Rumtek monastery in Sikkim was founded by Wangchuk Dorje, 9th Karmapa Lama in the 16th century. Originally called the Dharma Chakra Centre, it includes a beautiful shrine temple and a monastery for the monks. The architectural design of the monastery is very similar to Kagyu headquarters, one of the schools for Tibet Buddhism. Interiors are covered with murals, frescos, traditional Tibetan architecture, sculptures, and paintings.
A Buddhism college, Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies is situated opposite to the monastery, where monks, pilgrims and visitors perform kora (one of the circuits round a monastery).