Asia

[Visited: October 2009]

After visiting nearby Cheri monastery, we drove a short while to reach the other end of the road in upper Wang Chhu valley. The guide and I left the driver and car behind - as this was still the beginning of our trip, I had to get used to leaving the poor driver behind as we would be exploring the surroundings. We saw many birds on our way up - which was so easy that we reached Tango Goemba in less than twenty minutes. As we got closer, monks seemed to arrive from all directions, heading to the main entrance of the monastery. The main building loomed high above us, and I was struck by its impressive architecture. A curved building, the white walls had wooden windows sticking out of the walls, giving the building a remarkable look.
The guide and I walked clockwise around the giant prayer wheels, which were not even very difficult to set in motion. While some of the monks stayed outside, we entered the courtyard of the monastery and visited several of the temples inside its walls. The guide prayed at all temples, and we were offered holy water in several temples. You are supposed to drink a little and then wet the top of your head with the rest. We climbed to the top of the monastery, and stumbled upon a funerary ceremony. Monks were sitting cross-legged in a circle, and the relatives of the deceased were sitting in the middle. The chanting of the monks and the bowing of the relatives: it was a very serene scene. I could imagine the person who had just died, must have been feeling at peace.
We felt we were intruding on this serious scene, and went further up the building. We visited the wooden balconies with Bhutanese calligraphy on the corner poles. Furthermore, it allowed us for a good view of the courtyard below. While soaking in the quiet, relaxed and relaxing environment, my guide filled me in with the history of Tango. It was founded in the 12th century, but the groundwork of the monastery as we see it now was built in the 15th century by Lama Drukpa Kunley - better known as the Divine Madman. When Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal meditated in a cave near Tango in 1616, it was the end of the Tibetan invasion and the beginning of the Bhutanese nation.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Tango Monastery (Bhutan). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Tango Monastery.
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Tango Monastery > Bhutan > Asia

[Visited: October 2009]

Around the World in 80 Clicks

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