Ralang Monastery is a Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 monastery of the Kagyu

Kagyu

The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...

 sect of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

 in southern Sikkim

Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

, northeastern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is located six kilometres from Ravangla

Ravangla

Ravangla or Ravongla is a small tourist town situated at an elevation of 7000 ft in South Sikkim district of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is connected by state highway to other major towns in the state and lies between Pelling and Gangtok. It acts as the starting point for the trek to maenam...

.

According to legend, Ralang was built after the fourth Chogyal

Chogyal

The Chogyal were the monarchs of the former kingdoms of Sikkim and Ladakh, which were ruled by separate branches of the Namgyal family. The Chogyal, or divine ruler, was the absolute potentate of Sikkim from 1642 to 1975, when its monarchy was abrogated and its people voted to make Sikkim India's...

 came back from his pilgrimage, when the 9th Karmapa performed the Rabney (blessing). He threw grains from his residence in Tsurphu Monastery

Tsurphu Monastery

Tsurphu Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery which served as the traditional seat of the Karmapa. It is located in Gurum town of Doilungdêqên County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, 70 km from Lhasa. The monastery is about 14,000 feet above sea level...

 in Tibet and where the grains fell, eventually, became the site for the Ralang Monastery.

The monastery underwent reconstruction in 1975-1981 and in 1995, a new monastery, known as Palchen Choeling Monastic Institute was built by the 12th Gyaltsab Rinpoche, which retained its Tibetan architecture.

Ralang Monastery has an extensive collection of paintings and thangkas and is host to an annual festival, known as Pang Lhabsol when Mount Kangchenjunga

Kangchenjunga

Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...

 is worshipped usually in September and ending in early December with the Kagyed

Kagyed

Kagyed or Kagyad is a Buddhist festival held in parts of northern India, particularly Sikkim. The Kagyed dance is performed on the 28th and 29th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan Calendar which usually falls in early December....

. Chaam masked dances

Cham Dance

The cham dance , also spelled tscham or chaam, is a lively masked and costumed dance associated with some sects of Buddhism, and is part of Buddhist festivals. The dance is accompanied by music played by monks using traditional Tibetan instruments...

are also organized every year, on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Buddhist calendar (August-September) and on the 29th day of the tenth month of the Buddhist calendar (December). The Mahakala Dance takes place every year in the month of November.

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