Durpin Hill, Kalimpong
On the lower of Kalimpong's two hills stands a monastery built as the palace of the Copper-Colored Mountain. Its story runs from 1957, through the Tibetan exile years, to the Dalai Lama's consecration in 1976.
Photo: Pranta Roy
Zang Dhok Palri
Zang Dhok Palri is the pure land of Guru Rinpoche, the glorious copper-colored mountain, and this monastery is built as his palace. Its founder named it for that mountain.
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1957 to 1976
The Nyingma master Dudjom Rinpoche founded it in 1957. In 1961 it hosted the first of his lineage transmissions for Tibetans in exile, and the Dalai Lama consecrated it in 1976.
Photo: Mosharraf Hossain / Unsplash
Inside
The monastery keeps the Kangyur, the Buddha's word in 108 volumes, carried out of Tibet over the passes. It is a working hall, not a museum: come when the monks are at prayer.
Photo: Unsplash
At prayer time
Come for the morning prayers. The hour is not published, so a guide asks the monks the evening before. Sit at the back with your coat on, turn the prayer wheels clockwise, and offer a white khata if you wish.
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1,372 m (4,500 ft)
Durpin Dara means binocular hill, for its view over the Teesta and the Sikkim snows. The army holds much of it, which keeps the road quiet; lower your camera near its gates.
Photo: Parag Shah / Pexels
Planning
Durpin is about fifteen minutes by car from a house in town, so it suits the morning you leave, before the three-hour drive to Bagdogra. If cloud spoils Deolo at dawn, Durpin after lunch also looks north to the snows.
Photo: Boudhayan Bardhan / Unsplash