Religious Shrines in Darjeeling

Visiting monasteries is a beautiful way of exploring and learning about the religion and cultural practices of the place. Darjeeling has a mixed population in terms of culture and religion of the people living there but since it shares close borders with countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Buddhism is followed as a religion in most of the places. You can visit the monasteries for spiritual insights and find peace.

Explore beautiful monasteries and temples and satisfy your soul with peace and harmony.

• Mahakal Mandir: It is a temple located at the top of the observatory hill. The temple is devoted to Lord Shiva, a Hindu Deity.

The unique feature of this temple is that it was established by Lama Dorjey Rinzing IN 1782. So, it has an amalgamation of both Hindu and Buddhist Religion and religions coexist harmoniously. Both the hindus and the buddhists perform their rituals simultaneously at the temple. The temple has idols of the three Hindu Triumvirate (Trimurti) as well as statues of Buddha.

• Dhirdham temple is also one of the most sought religious places at Darjeeling. It was established by Rai Saheb Purna Bahadur Pradhan from Nepal. The architecture of the temple is inspired from the popular “pashupatinath temple” in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The architecture has influences of Tibetan style. Outside the premises of the main temple there is an idol of Lord Shiva that depicts his third eye along with his five facial expressions.

• Peace Pagoda: It is buddhist stupa, a monument that symbolises peace. They are designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. They were established by the Japanese monks to promote peace after World war ii. It is a white temple-like structure that contains the four avatars of Buddha including the maitreya Buddha.

• Ghoom Monastery/ yiga choeling monastery: Established in 1850 by the Mongolian astrologer and monk Sokpo Sherab gyatso , who was head of the monastery until 1905. It has a 15-foot high Maitreya Buddha statue that captivates the surroundings with its aura. It is famous for its fancy bells, drums and thangka(a Tibetan Buddhist painting on paper or cotton) on the walls.

• Bhutia Busty Monastery: It is a branch of phodang monastery at sikkim.

The monastery has a collection of old Buddhist scripts. One of the original pieces of the "Book of Dead" is its prized possession. The monastery is built in a traditional Tibetan style. The inside of the monastery contains the statue of Buddha in a glass and pictures of the Dalai Lama. On the walls there are murals and original stonework that depicts the life story of Buddha.

Also Read: Adventures to try in Darjeeling.