Gangtey Goempa, Bhutan - Gangtey Monastery
Hovering on a small hill that rises from the vale floor, the Gangtey Monastery is the only Nyingmapa monastery on the western side of the Black Mountain’s and also the biggest Nyingmapa monastery in Bhutan. The Monastery is bounded by a large village inhabited chiefly by the families of the 140 Gomchens who take care of the Monastery. Gangtey was founded by Pema Trinley, the grandson of Pema Lingpa, the famed Nyingmapa saint of Bhutan. In 1613, Pema Trinley recognized the monastery and became the first Gangtey Tulku. The spiritual traditions of Pema Lingpa still taught there. The second Tulku, Tenzin Legpa Dondrup (1645 to 1726), improved the size of Gangtey while keeping up good relations with Drukpas, and rebuilt the monastery in the type of a Dzong.
