blue lotus adventures

The Ganden Kora circumnavigates the Ganden Monastery located to the east of Lhasa.  This can easily be done as a day trip from Lhasa.  Check with your guide and let him know when you would like to visit.  Hopefully you can work it into your schedule.

If you want to hike the Ganden Kora, start by walking away from the monastery toward the left, then up the grassy hill to the right. It is a good idea to spend 3 to 5 days in Lhasa before you attempt this if you are not use to the altitude.  The Kora is a few thousand feet higher than Lhasa.  At the highest point of the upper Kora are several small peaks with incense alters and many prayer flags draped from one peak to the next. The hillside is completely littered with prayer flags and scarfs as well as pieces of prayer paper. An amazing gust of wind drew up all the prayer notes while I was on the summit and swirled them around in the same place for nearly ten minutes. It was like a tornado standing still. I will never forget it and I was lucky enough to capture it on video.

The Kora traverses these small false summits in a clockwise direction in relation to the monastery.  You eventually descend into a grassy area then behind the monastery.  There are Yaks roaming free here and it is possible they will be on the trail.  They are rather timid but still, don’t try and pet them.  Once the Kora is complete you can explore the grounds of Ganden before your return to Lhasa.

The slide show above is photos from my 2019 trip.  This time a took a longer route to the top however, it did appear this trail is now fairly easy to locate and simply incorporates various herd trail created by the Yaks.  You will find the occasional cairn.  As long as you continue up toward the prayer flags, keeping to the left of the summit.  Once on top, the Kora follows a trail over the top or around the several summit peaks.  The trail eventually descends and follows a path behind the monastery.  Photos of that section are below.