In his book, "Dreams and Truths from the Ocean of Mind," Sogan Rinpoche introduced us to the sacred sites of his native Golok and the Awo Sera and Bayan Monasteries that were entrusted to him as the Sixth Sogan Tulku of Tibet.
The following are excerpts from his book, available at Amazon, click HERE to learn more.  The book is also available in audiobook.  
Golok
"The spring and summertime in Golok are glorious.  Once the ice and snow of winter retreat, the streams and rivers fill with pure glacial waters, and the hills and valleys exchange their white winter mantles for lush green grasses and many varieties of wildflowers plying their bright colors and wafting their divine fragrances on the gentle mountain breezes.  It is from these alpine grasses, herbs, and flowers that powerful medicines are formulated and the finest incense is made.  The air is pristine and bracing, the sky is the lustrous blue of lapis lazuli and chrysoberyl, and the clouds are the purest, most radiant white.  Every country has its distinctive patters of sky and clouds.  The Golok sky is known for its great, billowing white clouds in their infinite variety of fantastic shapes.  They travel across the azure sky in an endless procession, like an empyrean parade of celestial heroes." (page 13). 
Click HERE to learn about Rinpoche's visit to Golok in 2007, and see pictures of its majestic landscape.  
Awo Sera Monastery
"As we approached the lower end of the valley, we looked up to see some of the buildings of Awo Sera Monastery sitting grandly on the slopes of the mountain. Suddenly the morning sun rose over the eastern mountains and illuminated the Monastery in golden glory.  The white walls of the buildings with ornaments of gold crowning their roofs, and structures that appeared to be ancient ruins all welcomed us with supernal brilliance as the sound of the deep monastic drums, long mountain horns, and echoing conch shells blended with the roar of the crowds chanting mantras and calling out auspicious greetings"  (page 92).    
To learn more about Awo Sera Monastery, click HERE.  
Bayan (Wanyan) Monastery
"Bayan mountain is renowned as a fabulous 'water mountain.'  Volcanoes are said to be 'fire mountains.'  Other mountains are composed mostly of earth and metal.  Bayan mountain is known as a 'water mountain' as it contains subterranean lakes, aquifers, and springs, with fabulous fish found nowhere else.  The monastery built on the 'lap' of the slope, on a flat area half way down from the summit, is called Bayan or WanyanMonastery.  Bayan Mountain is celebrated both for its beauty and its imposing appearance.  It is the highest mountain in a region of high mountains.  Its peak seems to reach half way into the heavens" (pages 35-36).
To learn more about Bayan (Wanyan) Monastery, click HERE.