10 Incredible Buddhist Monasteries  To Visit

16 AUG, 2023

Adhya Moona

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Hanging Monastery in China is one of the most surreal sights in the country. The monastery is 75 metres above the ground.

hanging monastery, china

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Taktsang Dzong monastery or Tiger's Nest monastery is situated on the edge of a 900-metre cliff and has been symbolic to Bhutan. 

taktsang dzong, butan

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Taung Kalat is built atop an extinct volcano and is truly a breathtaking site in Myanmar. To reach the monastery, visitors have to climb 777 steps. 

taung kalat, mynamar

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Punakha Dzong stands on an island between the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers. A post-card picture-perfect view, must visit this Dzong when in Bhutan.

punakha dzong, bhutan

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Thikse Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Yellow Hat sect and resembles the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It is located in the Indus Valley region of India.

thikse monastery, india 

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The Lama Temple is located in Beijing, and is one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. It was built by Chinese emperors who were inclined towards the Tibetan version of Buddhism.

lama temple, china

Photo: UNSPLASH/VIVEK KUMAR

Key Gompa is a thousand-year-old Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on top of a hill in Spiti Valley. Kibar is a village that is below the monastery and is supposed to be the highest village in India.

key gompa, india

Ganden Monastery is one of the 'great three' university monasteries of Tibet. It is located on top of Wangbur mountain at an altitude of 4,300 metres.

ganden monastery, china

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

The Erdene Zuu monastery is the most ancient surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. It was built in 1585 by Abtai Sain Khan.

erdene zuu monastery, mongolia

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According to legend, Yumbulagang was the first ever construction in Tibet and acted as a palace of the first Tibetan king. Under the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama, it became a monastery.

yumbulagang, china