Standing in the eastern, western, and northern suburbs of Lhasa are three grand monasteries, the main monasteries of Gelugpa Buddhism--the Gandan, Drepung, and Sera monasteries.

The Gandan Monastery is situated on the slope of Mount Wanpur to the east of Lhasa. From a distance, it looks very much like a castle. Some people say that Mount Wanpur resembles a sitting elephant with the Gandan Monastery on its back. This is an auspicious symbol to Tibetans. Others say that Mount Wanpur appears to be the kind Dorlijiaing with the Gandan in her arms. The monastery was built by Tsongkapa in the early 15th century, and it contains his tomb pagoda. Underneath the north wall of the Tomb Pagoda Hall, there is said to be a flying rock from India, which is also venerated by the Buddhists.

The Drepung Monastery is the largest of the three monasteries. It is situated on the slope of Mount Guopei, 10 kilometers to the west of Lhasa. It was built by Tsongkapa's disciple, Jiangyang Qujie, in 1416. The monastery consists of a number of grand halls, chambers, and residential units for lesser lamas. Nearly 190 huge pillars support the Grand Hall of Guoqin, which could seat as many as 10,000 lamas. The temples of the monastery are lavishly decorated with statues of the Buddha, Tsongkapa, and other venerable figures of the Buddhist pantheon. The statue of Buddha Jiangba, said to be unearthed by Tsongkapa, is enshrined on the second floor of the monastery. Also enshrined here is the white conch with a counter-clockwise spiral believed to have been buried by Buddha Sakyamuni's disciple, Mujianlianzang; this also was unearthed by Tsongkapa and passed on to Jiangyang Qujie. The monastery is still open to worshipers.

The Sera Monastery is situated in the northern suburb of Lhasa, at the foot of the Wu Du Hill. It got its name from the sera (wild rose) flowers on the hill. This monastery was founded in 1419 and built under the supervision of Tsongkapa's disciple, Xiajia Yixi (Jamchen Choje). Enshrined in the monastery are the 16 arhats carved out of sandalwood (a gift from the Ming emperor), over 10,000 golden copper Buddhist statues, the holy prayer scripture written in cinnabar, and other treasures.