THE MONASTERY —
Chumur Monastery is situated on the northern border of India, not far from the Tibetan border. Located at 15,500 feet, Chumur lies in an extremely remote area, surrounded by the snowy Himalaya and Karakoram ranges.
The monastery, built around a cave used for meditation by the previous Chhoje Rinpoche, was founded to support the local people in their practice and study of Buddhism. It consists of a main shrine room, lama’s quarters, and monks’ sleeping quarters, all of which are in poor condition.
Several stupas surround the main shrine room area, and the monastery houses a large prayer wheel containing over 100,000,000 compassionate mantras. The shrine room holds a remarkable collection of precious texts, relics, statues, and thangka paintings.