Enchey Monastery

Enchey Monastery is a Buddhist monastery located about 3 km northeast of Gangtok in Sikkim, belonging to the Nyingma order of Vajrayana Buddhism. Built in 1909 on a site blessed by Lama Druptob Karpo, it is perched on a hilltop with views of Gangtok town and the surrounding Himalayan range. Notable for its Chinese pagoda-style architecture, sacred images and annual masked dance festival, it is an important religious centre housing around 90 monks.

Visitors can expect a hilltop monastery complex with colourful prayer halls, murals, statues of Guru Padmasambhava, Buddha and Lokeshvara, prayer wheels and fluttering prayer flags. The setting offers panoramic views of Gangtok and on clear days the Kanchenjunga range. Inside, visitors can observe monks in prayer, butter lamps and thangkas. The atmosphere is quiet and devotional, with courtyards and steps leading to the main shrine.

The present monastery was built in 1909 during the reign of Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal, Chogyal of Sikkim, on a site blessed by the tantric master Lama Druptob Karpo who is believed to have established a hermitage here. It belongs to the Nyingma order of Vajrayana Buddhism and was constructed in Chinese pagoda style after the original hermitage.

An important centre of the Nyingma order, the monastery enshrines images of Guru Padmasambhava, Buddha and Lokeshvara and houses about 90 monks. It is renowned for its annual Detor Cham (Chaam) masked dance performed on the 18th and 19th days of the 12th month of the Tibetan calendar, depicting religious themes and Tantric rituals.