Dzongsar Institute, Chauntra: A Local’s Guide to Bir’s Great Monastic College
Updated: Oct 19
Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö Institute (DKCLI), usually just called the Dzongsar Institute, is a large Tibetan Buddhist monastic college at Chauntra, a short drive from Bir.
More than 500 monks study here on an 11-year programme. Visitors are welcome to walk the grounds quietly, but it’s a place of study first, not a sightseeing monastery.
Before you go
Where: Chauntra, on the Pathankot–Mandi highway (NH-20) near Jogindernagar, in Mandi district. It’s 5 minutes by car from Bir (15 if there's traffic).
What it is: a shedra (monastic college) in the non-sectarian Rimé tradition, open to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Who’s there: over 500 monks from more than 300 monasteries across the Himalaya.
Entry: During daytime
Address for maps: Dzongsar Institute, P.O. Chauntra, Distt. Mandi, HP 175032
From Sikkim to Chauntra: a short history
The institute takes its name from Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1893–1959), one of the great teachers of 20th-century Tibet. Its roots go back to Dzongsar Monastery in Derge, eastern Tibet, whose Khamje college was founded in 1871 and later destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
In exile, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse) refounded the college in Sikkim in 1982 with about 40 monks. In 1985 it moved to the Tibetan settlement at Bir. As numbers grew past 400, a new campus was built at Chauntra and opened in November 2004.
Khenpo Kunga Wangchuk, who had spent 23 years in prison in Tibet, led the institute through those years.
What the monks study
The core programme runs for 11 years and is taught mainly in Tibetan. For the first seven years, students study traditional Buddhist philosophy, working through two major texts or commentaries each year. Logic, grammar, monastic discipline and poetry run alongside.
The institute has also added English, computer and management courses, along with guest lectures on the global economy, Western history and philosophy.
Each year a few graduates receive the title of Khenpo, roughly equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy.
A Higher Tibetan Studies programme has opened the classroom to lay and women students too. Its first Bachelor of Arts degrees were awarded in 2021.
Beyond the classroom
The institute has run a free health clinic for monks since 2006. It also holds an annual free medical camp for villages around Chauntra, so you’ll sometimes see local families on campus.
Losar and big prayer events
Losar, the Tibetan New Year, is expected around 7 February 2027. At DKCLI it’s marked with assembly prayers and offerings rather than public festivities.
Larger gatherings depend on Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s teaching calendar, which is published by his organisation Siddhartha’s Intent.
In autumn 2026, for example, Chauntra hosted a 21-day Tara puja with teachings. The big Dzongsar Monlam Chenmo prayer festival is held at Bodh Gaya, not here.
For the wider Bir region, DKCLI complements monastery-based Losar observances at places like Sakya Dirru and Tsering Jong—adding a layer of scholastic and ritual gravity to the festival period.
How to visit respectfully
Keep to the main courtyard and temple. Classrooms and residences are private.
Visit outside debate and class hours if you can.
Ask before photographing monks, and don’t take photos during prayers.
Dress modestly, take your shoes off at the temple door, and keep your voice low.
Visit Dzongsar Institute with Moonshine Villa
Discover the peaceful surroundings and rich Buddhist heritage of Dzongsar Institute, Chauntra, during your stay at Moonshine Villa.
We know the Bir area inside out and are always happy to help our guests explore it with ease.
Most guests combine Chauntra with a morning at Sherabling’s forest campus or an afternoon in Baijnath. We can book a driver for the round trip.
the day before.
And if you’re planning a slower week of monastery visits, here’s every monastery in and around Bir in one place.
Frequently asked questions
Which is “the Chauntra monastery”?
When people say Chauntra monastery, they usually mean the Dzongsar Institute, the largest. Chauntra also has Bhumang Jampaling (Drikung Kagyu) and Zabsang Choekhor Ling (Nyingma), so check the name on your map.
Can I study at the Dzongsar Institute?
The main 11-year programme is for monks and is taught in Tibetan. Laypeople, including women, can enter through the Higher Tibetan Studies programme. Contact the institute directly for current admission criteria. If you’d like short, English-friendly courses nearby, Deer Park Institute in Bir was set up for exactly that.
Is Chauntra in Bir?
No. Chauntra is a separate town on the highway in Mandi district, near Jogindernagar. Bir is in Kangra district. Locals still think of the institute as part of the Bir area because it started in the Bir Tibetan settlement in 1985.
Is it the same institute that was in Sikkim?
Yes. The college began in Sikkim in 1982, moved to Bir in 1985 and settled at Chauntra in 2004.
Can I take photos?
Outside, in the courtyard, usually yes, but ask monks before photographing them. Inside the temple and during prayers, don’t.
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