Monasteries are Tibet’s biggest “attractions.” We have visited more of them, starting with the one situated at Barkhor square. They all have many common features, yet they are somehow different. I would like to introduce to you the following 5 amazing Buddhist monasteries in Tibet that are worth your visit.

Jokhang is a monastery you have to visit. It is located right in the heart of Lhasa, so it is literally at your doorstep. There is an interesting story explaining its origin. At the beginning, it consisted of two parts. They belonged to two wives of Songsten Gampu, the thirty-third Tibetan king. Unlike the part of the temple belonging to the Chinese wife, the one belonging to the Nepalese wife kept falling down. It was said, that her part of the monastery was situated in a bad place – place where devil had a hole in his heart. To break the curse, she had to throw inside ten thousand sheep and a pack of clay. Since she did so, the temple never fell again.

The temple itself was interesting too 😊 Inside, it was decorated with statues of Buddha and many small shrines and it smelled intensely of smoke and yak butter. Outside the temple, there are several terraces. If you are smart enough and know the way around the network of entangled corridors and stairs, you can walk half of the city on the rooftops.

After we bought the tickets (that I recommend to book in advance), we could visit Potala, the official seat of Dalai Lama. Unfortunatelly, he couldn’t be there as he was forced to live in exile somewhere in India. Despite the rainy weather, the photography ban inside the monastery and the visiting time restricted to one hour only, Potala was worth the visit.

The narrow corridors, the richly decorated rooms, and the golden tombs were magnificent and represented the importance of the building. A small picture of Mr. Bean on the wall was on the other hand human and funny 😊

Drepung was the third monastery we visited. It is situated a few miles from the capital. Like every Tibetan monastery, Drepung is big complex, a town inhabited by monks. In order to get inside, we had to climb several stairs. It was one of our first exercises, kind of acclimatization to the local conditions. (You can read more about acute mountain sickness in my previous blog on 4 Reasons Why to Visit Tibet.) Upon reaching its highest point, we could see not only the Monastery Hall, but could enjoy a magnificent view of whole Lhasa too, especially the „new“, Chinese part. We had the opportunity to see local “construction work” as well. On the terrace, there was a group of women repairing the roof. They sat at the edge, sang (and some of them even danced), while working. So, we ended up enriched by another cultural experience.

It was on the third day that we expererienced real Tibetan hike. We decided to visit Ganden monastery that lies 4,200 m above the sea level. We got to the monastery quite comfortably, by bus. Driving the narrow roads and sharp serpentines provided us with the right dose of adrenaline, yet grazing yaks and monks having picnick by the road charmed us by the simplicity and peacefulness of the local world.

Challenge came after we got off the bus at the monastery. We were on our own. We could choose from two options, two koras – small sacred circle or big one. We’ve picked the later one, of course 😊. We had to climb to the mountain ridge at the altitude 4,500 m. Heavily breathing with every step, we were progressing slowly and reached the top after an hour and a half. That feeling of satisfaction and view were priceless. We reached the top where only colorful prayer flags raised above our heads. We brought some too, wrote whom we are praying for and hung them next to the others. For couple minutes we enjoyed the atmosphere and feeling comparable to conquering Mt. Everest 😊. We took many photos, came across a dead yak body and set off to descent. Delicious dinner was a perfect end to the perfect day 🙂

In Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet, we visited our last monastery. It had an euphonious name – Tashi Lhunpo. We seized the opportunity to attend the evening singing, one of obligatory monastic disciplines. We could walk among monks and listen to their voices. Everyone was singing slightly different, yet together it was beautiful, in harmony.

Love & happy travels,
RLT

P.S.: If you have any questions, different experience or suggestion, please share it in a comment below. 😉