The kora is the circumambulation path that runs around the outside of Labrang Monastery, and walking it is the best way to experience the place. The two-kilometre circuit is lined with rows of prayer wheels — large wooden cylinders mounted in frames that you spin as you walk, releasing the prayers inscribed on the scrolls within. The sound of the wheels, the smell of juniper incense from censers at the gates, and the constant flow of pilgrims in traditional Tibetan dress creates an atmosphere that the interior tours, however good, cannot fully replicate.
The kora is busiest in the early morning and at dusk when pilgrims gather in the largest numbers. You will share the path with monks going about their business, elderly nomads from the surrounding grasslands, and occasional devotees performing prostrations around the entire circuit. There is no charge to walk the kora. Walk clockwise, in the direction of the spinning wheels.