Rato Monastery, or Rato Dratsang, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery at Mundgod in Karnataka state, India. This Monastery or monastic university follows the Gelug or “Yellow Hat” tradition. Rato Monastery was a major Monastery in Tibet and was reestablished at Mundgod, a Tibetan Settlement in Karnataka after the Tibetan uprising in 1959.

Tibetan monks in Rato Monastery are seen outside the Mundgod Tibetan temple in Karnataka, India.

This Gompa (Gompa is the Tibetan word for Monastery) was established in the 14th century on the outskirts of Lhasa in Tibet. The fifth Dalai Lama called Rato Monastery the “Tiger Nest”. This Monastery had 500 monks studying in Tibet in 1959. Rato Monastery alias Rato Dratsan, was re-established at Mundgod in 1983 as part of Drepung Loseling Monastery. (Drepung Loseling monastery is another Buddhist monastery re-established at Mundgod after the Tibetan uprising in 1959.)

In the late ’80s, this monastery became an independent or monastic university. Tenzin Gyatso, the current and the 14th Dalai Lama, appointed Geshe Thupten Lhundup (Nicholas Vreeland), as the abbot (head of the monastery) in 2012. (That was the first instance of any foreigner being appointed as the abbot of any Tibetan monastery.) This Monastery’s abbot is addressed as Khen Rinpoche. Khen means abbot and rinpoche is used to address lamas and abbots.

How Do I Go To Rato Monastery alias Mundgod Tibetan Monastery?

This Tibetan Monastery is at Mundgod in Uttara Kannada district, on your way to Hubli from Sirsi. Mundgod town is at a distance of 132 kilometers from Karwar, the district headquarters.

Nearby Tourist Places to Mundgod

Attiveri Bird Sanctuary is a nearby tourist place around 15 kilometers from Mundgod town. Bachanaki Dam is around six kilometers from Mundgod town on your way to Attiveri Bird Sanctuary. There is a Chalukyan temple at the nearby Bedsgav Village.