10 Sacred & Religious Sites in Tibet That You Shouldn't Miss

Gangs Rin-po-che is the Tibetan name of Mt. Kailash which is considered as a sacred place in four regions: Bon Religion, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Every year, thousands make a pilgrimage to Kailash for the faith they believed that circumambulating Kailash by foot will bring good luck and clear the sins. The trek begins and ends at Darchen which is at 4,575m elevation.Mount Kailash trekking is one of the most challenging and sacred treks in the world. The trek is widely known as Mt. Kailash kora which is scared in four religions, Bon Religion, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. What’s more, this holy mountain is also the headstream of four famous rivers in Asia: Indus River (also called Shiquan River in China), Sutlej River (a major tributary of the Indus River), Yarlungzangpo River (also called Brahmaputra River) and Ganges River. Every year, thousands make a pilgrimage to Kailash for the faith they believed that circumambulating this holy mountain by foot will bring good luck.

The residence of the Dalai Lama is an immense religious structure and a masterpiece of Tibetan architecture.

Built in 1416, this is considered one of the largest monasteries in the world with more than 10,000 monks living inside its walls during the height of its activities.

Included on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2000 as part of the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple is in the heart of Lhasa downtown. With an area of 25,100 square meters (about six acres), it is the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Pilgrims. As the most sacred temple in Tibet, Jokhang Temple is situated in Lhasa city and attracts many pilgrims to worship and circumambulating around. The temple was founded during King Songtsen Gampo’ reign (617-650 AD). At that time, the King built the temple to welcome his two brides, Princess Bhrikuti from Nepal and Princess Wencheng from China in Tang Dynasty. Both princesses brought statues of Jowo Sakyamuni as their dowries, therefore, Songtsen decided to build a temple to house these important statues. Together with Jokhang Temple, Ramoche Temple was built as well to place the statue brought by Princess Wencheng. Later, the statue was moved to Jokhang Temple as well for better protection.

The Sera Monastery (founded in 1419 by Jamchen Chojey of Sakya Yeshe, disciple of Tsongkhapa) is just located at the foot of Tatipu Hill,located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) north of Lhasa and about 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the Jokhang and it is about 6 km to the northeast direction of Potala Palace. It is famous for the Buddhism activities of” Monks Debate” which happens in afternoon from Monday to Saturday. This is one highlight attraction for travel in Lhasa Tibet.

Ganden Monastery, also known as Ganden Namgyeling, is one of the three great Gelug university monasteries (the other two are Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery) of Tibet, China. It was constructed in 1409 near Lhasa by the founder of the Gelug order, Je Tsongkhapa Lozang-dragpa. Back in 1958, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, took his last degree examination here. However, Ganden was destroyed after 1959, right now it has been partially rebuilt. Right now, there are several major constructions in the monastery, namely, the Lagyi Hall, Chitokang, Yangbagyain Hall, Xaze, Jamze Zhacang Buddhist Colleges and kamcuns and Myicuns. The Lagyi Hall is a 3-storey building. And it takes up 2,000 square meters and can contain 3,000 people at the same time.