Editor's list · 12 entries4.6k reads
12 monasteries you can sleep in
From Ladakh down to Bylakuppe — places where the bell wakes you at 4am.
editorialupdated 20 Aug 2026
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Hemis
A Funky India editor's pick for “12 monasteries you can sleep in”.
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Thiksey
A Funky India editor's pick for “12 monasteries you can sleep in”.
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Diskit
Diskit Monastery, perched on the lip of the Shyok‑Karakoram plateau, is the only excuse to linger in Nubra beyond the basic Leh‑Leh‑Nubra bus tour. Arrive by sunrise on a dusty jeep from Leh (115 km, 3.5‑hour ride that will test your…
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Tabo
Mount Tabor Ashram, perched on a modest hill in the sleepy town of Pathanapuram, is the kind of off‑beat stop that makes you wonder why you ever bothered with the glossy flyers for Coimbatore or Ooty. Founded in 1929 by Thoma Mar…
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Key
Monkey Hill railway station is the sort of pit stop that only a seasoned rail‑enthusiast or a passenger with a spare hour will ever notice, but it sits on the infamous Bhor Ghat, the steep climb that separates Khandala’s mist‑cloaked…
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Tawang
Tawang, perched at 10,000 ft on the Trans‑Arunachal Highway, is the only place in India where the wind smells of pine‑scented yak butter and the silence feels deliberate rather than accidental; get there in late spring (April–June) when…
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Rumtek
Rumtek, perched on the forest‑clad hill of Khecheopalri just 24 km from Gangtok, is the first stop for anyone who wants a glimpse of Tibetan monastic life without the trek to Lhasa, yet it is also the epicenter of the Karma Kagyu schism…
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Pemayangtse
Pemayangtse Monastery sits on a wind‑blown ridge 6 km from Gyalshing, a stone’s throw from the tea‑plantation road that snakes past Pelling’s waterfalls and the Yuksom trek‑head. The drive from Gangtok (110 km, 3‑hour winding ascent) is a…
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Mindrolling
Mindrolling Monastery, perched 43 km east of Lhasa on the south bank of the Tsangpo, is the most disciplined entry point to Nyingma’s “Six Mother Monasteries”, but the journey there feels more like a pilgrimage than a day trip. The…
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Namdroling
Namdroling Monastery, perched on the outskirts of Bylakuppe near Mysuru, is the Nyingma world’s busiest classroom – a sprawling red‑brick complex where five‑thousand chanting monks and nuns shuffle between the Golden Stupa, the lecture…
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Bylakuppe
A Funky India editor's pick for “12 monasteries you can sleep in”.
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Ralong
A Funky India editor's pick for “12 monasteries you can sleep in”.
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