Ganden Monastery

Ganden was founded in 1409 by Tsongkhapa, the teacher whose reform movement became the Gelug school, and it is the oldest of the three great monasteries around Lhasa, built in a bowl on the flank of Wangbur mountain at around 4,300 metres with the Kyichu valley far below. The buildings step around the amphitheatre in white and ochre, and a kora path circles the ridge above, taking around an hour and offering views down the valley in both directions, with rock paintings, prayer flags and offering sites along it. The monastery was heavily damaged in the twentieth century and much of what stands is rebuilt.

History

Je Tsongkhapa founded Ganden in 1409, built its main temple with large statues and three-dimensional mandalas, and died here in 1419, his body entombed by his disciples in a tomb of silver and gold; the Gelug school takes its name from it, Ganden Lug, the Ganden tradition, and its head is still the Ganden Tripa, the holder of Ganden's throne. The monastery's colleges were later joined into two, Jangtsey and Shartsey, teaching by memorisation, logic and debate; at its height it could support more than 5,000 monks, and after its destruction in the 20th century rebuilding has continued since the 1980s (Wikipedia, Ganden Monastery).

What you'll find

• The amphitheatre setting - buildings ringing a bowl high above the valley.
• The high kora - the ridge circuit with views along the Kyichu.
• Tsongkhapa's reliquary - the founder's memorial chapel.
• The assembly halls - rebuilt temples with statues and murals.

When to go

April to October for accessible roads and walking; winter is very cold at 4,300 metres and the kora exposed. Morning light is best down the valley. Festival days bring large pilgrim numbers.

Things to know

A permit and guide are required for foreign visitors. The altitude makes the kora harder than its length suggests. Much of the complex is post-1980s reconstruction.

Nearby

Lhasa lies west; Samye is south across the Tsangpo.

Key facts