Karma Drubdey Nunnery

In 1972, Khenchen Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche established Karma Drubdey Nunnery in Bhutan. Located east of the capital city Thimphu in the Trongsa District, it sits above the winter palace of the second king of Bhutan, Jigme Wangchuk. It is said that on the day Rinpoche founded the nunnery, many auspicious signs appeared and the people of the area rejoiced. 

The first retreat center, Drolma Choling, established in 1988, made it possible for four nuns to do a two-month retreat. In 1998, a larger retreat center, Ngon-ga Choling, was built and eight nuns went into retreat. In 2001, a third retreat center, Kunzang Ngayab Choling, was built—and so the nunnery grew. 

In 2011 Ani Yeshe, under the direction of Khenchen Rinpoche, established a shedra, Shedrub Pheljeling, a Buddhist school of higher education at Drubdey Gompa with eighteen nuns beginning their training.

Today there are about 170 nuns living, studying and practicing dharma at Karma Drubdey Nunnery. To date, thirty-four nuns have completed their shedra studies and some of them serve the nunnery as shedra teachers to the new students.

In late 2019, many cracks and holes started appearing in and around the buildings at the main nunnery making the place unsafe for the nuns to remain in this location. In 2020, the local people offered land to build a new nunnery in a safer environment. The construction started in 2023 and is ongoing. Read more about their relocation project.