Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Late medieval · Buddhist · India

Norbugang Chorten

Yuksom, Gyalshing district, Sikkim · 27.3704°, 88.2168°

Memorial chorten of the first Chogyal’s coronationNamgyal (Chogyal)Tibetan chorten
Sacred since
1642 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
1642 (coronation of Phuntsog Namgyal)
Namgyal (Chogyal)

History & significance

Raised at Yuksom in 1642 by Lhatsun Namkha Jigme and two fellow lamas at the moment they crowned Phuntsog Namgyal as the first Chogyal of Sikkim, this Nyingma chorten stands in Norbugang Park beside the stone coronation throne. It marks the founding of the Sikkimese monarchy and remains the focus of the site, about 42 km from Pelling.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.

The chorten is said to enclose water and earth gathered from every part of Sikkim, and a nearby stone bears what tradition holds to be the footprint of one of the lamas who performed the coronation.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Namgyal (Chogyal)