The Lonely Planet map of Darjeeling is crap, makes no sense and most travellers are grumbling about it.
Having said that, it is a difficult town to navigate as steps and paths twist up and down the hillside, but every non-Indian travelists (a composite of traveller/tourist) are going around the town lost. Best to keep asking.
Unfortunately I can´t remember the Bhutia part of the name. I find myself cupping my chest as I am asking local men and women if they know the "Busty gompa". I get quite a few strange looks.
Alright, I know I said I wasn´t going to temple myself out yet, but I just had to do a pilgrimage to Bhutia Busty gompa.
Set on a breath-taking outcrop (on crystal clear days you can see Khangchendzonga, India´s highest Himalayan peak), this temple´s claim to fame is awesome! – it holds the original copy of “The Tibetan Book of the Dead”.
Unfortunately you need “special permission" to view this Buddhist classic masterpiece.
The external murals are typically fierce (shown below) and the quality of the paintings inside are top notch. Unfortunately photography is not allowed inside. Although locked on my arrival, a couple of laymen come scurrying over to open up the temple doors for me.
It used to be sited at the top of Observatory Hill, but was relocated piece by piece in the 19th century.
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