Yiga Choeling Monastery, Ghum — the Old Ghoom Monastery and its Maitreya statue
What it is
Yiga Choeling Monastery, popularly the Old Ghoom Monastery, is a Gelug monastery at Ghum, on the ridge south of Darjeeling. Wikipedia places it in the Yellow Hat school and singles out its statue of the Maitreya Buddha, about 4.6 m high.
Photos: Alexkom000 (CC BY 4.0) · Alexkom000 (CC BY 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
History
Sokpo Sherab Gyatso, a Mongolian monk and astrologer, set up the monastery's outer building in 1850 and was its head until 1905. Lama Domo Geshe Rinpoche, who followed him in 1909, commissioned the Maitreya statue and led the monastery until 1952. After 1959 Wikipedia says many high-ranking abbots fled Tibet and took refuge here, and Dhardo Rimpoche became head in 1961 and served until his death in 1990.
What you see
A painted, tiered hall with gilded finials, a courtyard, a row of prayer wheels and the Maitreya image inside. Dress modestly and ask before photographing people or the interior.
Getting there
Ghum is on the Hill Cart Road about 8 km from the town by Wikipedia's figure; see the quick facts for the measured road time. The Batasia Loop and the Ghum railway station lie close by on the toy train line.
Combine it with
The one-day plan takes it after Tiger Hill and the loop, and the two-day plan reaches it by train. Read things to do in Darjeeling.
Plans that include this
All 2 plans that stop here →
Nearby places
All of Darjeeling →
Nearby destinations
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Questions people ask
What is Yiga Choeling Monastery?
A Gelug, or Yellow Hat, monastery at Ghum near Darjeeling, popularly called the Old Ghoom Monastery. Wikipedia says the monk and astrologer Sokpo Sherab Gyatso, a Mongolian, set up its outer building in 1850, and that its best-known feature is a statue of the Maitreya Buddha about 4.6 m, or 15 feet, high.
Who commissioned the Maitreya statue?
Wikipedia says Lama Domo Geshe Rinpoche, who succeeded Sherab Gyatso as head of the monastery in 1909 and led it until 1952, commissioned the statue. Later heads included Dhardo Rimpoche, who became head in 1961 and died in 1990. The line of reincarnations continues, by Wikipedia's account, in a recognised Dhardo Tulku.
How far is the monastery from Darjeeling?
Wikipedia says Ghoom Monastery is about 8 km from the town; our own routed road time is in the quick facts above. It lies on the Hill Cart Road near the Batasia Loop and Ghum station. We have no verified opening hours or entry rules, so ask at the gate and dress modestly.