Gangtey Monastery
Gangtey Monastery
4.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
155 reviews
Excellent
76
Very good
58
Average
20
Poor
1
Terrible
0
T-SGlobetrotters
Preston, UK4,136 contributions
Nov 2024 • Couples
As you approach the monastery, you enter an imposing central courtyard. The right side has been fully restored and its rich colours look impressive. The left side is currently unrestored. The main temple is built in Tibetan style and is atmospheric. This was enhanced by an all-day Buddhist ceremony taking place at the time that mixed mantras and music.
Written November 26, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter R
Dartford, UK1,371 contributions
Sep 2023 • Couples
We arrived at the Monastery mid Sunday afternoon during a Buddhist service and stood with the local people to listen to Monks playing and chanting. The monastery is beautiful with amazing wood carvings and colourfully painted buddha’s. This was our entrance to the Phobjikha valley.
Written October 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stephen M
Canberra55 contributions
Oct 2019
It may be a lengthy drive from Thimpu although all on sealed roads but this place is magical. It is like a hidden valley with the Monastery as the obvious feature. There is scenery in abundance and plenty of walking available.
Written February 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ron S
New York City, NY6,102 contributions
Sep 2023 • Couples
This is probably the most beautifully decorated monastery in Bhutan. At list of the ones I saw. We got there just in time to see the festival which was an unexpected benefit. The road to the Phobjikha Valley and Gangtey is not of the best condition but the views are great.
Written October 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Heng How N
Singapore, Singapore7,674 contributions
May 2019 • Friends
The temple which the black neck crane fly over every winter to play respect during the migration.
The temple is under renovation now, but you can see the size of it. It has a prayer hall, training room, and many. There are many young lama attending their lesson. They are also having ball game when we visit the place.
The temple is under renovation now, but you can see the size of it. It has a prayer hall, training room, and many. There are many young lama attending their lesson. They are also having ball game when we visit the place.
Written May 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fairytale Studios
India277 contributions
May 2019 • Family
The Gangtey Monastery is located on a hill ridge overlooking the vast and beautiful Phobjikha valley. There is even a trail that starts down from the valley up to the Gangtey Gompa. The monastery was built in the 17th century and is considered as the largest Nyingma monastery in Bhutan. It houses a temple in the centre surrounded by residential quarters for monks. The architecture and colours used to design the monastery are incredible. The wood carvings are wonderfully done. The Gangtey Gompa hosts a black-necked crane festival every winter when the cranes arrive in Phobjikha valley. It is believed that they circle the monastery 3 times when they arrive and leave the valley.
To know more about Gangtey Gompa and other places to visit in Phobjikha, you can read our article on Fairytale Studios (Find the link to the article in the TripAdvisor profile).
To know more about Gangtey Gompa and other places to visit in Phobjikha, you can read our article on Fairytale Studios (Find the link to the article in the TripAdvisor profile).
Written July 31, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chris D
Byron Bay, Australia11 contributions
Aug 2014 • Friends
This monastery is possibly the most important temple for Bhutanese Buddhism in the Ningma Tradition. Unfortunately most tourists are deeply ignorant of Bhutanese Buddhism and don't understand the protocol so they only see the lower main temple.
If you ask your guide to request the Lama who is responsible for showing the Gompa's upstairs then you will see some amazing old statues and some of the best art work in Bhutan. The great master Kombu has done extensive work in some of the Gompa's as well as other master painters. There are stupa's with the first and second Gangtey Tulku inside them as well as many old statues and texts. This was the main Temple for all of Bhutan at one point and thus has more secrets and treasures than almost any other place in bhutan. Just to see the Gompa is a blessing and to walk around it 3 times in a clockwise direction gives you great merit and blessings. The structure of the temple is impressive as well as there is wood calving outside to the left of the main entrance. There are also painters whom you can sometime buy small paintings from who are working on the temple. Those who are said this is "a bit bland" and "very simple and average" clearly have no idea of Buddhism and are just mindless tourist that would be better off in disney land or going to Tigers Nest in Paro riding on a donkey. This is my favourite place in Bhutan and I have traveled there many times in the past 10 years. For me this says everything. Gangtey also happens to be one of the main higher learning centres of Buddhism in Bhutan. Monks come to Gangtey Shedra to study the Lopon 9 year degree and for the past 400 years great meditators have been meditating in the hills behind Gangtey. It is a truly blessed place.
