Ganden monastery is the greatest and the oldest of the six Gelugpa monasteries, which is called one of "the three principal monasteries" (the other two are Dreprung Monastery and Sera Monastery). At its peak, it had a registration of more than 4,000 monks. Tsongkapa, founder of Gelugpa, established it as the first Gelugpa monastery in 15th century Gelugpa. The full name of Ganden monastery is Xizhuzhuenshengzhou in Chinese. Some scholars call it as "Jushan"or "Jile" monastery. In 1733, Emperor Yongzhen of Qing dynasty bestowed the name "Yongtai". And Gandenpai (Gelug Sect's original name) which means exhortation, also named after the Ganden monastery.

Location: Set up by the Gelug sect's founder Tsong Khapa in the 7th year of Yongle (in Ming dynasty), the Ganden monastery lies in Lhatse County, 57 kilometers east of Lhasa, the Wangbori Mountain with the altitude of 3,800 meters. Besides its typical Tibetan style, it is three times as large as Potala.

Ganden just 60km northeast of Lhasa, was the first Gelugpa Monastery and had been the main seat of this major Buddhist order ever since. With its stupendous views of the surrounding Kyi-Chu valley and fascinating kora, Ganden is an experience unlike the other major Gelugpa monasteries in Lhasa area. The monastery was founded in 1409 by Tsongkhapa, the founder of Gelugpa. Ganden means 'joyous' in Tibetan and is the name of the Western Paradise' that is home to Jampa, the Future Buddha.

Ganden Kora is a simply stunning walk and should not be missed. There are superb views over strands of the braided Kyi-Chu Valley along the way and there are usually large numbers of pilgrims and monks offering prayers, rubbing holy rocks and prostrating themselves along the path.

To visit Ganden Monastery costs 45RMB per person. Early morning around 6:30am, there is one pilgrim bus to Ganden, it takes about 2 hours. Or you can rent a minivan.