Tibet > The heavily destroyed Ganden monastery

In the morning, we have breakfast in Jozalien’s room. It’s a bit cramped, but with some effort and careful arranging, it works just fine. I also prepare another packed lunch for the afternoon. After breakfast, Gonbo guides us through the monastery complex. The kora around the monastery runs along the mountain ridge, and we once again enjoy the stunning view from the back side of the monastery over the valley, which lies 800 meters below.

Tibet - Monks praying in a shaft of sunlight in Ganden Monastery

In the distance, we can see the road to Lhasa winding through the valley. As we walk the kora, we pass a sky burial site (fortunately not in use). Following the lower kora, we walk around the mountain and see the monastery again from the other side. By now, the group has naturally split into faster and slower walkers. Back at the monastery, we explore the temples on our own. We have one hour for our visit. The Ganden Monastery has three large assembly halls. In the first one, the monks are just beginning their prayers. A colorful collection of slippers is left outside the entrance. It’s wonderful to explore the temple while hearing the chanting of the monks echoing through the hall. We continue wandering through the narrow streets, gates, and passageways, often climbing stairs to enjoy the views from the rooftops. In this way, we explore the entire monastery complex. The monastery suffered severe damage during the Cultural Revolution but has since been beautifully restored. Time flies, and by the time we reach the last temple, there’s hardly any time left to visit it — a pity. Everyone is already back at the bus, and soon we drive down the winding mountain road and continue toward Lhasa. It had been suggested that we stop by the new train station in Lhasa — a prestige project of the Chinese government that now brings many Chinese tourists to Tibet. To make time for this visit, we left Ganden earlier than usual. However, once we reach Lhasa, the driver heads straight to the hotel instead. He insists the station isn’t part of the itinerary and refuses to stop there.

Tibet - Naturally every monk takes off his shoes before entering the monastery

He clearly just wants to return to Lhasa on schedule. Unfortunately, that means we left Ganden early for nothing and find ourselves back at the hotel around one o’clock. In my room, I take a short nap and a shower. Later in the afternoon, we have a beer on a rooftop terrace in the Tibetan quarter and browse some souvenir stalls — we plan to do most of our shopping tomorrow. In the evening, we meet up at Snowland to have dinner together. The pizza here is said to be excellent — and it really is! After dinner, we walk to the square in front of the Potala Palace to see the sound and light show. We arrive just in time to catch the final moments of the mostly Chinese spectacle. The Potala Palace itself isn’t illuminated tonight, so we can’t take any nighttime photos. We return to the hotel via another route through the neighborhood.