Samdruptse Monastery

Samdruptse Monastery is about 7kms from Namchi town and up on Samdruptse hill. Before Char Dham, this used to be the main attraction of Namchi, it is still very popular among tourists though. Samdruptse means ‘Wish fulfilling Hill’. The locals believe that the hill is actually a dormant volcano. The Buddhists lamas have been regularly offering prayers so that the volcano does not erupt. It has stayed calm so far. There is a mammoth 45-meter statue of Sikkim’s patron saint Guru Padmasambhava set up on an elevated platform. The face is coated with gold that glitter in the sun. Walk around the platform and you can get magnificent view of the mountains and forests. The entry to the monastery is from the backside. The foundation stone here was laid by Dalai Lama on 22nd October 1997. Subsequently when the work started, it took over 3 years with many renowned architects, engineers and over 1,000 laborers who worked hard together to set up the statue and the monastery. The religious aspects of the project was supervised by His Eminence Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche who later consecrated the holy statue. The statue was finally opened to public on 18th February 2004 by the Chief Minister of Sikkim Sri Pawan Chamling who conceptualized and visualized the project. Inside Samdrupste Monastery This tall and large statue overlooks the town of Namchi and the surrounding areas. It can be seen from many different places in Sikkim and Darjeeling as well.