Situated in Dranang, Samye Monastery was completed in 779 under the patron of Trisong Detsen. At the time of Samye's construction, Buddhism had been transmitted into Tibet, but there were no formal Buddhist priests or rituals. Trisong Detsen decided to invite Santarakshita and Padmasambhava, both Buddhist figureheads in India, to promote Buddhism in Tibet and participate in the construction of a monastery. Padmasambhava chose the construction site while the design was done by Santarakshita. After the construction was completed, Buddhism became the official religion in Tibet. Learned monks from inland China and India were invited to Tibet to translate Buddhist sutras into Tibetan. Trisong Detsen selected seven nobles to be the first monks in Tibet. Samye became the first formal monastery that established "triratna", referring to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, or Buddhist priesthood.

Samye means "unimaginable" in Tibetan. It was said that when Tritsong Detsen asked for suggestions about the construction of the monastery, Padmasambhava, exerting his magic power, showed the king an image of a monastery in his palm. That is the origin of the name.

The monastery combines the styles of China, Tibet and India, and the layout was designed to represent the ideal universe described in Buddhist scriptures. "Utse", the Great Hall symbolizing "Sumeru" in perfect Buddhist universe, is the largest structure in the monastery. The Sun and Moon chapels encircle the large hall, and four "stupas" of different styles stand at each corner of the room. These "stupas" are colored in red, white, black and green to represent the four Heavenly Kings. Four larger halls and eight smaller ones, evenly distributed around "Utse," represent the oceans in that universe. The monastery is secluded from the outside world by a circular wall with thousands of Buddha statues sitting on it. This wall represents a mountain near the border of the universe.

"Utse" is a unique building, with three floors. The ground floor is Tibetan, with a turning wheel cloister full of splendid murals. Before the hall, visitors will see a stone "stele", which was erected to honor Trisong Detsen's vow of his piety to Buddhism. Inside there are several chapels in which different deities are enshrined. The holiest one is a Sakyamuni statue carved out of a huge rock from sacred Mt. Hepori. The second floor is a Chinese Sutra Hall which houses about 472 Chinese stone Buddhas.

The southeast corner is an apartment where the Dalai Lamas used to live during his visit to Samye. The Indian style top roof houses Arhats of Indian features. The hall is covered with murals depicting the lives of Sakyamuni & Padmasambhava, the Great Fifth, Samye's panorama layout and Tibetan history.
Southwest of "Utse" is the Sutra Translation Center. It was here that hundreds of translators from Tibet, India, and inland China translated huge volumes of sutra into Tibetan. Murals in the Center record the grand event. It currently is being used as college where lamas rest and debate sutras.

Although Samye trove has a large collection of artifacts, its murals are what make it prestigious throughout Tibet. Murals such as those telling Padmasambhava's life (ground and second floors of Utse), the history of Samye (south cloister on the second floor of Utse) and local folklore are unique to this monastery. The Samye murals are actually an encyclopedia of Tibetan culture and religion.

Chimpuk Cave lies 15 kilometers (9 miles) northeast of Samye Monastery. This place is another pilgrimage site where the most predominant Buddhist masters have religious services. Once there were hundreds of caves but now there are only about 40 caves although still some pious Buddhists are living within the caves.