Around sixty kilometres east of the city of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and set amid the untouched mountain world of the Kyi-Chu Valley, is the town of Dagze that contains one of the country’s most famous monasteries, Ganden Gonba, that was once a prosperous monastery town.

For many centuries it was the religious centre of the Yellow Caps’ Academy but the annexation of Tibet by China changed everything and the remote location of Ganden Gonba within an isolated valley four thousand metres above sea level was unable to protect the sanctuary from invasion.

Up until 1959 around three thousand monks inhabited Ganden’s monastery complex.

In addition to numerous sacred treasures, the Lhakhang also houses a chapel of the protective deities that, among others, is also dedicated to Vaishravana, the deity of wealth.

Surrounded by the unspoiled wilderness of Tibet’s high mountain scenery, the monastery district of Ganden Gonba is most certainly well worth a visit!