Ten kilometres west of Lhasa is one of the most important monasteries in Tibet. A pilgrimage trail leads up to Drepung Gonba that was built in 1416 by a follower of Tsongkhapas, founder of the Gelug Order which is the earliest of the four main doctrines of Tibetan Buddhism.

The route to the monastery is quite arduous as at an altitude of five thousand six hundred metres the air is very thin. Along the way there are various colourful rock illustrations that give a foretaste of the Drepung Monastery.

Drepung was once the richest monastery in the whole of Tibet and even with the country’s troubled history the monastery buildings are still very impressive. Fortunately, the complex was only slightly damaged during the Cultural Revolution thus the throne of the Dalai Lama has remained in tact.

The subsequent Cultural Revolution brought about much social change and most of the monks escaped and sought exile abroad.

Thankfully, despite the political situation in Tibet the monastery complex of Drepung Gonba still shines out in all of its glory.