Gangtey Monastery

Gangtey Goenpa, also written Gangteng, was founded in 1613 by Gyalse Pema Thinley, grandson of the saint Pema Lingpa, on a forested spur of the Black Mountains overlooking the Phobjikha Valley. It is the main seat of the Pema Lingpa tradition of the Nyingma school of Buddhism, and one of the largest monasteries in western Bhutan. From its courtyard the whole glacial valley lies open below.

The monastery was taken apart and rebuilt over roughly a decade from 2002 after beetle infestation and age had weakened its timbers, so the structure standing now is old in design and largely new in fabric. Around 200 monks study here. Its Tsechu falls in the autumn. The valley below is where the black-necked cranes winter, and the monks' calendar and the birds' arrival are tied together in local practice: see Phobjikha Valley for the wintering grounds themselves.