Even the most illustrious of China's other incense-wreathed temples pale in comparison with the vast magnitude of this astounding complex. The palpable spiritual energy that emanates from this sacred monastery is only matched by the potent veneration brought by its unending flow of Tibetan pilgrims. Even if Tibet is not on your itinerary, the monastery sufficiently conveys the esoteric mystique of its devout persuasions, leaving indelible impressions of a deeply sacred domain.

The monastery is one of the six major Tibetan monasteries of the Gelugpa order (Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism). The others are Ganden, Sera and Drepung Monasteries near Lhasa; Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse; and Kumbum (Tǎ'ěr Sì) near Xīníng, Qīnghǎi.

Labrang monastery was founded in 1709 by Ngagong Tsunde (E'angzongzhe in Chinese), the first-generation Jamyang (a line of reincarnated Rinpoches or living Buddhas ranking third in importance after the Dalai and Panchen Lamas), from nearby Gānjiā. At its peak the monastery housed nearly 4000 monks, but their ranks greatly declined during the Cultural Revolution. Numbers are recovering, and are currently restricted to 1200 monks, drawn from Qīnghǎi, Gānsù, Sìchuān and Inner Mongolia.

With its endless squeaking prayer wheels, hawks circling overhead and the deep throb of Tibetan trumpets resonating from the surrounding hills, Labrang is a monastery in the entire sense of the word. In addition to the chapels, residences, golden-roofed temple halls and living quarters for the monks, Labrang is also home to six tratsang (monastic colleges or institutes), exploring esoteric Buddhism, theology, medicine, astrology and law. Many of the chapel halls are illuminated in a yellow glow by yak butter lamps, their strong-smelling fuel scooped out from voluminous tubs.

The only way to visit the interior of these buildings is with a tour, which generally includes the Institute of Medicine, the Manjushri Temple, the Serkung (Golden Temple) and the main Prayer Hall (Grand Sutra Hall), plus a museum of relics and yak-butter sculptures. English tours (Y40) of the monastery leave the ticket office (售票处; Shòupiàochù) around 10.15am and 3.15pm; take the morning tour if you can as there's more to see. An alternative is to latch on to a Chinese tour. Even better is to show up at around 6am or 7am to be with the monks. At dusk the hillside resonates with the throaty sound of sutras being chanted behind the wooden doors.

The rest of the monastery can be explored by walking the kora and although many of the temple halls are padlocked shut, there are a couple of separate smaller chapels you can visit. Over three floors, the Barkhang is the monastery's traditional printing press (with rows upon rows of over 20,000 wood blocks for printing) and is well worth a visit. Photos are allowed.

Its interior illuminated by a combination of yak-butter lamps and electric light bulbs by the thousand, the 31m-tall Gòngtáng Chörten is a spectacular stupa with lovely interior murals and fantastic views from the roof onto a landscape dotted with the port-red figures of monks. At the rear of the stupa is a Sleeping Buddha (卧佛; Wòfó) depicting Sakyamuni on the cusp of entering nirvana.

The Dewatsang Chapel, built in 1814, ranges over four floors and houses a vast 12m-statue of Manjushri (Wenshu) and thousands of Buddhas in cabinets around the walls. The Hall of Hayagriva (马头明王殿; Mǎtóu Míngwáng Diàn; Hall of Horsehead Buddha), destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, was reopened in 2007. Containing vivid and bright murals, the hall also encapsulates a startlingly fierce 12m-high effigy of Hayagriva – a wrathful manifestation of the usually calm Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) – with six arms and three faces.

Access to the rest of the monastery area is free, and you can easily spend several hours just walking around and soaking up the atmosphere in the endless maze of mud-packed walls. The Tibetan greeting, in the local Amdo dialect, is 'Cho day mo?' (How do you do?) – a great icebreaker.

The best morning views of the monastery come from the Thangka Display Terrace, a popular picnic spot, or the forested hills south of the main town.