Monastery

Ghoom Monastery

#3of 10 places to visit in DarjeelingDarjeeling, West Bengal

Also known as Yiga Choeling Monastery · Old Ghoom Monastery

Quick answer

Opening hours: 06:00 – 18:00 daily. Entry: ₹20. Allow 45 min. Best time: 07:30 – 09:00.

Updated 18 September 2026 · By Traveliac Editorial Team · 5 min read

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Photo: Bernard Gagnon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Opening hours: 06:00 – 18:00 daily
Entry fee: ₹20; Ticket from
Time needed: 45 min
Best time of day: 07:30 – 09:00
Best months: Oct – Apr
Address: Monastery Road, opposite Ghoom Post Office, Ghoom, Darjeeling district, West Bengal 734102

About Ghoom Monastery

Ghoom Monastery, formally the Yiga Choeling Monastery, was founded in 1850 at Ghoom, 8 kilometres from Darjeeling town, making it the oldest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the Darjeeling hills. The monastery is a modest single-storey structure by the standards of larger Himalayan gompas, but its interior holds a 15-foot-high seated image of Maitreya Buddha — the Buddha of the future, referred to locally as Gyalwa Shampa — gilded and set behind glass at the rear of the main prayer hall. The statue was commissioned decades after the monastery's founding, under the leadership of the Domo Geshe Rinpoche lineage, and remains the building's defining feature. Ghoom sits at roughly 2,440 metres elevation, higher than Darjeeling town itself, and the monastery's low ridge-top position gives it clear views over the surrounding tea gardens on days without cloud cover. Rows of prayer wheels line the entrance corridor, and the scent of butter lamps and juniper incense inside the hall is constant through opening hours, maintained by resident monks who continue to use the space for daily ritual rather than for tourist display alone.

Best time of day: 07:30 – 09:00. As the second or third stop on the Tiger Hill sunrise circuit, before tour groups arrive later in the morning.

Photography

₹10 camera fee

Ghoom Monastery timings

Opening hours: 06:00 – 18:00 daily
Closed on: Open every day

Ghoom Monastery ticket price

Entry fees for Ghoom Monastery
Ticket	Price
Indian visitors	₹20
Foreign visitors	₹20
Children	₹10
Camera	₹10

Accounts differ sharply on whether Ghoom Monastery charges admission at all: several sources describe free entry with a voluntary donation box, while others cite a ₹20 adult / ₹10 child ticket plus a small camera charge. As of 2026, verify at the counter — carry small notes for either a ticket or a donation.

Prices last checked 18 September 2026. Confirm on the official website before you go.

Best time to visit Ghoom Monastery

Quiet
Moderate
Busy

06:00 – 07:30
Early OpeningBest time to go
Gates open with resident monks conducting early prayers; very few visitors present, offering the quietest window to view the Maitreya Buddha statue.
Quiet
07:30 – 09:30
Sunrise-Circuit Arrivals
Shared jeeps from the Tiger Hill sunrise circuit arrive in waves; the prayer hall sees a steady but manageable flow of visitors.
Moderate
11:00 – 15:00
Midday Tour Groups
Larger day-tour coaches and taxis from Darjeeling and Siliguri arrive; the small prayer hall can feel crowded given its modest size.
Busy
15:00 – 18:00
Afternoon Wind-Down
Crowds thin substantially; resident monks resume routine duties and the courtyard is calm before the 18:00 closing.
Quiet

History of Ghoom Monastery

Sokpo Sherab Gyatso, a Mongolian astrologer and monk, founded Yiga Choeling Monastery in 1850, making it the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery established in the Darjeeling region — predating the town's development as a major hill station retreat by only a few decades. Sherab Gyatso led the monastery until 1905, building its early reputation as a centre of Gelug tradition study and astrological practice in the eastern Himalaya.

