Larung Gar Monastery

Larung Gar Monastery is also called Larung Gar Five Sciences Buddhist Academy. It is a Buddhist academy located in the Larung Gar valley, some 20 km east from Sertar County.

Brief

It was founded in 1980 in the uninhabited valley by Jigme Phuntsok, a lama of the Nyingma Pa tradition. The academy has grown substantially ever since. The highest population was in 2008, by then approximately 110,000 monks and nuns live and study in this valley;

Till 2015, it is still a “home” to over 35,000 monks and nuns. Nuns and monks are segregated by age and sex. Housing for monks and nuns are divided by a winding road cut the mountains that divides the “city” like monastery. Alcohol are strictly prohibited in this valley.

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Larung Gar Monastery’s Guesthouse is the largest one in this valley; It is recommended for its good location that provides full view of the valley and easy access to the monastery, whether to its vegetarian restaurant or the assembly hall
Be advised: Alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited in this monastery

In addition, there are about 8 smaller guesthouses near the assembly hall, and another 11 guesthouses are built or being built at the valley entrance, all of which are with distance about 2-3 kilometers from the main hall

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How to get to there

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The easiest way and comfort way is to rent a vehicle from Chengdu to Larung Gar, the rental is vary in different season, usually for a 4 wheel drive vehicle, the one way rental is from RMB 1,500.00 – 4,000.00

The nearest airport is Garze Airport, which is about 286 kilomers via Luhuo County, or go straight to Serta through Donggu village of Garze county, The road is about 150 kilometers, but the road condition is too bad, a 6-7 hours drive may be required

Alternatively, the public transportation is also very popular. There are three buses leaving from Cha-Dian-Zi Bus Terminal of Chengdu to Serta Countyevery day. It departs separately at 06:10 am , 06:15 am and 06:20 am with rates of RMB 209.00 OR RMB 231.00, it takes about 14 hours’ drive

Additional info

• the bus ticket is quite popular, you may have to book online in advance, the ticket booking web: http://www.scqcp.com/
• The bus goes directly yo Serta County , so you will have to inform the driver that you go to Larung Gar, and need to get off the bus at the “The Road intersection of Buddhist Academy”
• Once you get off the bus at the “The Road intersection of Buddhist Academy”, you will need to take another local vehicle to cover the final 3.5 kilometers to reach at the Assembly hall of Larung Gar Five Sciences Buddhist Academy