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Discover Lhasa

Ganden Monastery

甘丹寺

The first and most senior of the Gelugpa monasteries, founded by Tsongkhapa in 1409 on a high ridge above the Kyichu valley. Destroyed in the Cultural Revolution and painstakingly rebuilt, it has the most dramatic setting of the three great monasteries and a superb kora path around the ridge.

Gate ticket charged on site; Chinese sources do not give a consistent current figure, so confirm with your agency when bookingHalf a day to a full day with the koraPassport needed
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The story

What makes this place special

Ganden was founded in 1409 by Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school, and is its mother monastery; the head of the school holds the title Ganden Tripa for a seven-year term, and by 2003 there had been ninety-nine. It stands on Wangbur mountain about 40km northeast of Lhasa at roughly 4,300m, set in a natural amphitheatre of hills. Tsongkhapa's preserved body was entombed by his disciples in a gold and silver tomb in the Serdung. The monastery was completely destroyed by the People's Liberation Army during the 1959 uprising, shelled by Red Guard artillery in 1966 and then dynamited during the Cultural Revolution; most of Tsongkhapa's mummified body was burned, though his skull and some ashes were saved. Reconstruction has continued since the 1980s.

What you’ll discover

A bowl of hillside filled with rebuilt white and ochre buildings, with ruins and bare foundations still visible between them, which makes this the one great monastery where the twentieth century is physically legible. The main sights are the Serdung with Tsongkhapa's reconstructed tomb, the assembly hall and the Ngam Cho Khang where he taught. The kora runs round the ridge above the monastery for about an hour, past rock paintings, sky-burial ground and prayer flag lines, with the Kyichu valley on one side and the amphitheatre of buildings on the other.

A little local insight

Good to know before you go

  • The kora is the best walk near Lhasa and the reason experienced visitors come back. It is roughly an hour round the ridge, mostly level with one climb, and the views are better than anything inside the walls.
  • At about 4,300m this is higher than Lhasa by 650m and the kora involves sustained walking. It is a poor choice for the first days of a Tibet trip and a good one for the end.
  • Look at the ruins, not past them. The exposed foundations and shelled walls between the rebuilt halls are the most honest thing you will see at any Tibetan monastery, and guides often walk visitors straight past them.
  • The road up from the valley is a long series of switchbacks and takes well over an hour from Lhasa each way; vehicles do the climb, but anyone prone to motion sickness should take something beforehand.
  • There is a pilgrim bus from the Jokhang area in the early morning, which is cheap and is how Tibetans get here, but foreign visitors on an organised itinerary will be in their own vehicle with a guide.
  • Weather at this height changes fast and the kora is fully exposed. Take a windproof layer, sun protection and water whatever the morning in Lhasa looked like.

When to come

Morning, for light in the amphitheatre and to walk the kora before afternoon wind. May to October; the road can be snowbound in winter and the kora is bitterly exposed.

Getting around

Hard. The monastery is built up a steep hillside on rough stone lanes with steps and changes of level throughout, and the halls are entered over high sills. A vehicle reaches the main courtyard area, so a wheelchair user can get to the heart of the site and into one or two nearby buildings with help, but the complex as a whole and the kora are out of reach. A bad knee can do the courtyards but should not attempt the kora at this altitude.

Worth knowing before you go

The monastery sits above 4,300 m and the kora circuit climbs further — it is the highest of the Lhasa monastery trips, so save it for the end of your acclimatisation rather than the beginning.

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