"The founding monastery of Bhutanese Buddhism, where the first monastic order took root in mountain forest"
Cheri Monastery/Chagri Monastery
Boegarna_Dodennang, Thimphu District, Bhutan
Perched above the Thimphu Valley at 2,850 metres, Cheri Monastery is where Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal established the first Drukpa monastic order in Bhutan in 1620. Monks still undertake three-year meditation retreats in cells and caves scattered through the surrounding forest. The hike upward through trees is part of the encounter — a slow ascent from capital city to contemplative silence.
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Quick Facts
Location
Boegarna_Dodennang, Thimphu District, Bhutan
Tradition
Site Type
Year Built
1620
Coordinates
27.5956, 89.6254
Last Updated
Mar 9, 2026
Learn More
Founded in 1620 by the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, Cheri is the birthplace of the Bhutanese monastic order and a cornerstone of the nation's spiritual identity.
Origin Story
Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal arrived in Bhutan from Tibet in 1616, carrying the authority of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage. In 1620, he chose this forested hillside above the Thimphu Valley for his first monastery, dedicating it to Shakya Gyalpo. Three years later, he established the debshung — the first formal monastic order in Bhutan — within its walls. The site was not chosen at random. Tradition holds that Guru Rinpoche and other saints had meditated in the area's caves centuries earlier, marking the ground as already receptive to sustained practice.
Key Figures
Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal
Founder of Cheri Monastery and the Bhutanese state; established the first monastic order here in 1623
Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava)
Traditionally associated with the site through earlier meditation in the area's caves
Spiritual Lineage
The monastery traces its lineage through the Drukpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, brought to Bhutan by the Zhabdrung. The earlier association with Guru Rinpoche connects the site to the broader Vajrayana Buddhist tradition across the Himalayas.
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