Ralang Monastery, in South Sikkim, is one of the more significant Kagyu school monasteries in the state, its annual Pang Lhabsol festival featuring masked cham dances that draw considerable local and visitor attention. The monastery complex, set amid forested hills, includes both an older and a newer structure, the latter built to accommodate the growing size of the resident monastic community.
Ralang's active religious life and periodic festival celebrations give visitors a chance to experience genuine, ongoing monastic practice, distinct from monasteries that function primarily as historical sites, and its South Sikkim location makes it a natural addition to a wider Namchi-Ravangla circuit.
Ralang Monastery has long been an important centre for the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Sikkim, its Pang Lhabsol festival continuing a tradition of masked ritual dance performance that draws significant community participation each year.
October to March, and April to June; Pang Lhabsol (typically September) is a significant festival period.
About 65km from Gangtok, near Ravangla, roughly 3 hours by road.
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