Ganden Monastery

The Senior Of The Three Great Gelug Monasteries, Founded By Tsongkhapa In 1409; Major Historical And Cultural Site Protected At The National Level · Lhasa, Tibet

The mother monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, founded in 1409 by the reformer Tsongkhapa himself and set in a natural amphitheatre high on Wangbur Mountain, about 45 kilometres east of Lhasa. Ganden was the first of the three great Gelug monastic universities and remains the most senior: its abbot, the Ganden Tripa, is the formal head of the school, and Tsongkhapa's tomb lies in a golden reliquary in the Serdung chapel. Of the three, it suffered worst in the twentieth century, shelled and largely destroyed in the 1960s, and much of what visitors see now has been rebuilt stone by stone by monks and pilgrims since the 1980s, with ruins still standing between the restored halls. The setting is what makes it extraordinary: at around 4,300 metres, the whitewashed buildings curve around the bowl of the mountain above the Kyichu valley, and two kora paths circle the site - a high route over the ridge with enormous views and a lower one past rock paintings, prayer flags and sky-burial ground. Day trips run from Lhasa, and foreign visitors need a Tibet Travel Permit and a guide.

Ganden Monastery, Wangbur Mountain, Dagze District, Lhasa, Tibet, China

Daily about 7:00-17:00, with many chapels closing in the early afternoon (check). Foreign visitors need a Tibet Travel Permit and a guided tour.

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