Lhasa Off The Beaten Path

In Lhasa you can rent a mountain bike, fairly good ones only 20 RMB per day. Good places to rent are on Beijing Donglu, east of Barkhor. If planning to go out of the city area then check the breaks, shifts etc., the personnel are friendly and willing to make adjustments if needed.
I can recommend two routes. One to the east to the Ganden Monastry direction along the Lhasa river south side - no big climbs, nice views, road in perfect condition, and hardly no car traffic. Most of all friendly people along the route you should chat with! We didn't find the Ganden even constantly asking guidance from the locals (we didn't have decent map), but made 110 km or so day trip with 20 RMB bikes. Nice.
Other route, including one fairly nice climb, goes along the Lhasa river north side, to the Drak Yerpa direction. After the climb and downhill biking , you can either turn left to Drak Yerpa direction (didn't try this), turn back to Lhasa (nice climb again) or continue to the east around 10 km. There's a bridge over the Lhasa river, take over to the south side and return to Lhasa. This makes around 50 km.
Around the Lhasa city the bike is also the best option to move, from the saddle you see more than by sitting in taxi.

Hiking opportunities around Lhasa are good for one day trips, no need to go to Mt. Everest! Just select any of the near by peaks, like Gyaltsen Ri (north from Sera) or Bumpo Ri (south side of Lhasa river, just on the other side of the bridge). I guess the height of both of these tops is about 4500 m. Not too challenging after two days high altitude adjustment.

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Samye Monastery is a good 6-7 hours ride away from Lhasa. It was completed in 779, and was the first monastery established in Tibet. Like other monasteries, Samye suffered destruction during the Cultural Revolution. Much of it has been rebuilt today. The main hall has three stories, and each floor has a separate style from Chinese, Tibetan and Indian. And from the top of the main hall, you can have an amazing view of the surrounding houses and fields. There is a small village outside the monastery, with large fields of yellow rape flowers and barley. It is like an oasis in the middle of the barren mountain ranges.

There is a guesthouse and a small restaurant right next to the monastery. It provides very basic accomodation to visitors.

To reach Samye, it is best to leave early in the morning from Lhasa. The bus leaves in front of the Jokhang Square. (Ask your guesthouse for schedule.) Tell the driver that your destination is Samye Monastery. Get off at the dock and wait for the flat-bottom boat to cross the river. The boat leaves until it is full. The captain charges a different price for tourists. Once you reach the other side, a bus will take you to the entrance of Samye, after a bumpy ride for 20 minutes or so.

On the main roads leading south west out of Lhasa, you can find this 11th century carved Buddha. This is considered a sacred place for the Tibetan Buddhist, and as you can see from the photographs, many pilgrims will leave the ceremonial scarves here. 10Yuan charge to enter, toilet facilities on the opposite side of the road.

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The highlight of any visit to Sera, is the Debating Courtyard, where monks can be seen debating in the traditional method, with the antagonist standing and aggressively questioning his seated protagonist by clapping his hands together near the opponent’s face. It is a lively and noisy discussion and an absolute cacophony of slapping hands, animated dialogue and raucous arguments interspersed with a little laughter. It is totally captivating to watch.

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Established in the early 15th century, the Geluk monastic city of Sera was once a considerable rival for Lhasa. The monastery had a population of some 7,000 monks, once famous for martial arts. They were popular as body guards for the well-to-do families. The name Sera means ‘merciful hail’ – a reference to the heavy rain which destroyed the rice paddies of neighbouring and rival Drepung. There are still a few hundred monks resident at the monastery. The Protector Chapel is dedicated to women and children and during our visit I was blessed with smoke by placing my head inside a dark and small opening. I received a white ceremonial scarf as recognition of this blessing.

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The kitchen in Drepung monastery is absolutely amazing. All the walls are lined with pots, pans and kettles, and cooking was carried out in enormous vats. Stirring was done with a spade! The kitchen could feed up to 15,000 monks at any one time. I shouldn’t think it would have been a three course gourmet meal!

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The Main Assembly Hall (Tsokchen Lhakkhang) is the biggest building in Drepung at 4500 square metres. The interior is enormous and has a very serene atmosphere. There are 180 pillars supporting the roof, many of which are adorned with colourful cloth. The room is filled with sculptures and many chapels lead off the main room.

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Drepung was once the world’s largest monastery, with 10,000 resident monks, who hailed from 321 different branch monasteries and lived according to nationality in various accommodation buildings. Today there are only about 600 monks remaining, but most of the 20,000 square metre complex remains. The name Drepung means head of rice symbolising the way the white buildings cling to the hillside. It was named after the sacred abode of Shridhanyakataka in South India. The monastery was famed in its time for its scholars - there are four major colleges in Drepung, Ngakpa, Loseling, Gomag and Deyang.

Drepung was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choje Tshi Palden, a disciple of Tsongkapa. The monastry was expanded by the second Dalai Lama in 1530, when he established the Ganden Palace. This then became the home of the Dalai Lamas (and the head quarters of the Tibetan government) until the fifth Dalai Lama moved his home to the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The tombs of the second, third and fourth Dalai Lama are all found here.