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 by mavl
you can then spend an hour or two going around the monastery.
what's important is you GET TO THE DEBATING COURTYARD BY 3PM. from 3pm to 5pm, the monks of sera monastery engage in debate practice at the courtyard. this is an absolute spectacle! you don't need to understand what they're saying, just watch and listen. there will be intense, animated, almost violent debating and gesticulating! awesome! (get it on video if you can!)
though there is a similar practice at jokhang temple, the debating at sera is just so much more, well, outrageous.
entrance to sera monastery is Y55. the usual Y20/hall fee for interior photos. Address: about 5km north of lhasaDirections: from the potala, take the nyangdren chang lam road north then turn right before the lhasa military hospital. sera will be on the hillside on the left.
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The walls, which are between two and five metres thick, 100 metres high, 400 metres east to west and 350 metres north to south, were built to withstand earthquakes by pouring in molten copper. During the construction of the walls (from rammed earth, wood and stone), no steel frames were used, not were nails used in the woodwork. So much earth was used in its construction that the pit that resulted from its creation was filled with water and became a lake. Although built to withstand earthquakes, the construction was not lightning-proof and was damaged during a storm during Lanadama’s reign. Leave a Comment
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Visiting the Palace
Admission Fee = RMB 100. Additional fee for photography.
Opening Hours = 09:00 – 12:00
15:00 – 17:00
Opening hours change frequently and you are recommended to check with the tourist office before your visit.
Recommended time for a visit = 4 hours
Tourists are recommended to take a taxi to the top (ca 10 RMB) and walk down through the palace.
Visitors are admitted at 20 minute intervals in groups of 60.
Pilgrims may enter throughout the day on Wednesday and Saturday. Leave a Comment
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Completed in 1653 after 8 years of construction, it was used for offices, printing house, dormitories, a Buddhist seminary etc. Most are inaccessible to travellers at the present time. The White Palace has seven storeys. The 5th Dalai Lam moved into the White Palace (from the Zhaibung Monastery where he had been living) as soon as it was completed and stayed there until his death. Consequent Dalai Lamas also lived here at the Potala Palace, from where they exercised political power, which is why Potala Palace is considered holy and worshipped by the Tibetan Buddhists. Leave a Comment
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 by mavl
this happened right at noon. once all inside, they all sat down and started chanting in low and gutteral voices. the sound reverberated throughout the hall as incense burned all around - it was simply an overwhelming experience! after some time, bells started to chime then all the young monks ran to get the yak milk (which i witnessed being prepared in the kitchen) and started serving the older monks.
visitors are allowed inside too and you can take photos for a Y20 fee, do it!
apparently, a prominent benefactor of the monastery asked for some prayers (probably after making another donation) so the entire congregation prayed for him. these gatherings do not happen often.
so, if you're planning a trip to lhasa and are in touch with someone from there (local guide or agency), it makes sense to ask if there are any such gatherings scheduled (unlikely that they'll know but worth a try). might as well see if you can plan your visit to coincide with this. Address: within drepung monasteryDirections: main assembly hall (tsogchen)
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 Potala Palace by mim95
It costs 100 RMB to get in, a very pricey admission. compare to the local cost of living. I don't think pilgrims have to pay anything to get in. But it is free to walk around the pilgrim route surrounding the palace. I only walked the pilgrim route and didn't enter the palace, as many travellers told me that it is kind of depressing to see the inside. The wall murals and stupas remained, but those who should be there were not... Leave a Comment Directions: On Beijing Dong Lu a block east of the Golden Yak statue and about 1.5km west of Johkang Temple
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Completed in 1694, at which time the wheel had not be introduced to Tibet, so equipment and construction materials were carried in by humans or donkeys. 100 artisans from varying nationalities (Han, Manchu and Mongolian) were sent by Qing Dynasty Emperor Kangxi to assist in the construction. This is where you could find the tombs and remains of the eight Dalai Lamas as well as various shrines and chapels.
Eight gold-plated stupas contain the bodies of eight of the previous Dalai Lamas, from the 5th to the 13th – apart from the 6th, which is missing. Leave a Comment
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The Jokhang was built in 647. It is right in the middle of a busy pilgrimage route in the city center. It is a huge temple, with many halls inside. You can't take photos inside the main hall, which housed many historical antiques from centuries ago, including sculptures that were brought by Princess WenCheng of the Tang dynasty. She was married to the Tibetan King in the 7th century.
From the rooftop, you can get a good view of the surrounding traditional houses, the busy Jokhang Square and the Potala Palace. Snow cap mountains around Lhasa can be seen as well.
Admission is 70 RMB. Leave a Comment Directions: 1.5km east of the Potala Palace, next to Barkhor Street, south of Beijing Dong Lu, enter from the Jokhang Square
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 Part of the massive Drepung
Monastery complex by mim95, 3 more photos
It has been the home of the Dalai Lamas for many years until the Potala Palace was chosen as the new residence. At first, there were seven colleges in Drepung, each was specialised in a different kind of teaching and practice. It was reduced to four later when some were combined to others. Two remained today, and you could still see the destruction by the Chinese in the 1960s.
You can get there by bus. Ask at your guesthouse of which bus and where to take it. Admission is 55 RMB. Plan to spend half a day here as it is a huge complex. Leave a Comment Directions: On the hill off Beijing Xi Lu in the western suburb of Lhasa.
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Sera Monastery is the other one of the three major monasteries in Tibet. I only visited Drepung and Sera, as they were located at slightly higher elevation as Lhasa. Ganden is quite high up on the mountain and I don't want to risk my health. Sera is at the foot of the mountain just north of Lhasa. It was established and built in 1419, and had as many as 7000 monks at three colleges in the complex. Similar to Drepung, part of the monastery was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. You could still see the reconstruction of some of the buildings today. Sera housed treasures brought from China in the 15th century by a Tibetan monk, who taught in the imperial court in China.
Many people visit Sera Monastery in the afternoon for the monks debating at the courtyard. It is a daily event that takes place at around 3:30pm. It seems more like a show for tourists.
Admission is 55 RMB. You can reach there easily by public bus. Ask your guesthouse on where and which bus to take. Leave a Comment Directions: Sera is located on Sera Lu, north of Lhasa
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