Yiga Choeling Monastery, Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Ghum, Darjeeling, India

Yiga Choeling Monastery, also called Old Ghoom Monastery, stands at Ghum at an altitude of 2,225 metres, 8 km south of Darjeeling. It is the largest of the three monasteries in Ghum and belongs to the Gelug school. Inside is a 4.6-metre statue of Maitreya, the future Buddha, with images of Chenrezig and Tsongkhapa, and a 108-volume Kangyur.

Sokpo Sherab Gyatso, a Mongolian astrologer and monk, built the monastery's external structure in 1850 and headed it until 1905. Kyabje Domo Geshe Rinpoche Ngawang Kalsang succeeded him in 1909 and commissioned the 4.6-metre Maitreya Buddha statue, remaining head until 1952. After the 1959 Chinese occupation of Tibet, high-ranking abbots took refuge here, and Dhardo Rimpoche led the monastery from 1961 until his death in 1990.

Visitors and local devotees come here to pray and make offerings, especially during Losar and other Buddhist festivals. The rooms display colorful prayer flags, murals, and sacred objects that reflect the spiritual life of those who gather here.

Yiga Choeling sits at Ghum, about 8 km south of Darjeeling at an altitude of 2,225 metres, so the approach climbs and sturdy shoes help. The monastery is the largest of the three at Ghum; Samten Choeling lies below the road nearby. Photography of the interior, including religious objects and artwork, carries an extra fee.

The monastery's full name, Yiga Choeling, means 'Doctrine of the Mind'; it is the largest of the three monasteries at Ghum, standing at 2,225 metres about 8 km south of Darjeeling. Its library holds the Kangyur, the Tibetan Buddhist canon, in 108 volumes.