Gandan Monastery

Гандантэгчэнлин хийд

A 26 m golden bodhisattva and monks chanting through the incense

⚠ Photo fee inside halls

Hours

Grounds open in daytime; prayers in the morning (check times on site)

Tickets

Grounds free; the main Migjid Janraisig hall charges entry and a photo fee (check on site)

Address

Gandan hill, Bayangol District, about 2 km northwest of Sükhbaatar Square

Push open the doors of the white Migjid Janraisig hall and a gilded bodhisattva rises to the roof: 26.5 metres, rebuilt in 1996 after the 1913 original vanished in the 1930s. Gandan was one of the few monasteries left standing when the socialist government gutted Mongolian Buddhism, and more than 100 monks still live here. Come in the morning: monks in maroon robes chant in low voices, pigeons swarm the courtyard and locals spin the prayer wheels as they circle the hall.