Ganden Samye Trek is a classic trek in Tibet. It is a pilgrimage trek from Ganden Monastery to Samye Monastery in Tibet. Ganden Monastery is one of the most important Gelugpa Buddhist Monastery in Tibet and Samye Monatery is the very first Buddhist temple in Tibet. This pilgrimage trek has been walked through history by many Buddhists and monks. If one is looking for a holy pilgrimage trek of Tibetan Buddhism, this Ganden Samye Trek is your first choice due to the significance of the monasteries and the history.

Ganden Monastery

Ganden Monastery is home to Tsongkhaba, the founder of Gelug Sect of Buddhism in Tibet and one of the most influential figure in Tibetan History. Samye Monastery is the first Tibetan Buddhist Monastery and a Nyingmapa Monastery where the Guru Renpoche funded Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. This pilgrimage trek from Ganden to Samye is also a trek with great natural views with different landscape, rivers, highland, Tibetan villages, Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley and the cradle of Tibet civilization of Shannan. The Ganden Samye Trek is one of the most classic treks in China and now a rather quiet trek that only walked by Buddhist pilgrims in Tibet rather than visitors.

Highlights of Ganden - Samye Trek

Ganden Monastery

Ganden monastery is one of the three Gelugpa university monastery of Tibet and a very important monastery in Tibetan world. The other two university monasteries are Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery in Lhasa. It used to be the biggest monastery in Tibet. Ganden Monastery is located 55 east to the city of Lhasa in Dagze County. It is the first Gelugpa monastery in Tibet. Gelugpa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism is the most influential order of Tibetan Buddhism. The word Gelug is from Ganden Lug, meaning Ganden traditions. Ganden Monastery is also called Gaden Namgyeling. Ganden means joyful, Namgyeling means victorious temple. Ganden Monastery is the mother monastery of all Gelug monasteries.

The three main sights in the Ganden Monastery are the Serdung, which contains the tomb of Tsongkhapa, the Tsokchen Assembly Hall and the Ngam Cho Khang the temple where Tsongkhapa traditionally taught his disciples. The monastery houses artifacts that belonged to Tsongkhapa. There is also a sky burial site by Ganden Monastery over the hills of the monastery.

Ganden Monastery

Samye Monastery

Samye Monastery is the very first Tibetan Vajrayana Temple in Tibetan history in the 8th century. Guru Renpoche from ancient India was invited to Tibet when Buddhism was sponsored by the then Tibetan King Tsisong Detsan. Samye was said to be the meaning of "Surprise" or "out of expectation" when the king saw the completion of the temple. Samye Monastery is a museum of ancient Tibetan architecture, painting and carving. Samye Monastery is located in Grananga County in Shannan, 120km southeast to the city of Lhasa by the Yarlung Tsangpo River valley.

Samye Monastery

Chimpuk Hermitage Valley

Chimpuk Hermitage is a large hermitage place in Tibet near Samye Monastery. It is located on the mountain valley 7km northeast to Samye Monastery at elevation of over 4000m. The great figures of early Tibet and Vajrayana have stayed here including Guru Renpoche, Santiraksita, Trisong Detan. A lot of precious Buddhist scripts are hidden here. It is said there are total 108 caves, 108 sky burial sites and 108 springs in Chimpuk Hermitage. A visit to Samye will usually include a visit to this historical site of Chimpuk.

Places of Interests Nearby

Places of great interest nearby the Ganden Samye Trek include "Tombs of Tibetan Kings" and the first palace of Tibetan Tribal King the "Yumbu Lhakhang".

How to get to Ganden and Samye

Both Ganden Monastery and Samye Monastery are not very far from Lhasa considering the vast land of Tibet. From Lhasa it is around 55km to Ganden Monastery and by driving it takes around 1 hour 20 minutes to get to. From Samye back to Lhasa it is around 120km that by driving usually takes around 2 hours. Public buses are available to get to these places from Lhasa but since foreign travelers need to use a company and arranged services while traveling in Tibet, independent traveling is not available yet.

Ganden Samye Trekking Season

The good trekking season for this Ganden Samye Trek is from May to October each year. Winter is too cold for this trek. In July and August you may see foggy and sometimes raining days while other seasons are usually clear and/or cloudy.

Ganden Samye Trek

Planning Ideas

Ganden to Samye Monastery trek is a classic trek in China. It has fixed route since it is walked by many pilgrims each year. It usually takes around 4 days in total from start to end. Each day the walking is around 12-14 km. Lodges are not available so camping is necessary for this trek. Elevation for this trek is high with the highest at over 5200m. Overnight camps are at over 4000m with the highest at over 4500m. Ganden Monastery is at 4200m and Samye Monastery is at 3600m. Total elevation gain is around 1500m while elevation loss is around 2000m. There are two passes that are over 5000m. The terrain is in general gradual with no long steep ascent. There are no dangerous sections on this trek and from former hikers the only challenge is its high altitude. You are recommended to be fully acclimated before you do this trek. Up until 2023, foreign travelers in Tibet will require a special travel permit as well as an organized service from travel companies while your travel planned is submitted and planned ahead. There are plenty of travel companies in Tibet that can cater to foreign travelers. You are recommended to use travel companies with experience of organizing trekking trips to make arrangement for your Ganden Samye Trek to avoid unhappy expectations.

A trekking tour from Ganden to Samye we recommend you to include a visit to Chimpuk Hermitage Valley near Samye Monastery. We also recommend you to include a visit to Tomb of Tibetan Kings as well as Yumbu Lhakhang, the first palace for Tibetan (tribal) king and one of the oldest grand constructions in Tibetan history.

Ganden Samye Trek