They run a school where small children begin their journey of becoming monks. The school is named ‘gelug school of tibetan buddhism’. This temple houses a fifteen feet sculpture of “Maitreya Buddha” which means (arriving Buddha) in this temple. There are various portraits of the Lord Buddha’s disciples, namely Chenrezi and Chaungapaa. This temple had its foundations laid in 1875. A lama named Sheraab Gyaatso started the construction work. It is the biggest monastery in Ghum. He was a Mongolian astrologer as well as a monk.The book banks of this monastery have multiple Buddhist texts. The Kangyur can be found here which has 108 volumes. There are several occasions when the monks fly flags that have a prayer in them. It is a Tibetan ritual.
As this Monastery lay in the boundaries of Ghum town, people started addressing it as Ghoom Gompa. Ghum is a very majestic place of Darjeeling. The tall statue of Gautam Buddha rests on the entrance of the monastery. Lot of tourists take pictures of it. People can offer prayers and ring the holy bells. They can walk around the complex thanka scrolls. There are ancient drums kept within the temple. Some Buddhist manuscripts dating back to very old times can be found here.

Must SeeEdit

Popular

Visiting TimeEdit

10 am to 6 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 , Evening.

Time Required for SightseeingEdit

N.A.

Ticket Required : No Edit

Individual National Adult Rs. : N.A.

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Individual Foreigner Adult Rs. : N.A.

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Still Photo Camera Rs. : Rs. 10

Video Camera Rs. : Rs. 50

Guide Required : No Edit

Approximate cost: N.A.

Dress Code (If Any) : No Edit

Dress Require: N.A.

Restaurants NearbyAdd / Edit

The Soods Garden Retreat ; 8.5Miles, Rishi Road Kalimpong, West Bengal 734301 ; Ph/M – 03552 260 321 03552 260 322 (Fax) 097 33 123113 (Mobile) ; 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.