The Gangtey Goempa is generally known as or Gangtey Monastery or Gangtey Sanga Choeling Goemba which is an important monastery of Nyingmapa school of Buddhism. It is located on the western side of the Black Mountain’s Gangtey valley, in the Wangdue Phodrang District within the Phobjikha Valley of central Bhutan. It is perched on a small hill that rises from the valley floor at an altitude of 2800 meters.

The Monastery's history traces to the early 17th century and back to the prophecies made by the well-known Terton (treasure finder) Pema Lingpa in the late 15th century. The Monastery is one of the main seats of the religious tradition based on Pema Lingpa's revelations and one of the two main centres of the Nyingmapa school of Buddhism in the country.

Gangtey Goempa

A Nyingma monastic college or shedra, Do-ngag Tosam Rabgayling, has been established above the village. The construction of the original Lhakhang was done with full community effort. The local materials such as timber came from the nearby forest trees that were cut, shaped and used for construction of the pillars, beams and windows. Building stones were extracted from the local hills; in this context a legend is also stated that the local guardian deity, called the Delep, facilitated availability of stones by creating a landslide in the opposite hill.

A renowned artisan of the Umze of Lhalung Monastery in Tibet was specially brought from Tibet to head as the zowpon to guide the team of local craftsmen. Voluntary labor force was organized from among the devotees of the local village of Gangtey.

The monastery complex has five temples that surround the main central tower. The main hall in the monastery called the tshokhang has been built in Tibetan architectural style. The hall is built with eight very large wooden pillars, which are stated to be the largest in Bhutan.