Rumtek and Gangtok Monasteries: Hours, Rules, Masked Dances

The short answer

Enchey Monastery, in Gangtok, is open 6 am to 4 pm every day with no ticket; Rumtek, 22 km away, is Sikkim’s largest monastery and takes half a day.

• Dress for a working temple: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off where asked, and photos only where they are allowed.
• For the Golden Stupa, the Institute and the library, which a regular visit does not reach, take the shared Rumtek visit with a Rumtek-based guide.
• For Rumtek, Old Rumtek, Lingdum and Enchey in one day, take the private monastery day.
• Masked dances follow the Tibetan calendar: Rumtek’s Gutor Cham falls two days before Losar, in February or March.

Trips you can book for this

Rumtek Monastery: Golden Stupa & Tara Temple Special Access and Family PrayersHalf day · from $48 per vehicleRumtek, Enchey & Lingdum Monasteries: A Day from GangtokFull day · from $32 per vehicle

Some halls close to visitors during prayers or ceremonies; when one is under way, you are welcome to watch quietly.

What are the timings at Rumtek, Enchey and the other Gangtok monasteries?

Enchey is open 6 am to 4 pm and Do Drul Chorten 8 am to 5 pm, every day and with no ticket at either, by the Gangtok district’s own tables; the district gives no hours for Rumtek.

Here is what each one asks of a visitor, from the district’s pages and the days’ listings, checked in October 2026.

• Enchey Monastery: 6 am to 4 pm, every day; no ticket. On a ridge above town, 3 km from the SNT bus station, reached by road or by a stepped path from Chandmari lined with prayer wheels.
• Do Drul Chorten: 8 am to 5 pm, every day; no ticket. A stupa in Deorali, near the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, which pilgrims walk around.
• Rumtek Monastery: 22 km from Gangtok by road, 30 minutes to an hour. There is a small ticket, and ID is checked at the gate, operators say, so carry a government photo ID, as the listings ask.
• Tsuglakhang: 10 am to 4 pm. The royal chapel in town; the district notes that it belongs to the royal family and is not part of the usual sightseeing.

Entry is included on both days listed here: the private monastery day includes monument and temple entry, and the shared Rumtek visit includes its entry fees too.

When can you hear the monks chanting?

Most surely on the shared Rumtek visit, where monks at the Tara Temple chant mantras for you and your family as part of the booking.

Daily prayers in the main halls follow each monastery’s own timetable, which no official page publishes, so ask at the monastery on the day.

These are working monasteries, not museums. If prayers are under way when you arrive, stand quietly at the side and watch; some halls may close to visitors while they last.

The shared Rumtek visit also includes lighting a butter lamp at the Tara Temple, with prayers in your name and for your family.

A trip you can book

Gangtok, SikkimRumtek Monastery: Golden Stupa & Tara Temple Special Access and Family PrayersRumtek MonasteryNext available: Tue 10 NovHalf dayPickup point: Any hotel in Gangtok CityFull refund up to 24 hours beforefrom $48per vehicleSee the trip →

What should you wear, and can you take photos inside?

Cover shoulders and knees, take your shoes off where asked, and photograph only where it is allowed; the Golden Stupa at Rumtek must never be photographed or touched.

Photos are not allowed inside Rumtek’s main prayer hall, operators say. Elsewhere, rules differ from hall to hall: follow any signs and what monks or guides tell you, and ask before photographing a person.

Walk around stupas and rows of prayer wheels clockwise, keeping them on your right, as Buddhists do, and turn the wheels the same way.

Speak softly in the halls, keep children close, and leave statues and offerings untouched; some sacred areas do not allow touching at all.

Carry small notes if you would like to leave an offering. The private monastery day suggests a little cash for donations.

When are the masked dances (Cham) at Rumtek and Enchey?

On dates set by the Tibetan lunar calendar, so they move each year: Rumtek’s Gutor Cham comes two days before Losar, the Tibetan New Year, in February or March.

• Rumtek: Gutor Cham, two days before Losar (February or March), and masked dances for the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, on the tenth day of the fifth Tibetan month.
• Enchey: Detor Cham on the 18th and 19th days of the twelfth Tibetan month, and Singhe Cham once every three years. The district also lists masked dances here for Losoong, at the end of the tenth Tibetan month, usually in December.
• Old Rumtek: the Kagyed dance, on the 28th and 29th days of the tenth Tibetan month, which falls in December.

Because the dates follow the lunar calendar, they move from year to year: check the year’s date locally before you plan around one.

Which monastery should you pick for half a day or a full day?

For half a day, Rumtek on the shared visit, or Enchey on its own in town; for most of a day, the private trip to Rumtek, Old Rumtek, Lingdum and Enchey.

The shared Rumtek visit meets at the Rumtek taxi stand in Gangtok and spends about three hours inside the monastery with a Rumtek-based guide, who speaks English, Hindi and Nepali.

The private monastery day visits four monasteries built across three centuries, from Old Rumtek of the mid-1700s to Lingdum, finished in 1999, and ends at Enchey. A former monk can join as your guide, as an add-on.

Enchey is the quickest to fit in: it is 3 km from the SNT bus station and opens at 6 am, so an early hour there leaves the rest of the day free.

Rumtek is not one of Gangtok’s 10 points: the Transport Department puts it in a separate full-day package with Lingdum, the Botanical Garden, Banjhakri Falls and Mankhim. Enchey is on the longer 10-point list, as the 10-point sightseeing guide explains.

A trip you can book

Gangtok, SikkimRumtek, Enchey & Lingdum Monasteries: A Day from GangtokRumtek Monastery · Old Rumtek Monastry · Lingdum Monastery +1Next available: Tue 10 NovFull dayHotel pickupFull refund up to 24 hours beforefrom $32per vehicleSee the trip →

What is there to see at Rumtek besides the main hall?

The Golden Stupa, the Institute and the library, which a regular visit does not reach, and the Nehru Botanical Garden just beyond the monastery.

Rumtek is the seat of the Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Gangtok district calls it the largest monastery in Sikkim, built as a near copy of the original at Tsurphu in Tibet, and home to rare Buddhist art.

The Golden Stupa, the Institute and the library are not open to general visitors on a regular visit. The shared Rumtek visit includes them, with its guide from Rumtek.

Just past the monastery, the Nehru Botanical Garden mixes tropical and temperate trees, with a large orchid greenhouse and a small playground for children.

Old Rumtek, the first monastery here, from the mid-1700s, is a short drive away and the second stop on the private monastery day.

What should you have ready before you go?

A government photo ID, clothes that cover shoulders and knees, shoes that slip off easily, and small cash.

Foreign nationals and OCI card holders need Sikkim’s entry permit (RAP) to be in Gangtok; Rumtek and Enchey need no extra permit. The Sikkim permits guide explains it, and other days out are on every trip from Gangtok.

Questions travellers ask