Gandantegchinlen Monastery
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Member Reviews(13)
It's one of the only monasteries that survived the Soviet era. There is 23-m high Buddha statue.
Located on the eastern end of Ulaan Baator, Gandan Monastery is the center of Buddhism in Mongolia. It has an inexplicable calm to it even when filled with people. Be sure to duck into some of the temples and be treated to monks chanting, people praying and a flood of color and incense.
A huge temple that sits right in the center of the city, Gandan is visited daily by groups of tourists. There is a small fee to enter and upon entering there are life sized drums where you can turn to bring good luck, inside the temple there is massive Buddha statue. Photos are allowed only if you pay a fee.
The national religion is tibetan buddhism and the Gandan Monastery is a wonderful representation of the religion in Ulaanbaatar. The buddha housed inside is massive. This monastery gets visits from plenty of devote pilgrims and visitors alike.
It's better to come early morning around 07:30-08:00am to participate or to see their Buddhist morning ceremony, do not enter from central gates otherwise tourists pay taxes ;) Enter from Northern, Eastern or Western gates ;) It's free!
A must see. It's one of the biggest temples in Mongolia. The golden Buddha that stands inside the main temple is just impressive. Beware of pickpockets inside. Remember that you cannot show your ass to the statue so walk out by stepping back. While visiting the temple's area notice the many piegeont. for 200 MNT you can buy seed and feed them. They'll come on your hand to eat. very nice experience.
One of the 'must visit' destination when you are at Ulaanbaatar. It is a Tibetan style monastery which is being visited frequently by the locals for prayers as well as by tourists. It cannot be compared with the monastery in Tibet as this is a much smaller one, and don't expect to see many monks in this area either. The hundreds of pigeons on its entrance add another color to the temple.
