On all our trips to Bhutan, where we had the opportunity to explore some of the most beautiful Buddhist monasteries and including some Buddhist monasteries in India that foster Tibetan Buddhism, we were never allowed to take photographs inside the temple.

The sanctums of these temples are revered spaces where monks pray at stipulated hours and in most places (such as the Taktsang of Tiger’s Nest in Bhutan) we were not even allowed to carry our cameras inside. All our valuables including mobile phones, which could be used to take photographs were deposited at a counter outside the temple.

For that reason alone, the Dorzong Monastic Institute holds a special place in our hearts!

For the first time we were able to capture the incredible beauty, the delightful colours and the grandeur (despite the relative simplicity) of a Buddhist temple from inside (even though we shot a lot of photos outside as well)… To add to our photography delight was the beautiful weather outside that lit up the interior of the temple to near-perfection, the brightness reflecting off the sparkling clean floor, that we didn’t have to use a single filter or even edit the photographs later!

Undoubtedly then the Dorzong Monastic Institute located in a small town called Gopalpur, in the Kangra valley, on route from Palampur to Dharamsala is a visual treat that we hope you will enjoy!