Ralung monastery is originally the seat for the Drukpa Kagyu order in Tibetan Buddhism that locates near the south of Karo la Pass (also known as Karo la Glacier). The monastery was founded in the year 1180 by a man called Tsangpa Gyare who is the first Gyalwang Drukpa (disciple of Drogon Phakmodrupa who is the founder of the Drukpa Kagyu order). Historically, it remains one of the most sacred and active places for all the Drukpa followers or red-hat monks by schooling numerous adherents.
Another Drukpa Kagyu monastery was later built in Bhutan by a man called Ngawang Namgyal, who was the 18th Abbot of the Ralung monastery where in 1616 he fled to Tibet when his recognition as the reincarnation of renowned scholar Pema Karpo. Ngawang Namgyal proved to be a worthy incarnation of Pema Karpo, as he is able to unify people and formed a national identity as a dual system of government that still remains a Drukpa dual system of government called The Royal Government of Bhutan.
In the present time, Ralung monastery became a less popular site in the tourism industry but it still remains the sole center for the Drukpa Kagyu followers, the present monastery was 5km away from the main road near Norjin Khangsar glacier and one small village of some houses also called as Ralung village taken the name after the monastery.
There are two ways to get there, one from the main road after the glacier and another from the village; however the local peoples have a strong faith in the monastery. There are some Drukpa Kagyu order monasteries in India and Bhutan as well.