Ganden Monastery is attainable on a day trip from Lhasa

Ganden Monastery is attainable on a day trip from Lhasa. It lies 45km east of Lhasa, on the Sichuan highway. It is the most dramatically situated of the main temples near Lhasa, high up on the ridge.
The Ganden Monastery has been re-established in Karnataka, India by the Tibetan population in exile. The Ganden Monastery is located in the Tibetan settlement at Mundgod. This settlement of Tibetan refugees is the largest of its kind in India and was first established in 1966, from land donated by the Indian government.

 
In the Tibetan settlement near Mundgod are the Ganden and the Drepung Monastery. In 1999 there were in total about 13,000 residents. The Tibetan settlement consists of nine camps with two monasteries and one nunnery. They have established a credit bank for farms, an agricultural institute and a craft center. Modern technology and communication technology are being introduced. The curriculum of the Ganden Monastery remains similar to the teachings of the pre-1959 Ganden Monastery.

Ganden Monastery was completely destroyed during the rebellion of 1959. In 1966 it was severely shelled by Red Guard artillery and monks then had to dismantle the remains.[4] Most of Tsongkhapa's mummified body was burned but his skull and some ashes were saved from the fire by Bomi Rinpoche, the monk who had been forced to carry the body to the fire.[6] Re-building has been continuing since the 1980s and the "red-painted lhakang in the centre is the reconstruction of Ganden's sanctum sanctorum containing Tsongkapa's reliquary chorten called the Tongwa Donden, 'Meaningful to Behold.'

The word "Ganden" means "joy" in Tibetan and is also the name for the "western heavens" where the Maitreya Buddha (the Future Buddha) resides. Ironically, this Monastery was heavily damaged during Cultural Revolution bombings, making the place somewhat depressing. However, work is underway to repair the damaged buildings of the monastery, so that Ganden Monastery is being quickly restored to its must-see status as one of Lhasa's most impressive monasteries. Seek out the Golden Throne Room of the Dalai Lama. Placed upon the throne, there is a cloth bag containing his yellow hat that he left behind in his escape to exile in India.