Tango Monastery

Tango was founded in the thirteenth century and rebuilt in its present form in 1688 by the fourth Desi, and it functions as the country's principal Buddhist university, where young monks complete a nine-year course of study; the Je Khenpo and senior figures have trained here. The building is unusual in shape, curved and built against the rock with a distinctive rounded facade and a golden roof, and it is approached by a path that climbs for about an hour through blue pine and rhododendron from the road head, past prayer wheels and a meditation cave associated with Drukpa Kunley. Because it is a working institution, access to the interior is partial and depends on the day. The forest walk up is much of the value of the visit.

History

Tradition holds that Guru Rinpoche identified the place in the 8th century with Hayagriva, the horse-headed deity, and the name Tango means horse head. In 1222 Phajo Drugom Zhigpo saw the cliff in the form of Hayagriva and founded a meditation hermitage here, Tango Choeying Dzong; in 1616 the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal meditated in its cave, and in 1688 Tenzin Rabgye, the fourth temporal ruler, built the monastery in its present form (Wikipedia, Tango Monastery).

Highlights

• The curved facade - the monastery built against the rock face.
• The forest climb - an hour's path through pine and rhododendron.
• Monastic study - young monks in a working university.
• Meditation caves - retreat hollows on the hillside above.

When to go

March to May and September to November. Rhododendrons flower on the path in April. The climb is hot in the middle of the day, so morning is better. Monsoon makes the path muddy and leech-prone.

Practical notes

The climb is an hour uphill and steeper than the distance suggests. Interior access varies and much of the monastery is closed to visitors as a working institution. Photography inside is not permitted. There are no facilities on the walk.

Nearby

Cheri Monastery is on the opposite slope; Thimphu lies south.

Key facts