Ganden Monastery

The mother monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, founded in 1409 by Tsongkhapa atop Wangbur Mountain 47 km east of Lhasa, offering sweeping plateau views and an important kora trail.

Ganden Monastery was founded in 1409 by Je Tsongkhapa, the reformist monk who established the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism — the school to which the Dalai Lamas belong. Along with Sera and Drepung monasteries in Lhasa, Ganden formed one of the 'Three Seats' of Gelug learning, each capable of housing several thousand monks at the school's height. Ganden was the most prestigious of the three, as Tsongkhapa himself was buried here and his tomb became the most sacred site in Gelug tradition after the Jokhang Temple.

The monastery sits at 4,300 m atop Wangbur Mountain, reached by a winding road from the valley floor. The drive up gives progressively more dramatic views of the Kyichu River valley stretching back towards Lhasa. At the top, the monastery appears unexpectedly large — a complex of rebuilt temples, monks' residences, and ritual spaces spread across the mountain top.

The kora around Ganden is one of the finest short pilgrimage walks in Tibet, taking 2–3 hours and circumambulating the entire monastery complex along a marked path with prayer flags and cairns. The kora gives panoramic views in all directions across the plateau, and sections of it look down the far side of the ridge into a separate valley entirely. The walk is at altitude and wind is often strong.

Ganden was severely damaged during the Cultural Revolution, with most buildings destroyed by dynamite and artillery. Rebuilding began in the 1980s and continues; some of the most important assembly halls have been substantially restored.