5 kilometers from Lhasa on the Gambo Utse Mountain is situated the Drepung Monastery which is the single largest university monastery of Tibet. The Drepung monastery is one of the three Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. Je Tsongkhapa started the Gelukpa School and it was under him that Jamyang Chojey influenced by the Gelukpa teachings founded the Drepung Monastery in 1416.  Seen from afar the building of the monastery resembles large heaps of rice and thus was named Drepung which means Monastery of collecting rice.  It was here that the 2nd, 3rd as well as the 4rth Dalai Lama had their Sitting in Bed ceremonies.  The Monastery is divided into seven colleges namely Gomang, Loseling, Deyang, Shagkor, Gyelwa or Tosamling, Dulwa and Ngagpa. Each one specialises in a different subject of leaning. The Drepung Monastery is often reffered to as the Nalanda of Tibet.

Archietecturally the Monastry constitutes of two white Pagodas and many courtyards and rooms which serve as learning and debating grounds for the students. The building can be divided into four major sections. The south western corner of the monastry was used by the various Dalai Lamas as their residence and is called the Ganden Potrang. Once the Fifth Dalai Lama was called by the Qing dynasty to act as governor the lodging area was converted into a meeting place for various political and religious groups. Next in line is the Coqen Hall which forms the centeral part of the Drepung Monastry.This area houses the Grand enterance hall which has large stone steps leading upto it. The Sutra Hall with its 183 pillars comes next in line. The second and third floors have scriptures and a large bronze statue of Qamba Buddha respectably. The gold dust written scriprute of Gangyur Tripitaka also lies in the monastery. The four Zhacangs namely The Loseling, Gomang, and Deyang Zhacang and the Ngaba Zhacang form an essential part of the monastery. The disciples of different Zhacangs do not intermingle at all. These sutra learning spots are used by pupils from time to time. The Loseling Zhacangs of Esoteric Buddhism has the largest Lama occupancy.  Since the monastery is academic based a lot of teaching, reading as well as debates are carried on a different times all over the area. For this purpose many courtyards have been built with shady trees planted around them. These are used to accommodate classes of different strength and purpose. Many Buddha statues and paintings can be found all over the monastery grounds. The peace and tranquility of the monastery is typical of the Tibetan culture.

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