If you ask your guide to request the Lama who is responsible for showing the Gompa's upstairs then you will see some amazing old statues and some of the best art work in Bhutan. The great master Kombu has done extensive work in some of the Gompa's as well as other master painters. There are stupa's with the first and second Gangtey Tulku inside them as well as many old statues and texts. This was the main Temple for all of Bhutan at one point and thus has more secrets and treasures than almost any other place in bhutan. Just to see the Gompa is a blessing and to walk around it 3 times in a clockwise direction gives you great merit and blessings. The structure of the temple is impressive as well as there is wood calving outside to the left of the main entrance. There are also painters whom you can sometime buy small paintings from who are working on the temple. Those who are said this is "a bit bland" and "very simple and average" clearly have no idea of Buddhism and are just mindless tourist that would be better off in disney land or going to Tigers Nest in Paro riding on a donkey. This is my favourite place in Bhutan and I have traveled there many times in the past 10 years. For me this says everything. Gangtey also happens to be one of the main higher learning centres of Buddhism in Bhutan. Monks come to Gangtey Shedra to study the Lopon 9 year degree and for the past 400 years great meditators have been meditating in the hills behind Gangtey. It is a truly blessed place.
Written September 27, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ananthamayil N
Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India66 contributions
Dec 2013 • Family
We visited this place by Winter. It was too cold and you can see snow everywhere. We just stayed in a guest house near this monastery. Even in winter, I saw monks waking up early morning and performing their poojas. I really loved their dedication. This monatery needs bit of repair works. You can see lot of ravens (Bhutan's national bird) here. Moreover you can see Cypress trees (Bhutan's national tree) around the monastery. Try not visiting this place in Winter.
Written January 5, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeanny8
The Netherlands1,540 contributions
Nov 2012 • Friends
Being at Gangtey monastery( or sometimes they call the monastery Gangteng Gompa after Gangteng Tulku Rinpoche 9th reincarnation of Pema Lingpa) during the Techu (mask dance) is wonderful (mostly at the end of September or beginning October) and see how they prepared for the different Buddhist dances, inspired by Buddhist text.
The Monastery's history traces to the early 17th century and back to the prophecies made by the well-known Terton (treasure finder) Pema Lingpa in the late 15th century.
The Monastery is one of the main seats of the religious tradition based on Pema Lingpa's revelations and one of the 2 main centres of the Nyingmapa school of Buddhism in the country. Very important and special are in winter times (November) in the Phobjika Valley the migration of the black crane visitors.
The Monastery's history traces to the early 17th century and back to the prophecies made by the well-known Terton (treasure finder) Pema Lingpa in the late 15th century.
The Monastery is one of the main seats of the religious tradition based on Pema Lingpa's revelations and one of the 2 main centres of the Nyingmapa school of Buddhism in the country. Very important and special are in winter times (November) in the Phobjika Valley the migration of the black crane visitors.
Written October 26, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dee255
Utrecht, The Netherlands166 contributions
Jan 2020
Monastery is currently under renovation but you can visit the temples inside. Beautiful architecture. One of the temple inside contained piles of old scriptures.
Written January 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Are there any shopping streets or markets or other attractions other than Gangtey Monastery in the Gangtey region?
Written November 6, 2018
It is an ancient monastery sitting above an important bird sanctuary. It is a simple place where the most exciting thing to do is to sit in a stone bath. Bring your binoculars and forget about shopping. Thimphu and Paro have shopping enough to satisfy a shopping urge.
Written November 7, 2018
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