Yiga Choeling Monastery of Ghoom, is one of the oldest Tibetan Monastery in India was built in 1850. It is a Must visit if one wants to know what meditation gives. You will be standing still in front ofthe 15 feet (4.6 m)-high statue of the Maitreya Buddha simply gazing at his divine face.Maitreya Buddha or the Gyalwa Shampa which means the Buddha of the future or the Coming Buddha. Ghoom monasteryas it popularly known is the place where one has no need to search for peace and silence. This place is calm and quite one can feel thesilence. This place is worth to visit if you are a traveller and like to explore more things if you don't like peace then this place is not for you.
The monastery was built by Mongolian monk LamaSokpo Sherab Gyatso in 1850. He was an astrologer also and continued to be the head of the monastery from 1850 to 1905. The monastery now belongs to the Yellow Hat sect also known as the Gelupka.
The view of Mt. Kanchenjunga from the monastery is breath-taking. Photography inside the monastery is chargeable. A small walk to the Batasia Loop from after that is always suggested.
Perched at 2,438 meters, this monastery is close to the Ghoom station which I approximately 8 kms from Darjeeling city. It is easily accessible by road within half an hour from Darjeeling. From Ghoom railway station it is a 10-12 minutes' walk.
