Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centre
Distance - 24 km ( from Gangtok )
Built in - 1960
A short drive from Gangtok through the beautiful countryside one finds themselves in Rumtek Dharma Charma Chakra Centre. It was constructed by His Holiness the late 16th Gyalwa Karmapa in 1960. It is believed that the monastery is an excellent replica of the original Kagyurpa Monastery in Tsurphu , Tibet . The centre houses some of the world's most unique religious scriptures, manuscripts and religious art objects.
A fifteen minute walk downhill from Dharma Chakra Center takes one to the old Rumtek monastery which was originally built in 1730 by the ninth Karmapa but was destroyed by fire and had to be reconstructed to the present state. His Holiness late Gyalwa Karmapa lived in this monastery till the completion of the Rumtek Dharma Chakra Center .The annual dances also called the Tse-Chu Chaams are held on the 10th day of the 5th month of the Tibetan calendar around June. Dances called the Kagyat are also held here on the 28th & 29th day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar.
Pemayangtse Monastery
Distance - 140 km ( from Gangtok )
Built in - 17th Century
Pemayangtse is situated in Pelling, West Sikkim and commands an impressive view of Mount Khangchendzonga . It was originally a small Lhakhang built by Lhatsun Chempo in the 17th Century. Later during the rule of the third Chogyal Chakdor Namgyal, Jigme Pawo, Lhatsun Chenpo's third reincarnation extended it and rebuilt the structure. It is perched at a height of 2085 mts and is the second oldest and perhaps the most important monastery in Sikkim . This monastery belongs to the Nyigma order and all other Nyigma order monasteries in Sikkim are subordinate to it.
The monastery houses numerous religious idols and other objects of worship, most of which are precious because of their antiquity. On the top floor of the monastery there is a wooden sculpture depicting the Maha Gurus Heavenly Palace "Sanghthokpalri". This master piece was completed by the late Dungzin Rimpoche, who took five years to craft it single handed.
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