Ging Monastery, Darjeeling

Ging Gompa, also called Sangchen Thongdrol Ling, is a Buddhist monastery at Ging, about 10 km from Darjeeling, West Bengal. It is one of the oldest in Darjeeling, follows the Nyingmapa tradition and, for historical reasons, remains under the administration of the Government of Sikkim. It houses an image of Gyalwa Lhatsün Namkha Jikmé, the patron saint of Denjong.

Lamas from Pemayangtse built or rebuilt it in 1818 below Observatory Hill, an earlier monastery having been destroyed around 1788 when Gurkha troops invaded. The British laid the foundation of St. Andrew's Church just above it in 1843 and are believed to have found the sound of its morning and evening rituals annoying. Around 1879 the monastery moved to Ging, with the old site becoming Victoria Pleasance Park, now Gorkha Rang Manch Bhavan; some sources say the new monastery was finished only in 1898.