Day 4 (1/3): KORA OF GANDEN MONASTERY (དགའ་ལྡན་ 甘丹寺), Lhasa (拉薩), Tibet (西藏), 2017.09.19

The closest thing to Tibetan pilgrimage that we experienced in Lhasa was our visit to Ganden Monastery (དགའ་ལྡན་ 甘丹寺).  Slightly after 5am, we left the hotel and walked to the street intersection of Yutuo Road and Duosenge Road near the Jokhang Monastery.  Several locals had already gathered at the street corner waiting for the public buses designated for different monasteries around the city.  The bus for Ganden Monastery soon arrived and we were told to get on with the pilgrims.  Foreign tourists were not permitted to take these pilgrim buses.  As visitors from Hong Kong we were allowed to join the locals.  Before departure, a vendor get on the bus to sell prayer flags.  We picked a five-coloured one that costed 50 RMB.  Before leaving Lhasa, the bus stopped by a security checkpoint where all passengers were required to register with our identity cards, and a local bakery where the majority of the passengers including us went down to get some bread for breakfast.  Soon our bus left Lhasa into the countryside northeast of the city.  After a two-hour bus ride, our bus finally arrived at Ganden Monastery on Wangbur Mountain at about 8am.

Just like our Drepung visit, we decided to walk the kora pilgrim route around the monastery before visiting the actual buildings.  From the parking lot, we followed a sloped path heading up the hill behind the monastery.  After making a turn in front of a small security station, we soon arrived at the hilltop overlooking the monastery.  A pilgrim stood by an incense burner surrounded by myriad of prayer flags.  We took out our 5-colour prayer flags, tied it to the flag cluster, and made a wish for a smooth journey ahead of us.  We continued onto the winding kora path along the slope.  The path soon split into two: the upper and lower.  We followed the upper path and passed by a number of small shrines.  We took out the bread we bought and sat down beside the path for a brief rest.  Beyond the scenic valley of Lhasa River, layers of mountains extended as far as the eye could see.  Further down the slope there were more prayer flags, small shrines and probably a small platform for sky burials.  We followed several local pilgrims to finish the latter half of the kora and arrived at the monastery at its far end.

We passed by the forecourt of Jokhang Monastery at around 5:30am.  Pilgrims were burning some sort of plants at the incense burners.

After arriving at the parking lot Ganden Monastery, we walked uphill along a path heading to the trailhead of the kora pilgrim route.

At the hilltop, the view of Ganden Monastery was spectacular.

A local dog followed us from the parking lot all the way up to the hilltop.

At the hilltop, a local pilgrim was preparing offerings at the incense burner.

We tied our 5-coloured prayer flags at the hilltop overlooking Ganden Monastery.

The kora path continues beyond the prayer flags to the backside of the hill.

We soon reached the first shrines along the kora path.

Below the kora path, the Lhasa River passed through the valley behind the Ganden Monastery.

Also known as Kyi River, Lhasa River is a tributary of Yarlung Tsangpo River.

Farming terraces occupy a valley below the Ganden Monastery.

The kora path split into a few footpaths along the slope, connecting a series of pilgrim shrines.

The kora offered us a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains.

There were many violet wild flowers on the green slope along the path.

Some pilgrims took the lower kora route along the green slope.

Towards the end of the kora path, we once again passed under a series of prayer flags.

After the prayer flags, a few more Buddhist shrines came to sight, as we approached the Ganden Monastery at its far side.

At the incense burner near the end of the kora path, we could see the winding vehicular road that our bus first arrived.

The winding road where our bus zigzagged up earlier in the morning looked wonderful from a distance.

We entered the monastery compound from its far end.

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More blog posts on Tibet 2017:
JOURNEY ABOVE THE CLOUDS, Tibet 2017 (西藏之旅2017)
DAY 1: TOUCHDOWN ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD, Lhasa
DAY 1: TRICHANG LABRANG HOTEL (赤江拉讓藏式賓館), Lhasa
DAY 1: KORA AT BARKHOR STREET (八廓街), Lhasa
DAY 2: FIRST GLIMPSE OF POTALA (布達拉宮), Lhasa
DAY 2: KORA OF DREPUNG MONASTERY (哲蚌寺), Lhasa
DAY 2: DREPUNG MONASTERY (哲蚌寺), Lhasa
DAY 2: JOKHANG MONASTERY (大昭寺), Lhasa
DAY 2 : SPINN CAFE (風轉咖啡館), Lhasa
DAY 2: NIGHT VIEW OF POTALA (布達拉宮), Lhasa
DAY 3: POTALA PALACE (布達拉宮), Lhasa
DAY 3: SERA MONASTERY (色拉寺), Lhasa
Day 4: KORA OF GANDEN MONASTERY (甘丹寺), Lhasa
Day 4: GANDEN MONASTERY (甘丹寺), Lhasa
DAY 4: TEA HOUSE AND FAMILY RESTAURANT, Lhasa
DAY 5: ON THE ROAD IN TIBET
DAY 5: MORNING IN SHANNAN (山南)
DAY 5: SAMYE MONASTERY (桑耶寺), Shannan
DAY 5: SAMYE TOWN (桑耶鎮), Shannan
DAY 6: YAMDROK LAKE (羊卓雍錯)
DAY 6: PALCHO MONASTERY (白居寺), Gyantse
DAY 6: WORDO COURTYARD (吾爾朵大宅院), Shigatse
DAY 7: ROAD TO EVEREST BASE CAMP (珠峰大本營)
DAY 7: EVEREST BASE CAMP (珠峰大本營)
DAY 7: STARRY NIGHT, Everest Base Camp
DAY 8: PANG LA PASS (加烏拉山口), Mount Everest Road
DAY 8: SAKYA MONASTERY (薩迦寺)
DAY 9: TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY, (扎什倫布寺) Shigatse
DAY 9: ROAD TO NAMTSO LAKE (納木錯)
DAY 9: EVENING AT NAMTSO LAKE (納木錯)
DAY 10: SUNRISE AT NAMTSO LAKE (納木錯)
DAY 10: LAST DAY IN LHASA, Tibet
EPILOGUE: FACES OF LHASA, Tibet