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in 1435, and was reserved for wandering monks, especially Mongol monks. Ngagpa Dratsang, built in 1559, was a school for the teaching of the Gelukpa tantras. In 1959, Sera housed more than 5,000 monks. Although badly damaged, it is still standing and has been largely refurbished. It now houses a few hundred Buddhist monks. The Sera’s library houses some of the valuable prayer books. Prayers books in Sera's library Graduates of Sera Jey College who are known in the west include, Lama Thubten Yeshe, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. Graduates of Sera Mey college who are known in the west include, Pabongka Rinpoche—Author of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hands, Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche—one of the current Dalai Lama's teachers, Sermey Khensur Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin—former abbot of Sera Mey university in Bylakuppe.

Drepung Monastery
Literally means the 'Rice Heap' monastery', Drepang is also one of the "great three" Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. Drepung is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries, and indeed at its peak was the largest monastery of any religion in the world. Jamyang Chojey, who was a direct disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelukpa school, founded it in 1416. It is located on the Gambo Utse mountain, 5 kms from the western suburb of Lhasa. Before the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959, the monastery housed fifteen thousand monks and was known for the high standards of its academic study. Young monks of Drepung are divided into what are known as the seven great colleges - Gomang, Loseling, Deyang, Shagkor, Gyelwa or Tosamling, Dulwa, and Ngagpa. Routines in Drepung monastery are comprised of four parts: education, religious rites, administration and sundry affairs. It can be a somewhat useful analogy to think of Drepung as a university along the lines of Oxford or the Sorbonne in the middle ages, the various colleges having different emphases, teaching lineages, or traditional geographical affiliations. Today the population at the monastery is much smaller with merely a few hundred monks, due to population capping enforced by the Chinese government.

Sakya Monastery
Sakya Monastery is the most treasured part of Tibetan soil. The monastery was built in 1073 and has more than 900 years of history. It is considered as the 'Second Danhuang'. The monastery houses around 3000 pieces of sutras and precious work of art that are over thousand years old. The main attraction of the monastery is the Lakhang Chenmo hall that covers more than 5500 square meters and has 40 huge pillars. Even the big Chanting Sutra Hall is going to leave you spellbound by its sheer size. The monastery is specially going to be a wonderful treat for all antique and artifact lovers.