Welcome to tibet Sera Monastery tour!Sera was founded in 1419,is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of the name 'Sera' is not certain, but it may derive from the fact that the original site was surrounded by 'Wild Roses' (se ra in Tibetan). The original Sera monastery is in Lhasa, Tibet, about 5 km north of the Jokang in Lhasa. After the Chinese took control of Tibet in 1959, it was reconstituted in Bylakuppe, India, near Mysore. The original in Tibet continues as a working monastery.

Like the Drepung and Ganden monasteries, it had several colleges: Sera Mey Dratsang, gave basic instruction to the monks. Sera Jey Dratsang, built in 1435, was the largest, and was reserved for wandering monks, especially Mongol monks. Ngagpa Dratsang, built in 1559, was a school for the teaching of the Gelukpa tantras.

Sera housed more than 5,000 monks in 1959. Although badly damaged following the invasion of Tibet and the Cultural Revolution, it is still standing and has been largely repaired.
After the Chinese invasion of Tibet and the destruction of the majority of the monasteries in Tibet, Sera monastery was re-formed in Bylakuppe, India, near Mysore.

Because none of the monks of the Ngagpa Dratsang (Tantric College) survived the invasion, only the Sera Mey College and Sera Jey College were re-formed in India.