The monastery's signature Maitreya Buddha statue was commissioned under a later head of the monastery from the Domo Geshe Rinpoche lineage, a period when Ghoom's monastic community grew in stature across the region. The 1959 Chinese occupation of Tibet sent a wave of monks fleeing across the Himalaya into India, and a number of senior Tibetan Buddhist monks took refuge at Ghoom Monastery during this period, reinforcing its role as a continuing seat of Gelug practice rather than a historical relic. The monastery today functions alongside several newer monasteries in the immediate area — Samten Choeling, Sakya Choeling, and Phin — that have grown up around Ghoom's original foundation.

Rules & etiquette at Ghoom Monastery

Shoes must be removed before entering the main prayer hall, and a rack near the entrance is provided for this purpose. Photography inside the hall is generally tolerated without a flash, but a monk on duty will ask visitors to step back from the inner sanctum immediately around the Maitreya Buddha statue if a service or private ritual is underway.

Modest dress is expected — shoulders and knees covered — though the monastery does not enforce this as strictly as some larger Tibetan institutions further north. Walking clockwise around the prayer hall and any chorten in the courtyard follows standard Tibetan Buddhist practice and is appreciated by resident monks, even though it is not formally required of visitors. Loud conversation inside the hall while monks are chanting or performing puja is discouraged by the caretaker on duty.

Tips for visiting Ghoom Monastery

1
Ghoom Monastery is best combined with Tiger Hill and Batasia Loop as a single pre-breakfast circuit, since all three sit within a few kilometres of each other along the Hill Cart Road corridor toward Ghoom; shared jeep drivers on the sunrise route already build in a 20–30 minute stop here. Arriving independently by taxi later in the morning avoids the convoy crowds but loses the cooler, clearer light that the early circuit benefits from.
2
Ghoom railway station, 1 kilometre away and the highest railway station in India at 2,258 metres, is worth the short walk if time allows — it sits directly on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway's joy-ride route and has its own small museum of railway memorabilia. Small stalls near the monastery entrance sell prayer flags, singing bowls, and woollens at negotiable prices; quality and pricing vary more than at Darjeeling town's main market stalls, so comparing two or three vendors before buying is worthwhile.

How to reach Ghoom Monastery

The red star is Ghoom Monastery; the numbered pins are the 9 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

Monastery Road, opposite Ghoom Post Office, Ghoom, Darjeeling district, West Bengal 734102Directions in Google Maps

From Darjeeling Chowk Bazaar
₹100–₹180
8 km · 20–30 min
Shared jeep, typically as part of the Tiger Hill sunrise circuit
From Ghoom railway station
1 km · 10–15 min walk
Free (walking distance) or ₹30–₹50 (shared auto)
From Bagdogra Airport (IXB)
₹2,200–₹2,800
90 km · 3–3.5 hours
Private taxi via Darjeeling

Nearest airport

From Bagdogra Airport (IXB)

approximately 90 km, 3–3.5 hours by road.

Nearest railway station

From Ghoom railway station

approximately 1 km, the highest railway station in India on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway at 2,258 metres elevation.

Ghoom Monastery FAQs

Is Ghoom Monastery the same as Yiga Choeling Monastery?

Yes, Ghoom Monastery and Yiga Choeling Monastery refer to the same building; Yiga Choeling is the monastery's formal name and Ghoom Monastery (or Old Ghoom Monastery) is the common local and tourist name, taken from the surrounding settlement of Ghoom.

How old is Ghoom Monastery?

It was founded in 1850 by the Mongolian monk and astrologer Sokpo Sherab Gyatso, making it the oldest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the Darjeeling region, established roughly 175 years before 2026.

What is the main thing to see inside the monastery?

The 15-foot-high gilded statue of Maitreya Buddha, known locally as Gyalwa Shampa, seated at the rear of the main prayer hall. It was commissioned under the monastery's later Domo Geshe Rinpoche leadership and remains its defining feature.

Is there an entry fee for Ghoom Monastery?

Sources conflict: some describe free entry with a voluntary donation box, others cite a small ticket of roughly ₹20 for adults and ₹10 for children plus a camera charge. Carrying small cash for either option and confirming at the door is the practical approach as of 2026.

Written by Traveliac Editorial Team (West Bengal Field & Heritage Desk); reviewed by Traveliac Standards Desk. Facts last checked 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places