Shigatse attractions:

1.Yamdrok Yumtso Lake 2. Palkhor monastery 3.Pala manor 4.Shalu monastery 5.Tashilumpo Monastery 6.Sakya Monastery and 7.Mt. Everest area

Shigatse
Sometimes it is written as Xigatse, means "fertile land" and stands at the junction of the Yarlong Tsangpo and Nyangchu River. It used to be the capital of Tsang and now is the capital of Shigatse prefecture. The 600 year old city is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, who is one of the two prestigious spiritual leaders in Tibet and the abbot of the Tashilhunpo Monastery. About 350 km from Lhasa, it is an important stop between Lhasa and west Tibet where pilgrims and tourists often wander. Shigatse has a population of over 80,000, of which 97% are Tibetan. It is the second largest city within Tibet has undergone large scale development. Most tourist facilities stand along Jiefang Dong Lu, Beijing Bei Lu, Zhufeng Lu and Shandong Lu. West of the market and below the Dzong is the old Tibetan quarter where many people like to visit.

1.Yamdrok Yumtso Lake : it is one of holy lakes in Tibet lying about 100 kilometers southwest of Lhasa. It is 4441 meters above sea level. We usually drop a visit here on the way from Lhasa to Gyantse. There are many islands providing homes to wild ducks and geese. It is also called the "Fish Store of Tibet".<<<<Back<<<<

2.Palkhor monastery: At the foot of Dzong Hill nearby Gyantse, Pelkhor Monastery is a very special monastery in Tibet. There are monks from Gelugpa, Sakyapa and Kahdampa order living harmoniously together although they quarreled and fought. It is famous for the Kumbu Stupa built in 1412 and completed 10 years later. In the stupa, there are 108 gates and 77 chapels <<<<Back<<<<

3.Pala manor: A ten-minute drive from Gyangtse will take you to Pala Manor, a place that will give you something of an insight into the lifestyle of the wealthy landowning people who once lived in this area.
Originally Pala, the former owner of the Manor, was a Bhutanese chief but due to civil strife in Bhutan, he moved to Tibet with his family where in due course he became a local official. At the time of the Tibet Democratic Reform in 1959 he left Tibet along with the Dali Lama to live in exile.
In the days before the Democratic Reform, the manor had included twenty-two smallholdings, six lots of grassland and farmland covering some 8600 Mu (1414.45 acres). More than 14,250 cattle were grazed here and 2,440 serfs worked on the estate. Their tasks included general farm labour and animal husbandry as well as wine production. In addition many were engaged in knitting, sewing and the catering chores and other tasks necessary for the running of the estate. The peasantry had virtually no freedom, were treated harshly and suffered a very inadequate standard of living. Yet through their labour they helped provide their master with a grand lifestyle while they lived in dark and overcrowded conditions with a lack of amenities that could hardly be imagined in a modern society. <<<<Back<<<<

4.Shalu monastery, it is located 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Shigatse, built in 1040. In 1329, an earthquake destroyed the monastery. In 1333, it is rebuilt under the patronage of the Chinese Mongolian emperor. Since many Chinese Han artisans participated in rebuilding the monastery, the style combined the local Tibetan style with the Chinese style of the Yuan Dynasty. This is the only monastery in Tibet that combines these styles.<<<<Back<<<<

5.Tashilumpo Monastery, It was built in 1447 AD, the oldest and largest Gelugpa monastery in Tibet, the seat of Banchen Lama, painted in red and white, the buildings in the monastery stand closely together in terraced rows, offering a grand and majestic view. The most amazing image in this monastery is the statue of giant Maitreya (Future Buddha)-
-the largest one in the world, erected by the 9th Panchen Lama in 1914, it stands 26 meters in height and 275 kg in weight with solid gold, great quantity of precious things such as pearls, turquoises, corals and ambers. The image of the Buddha is kind, generous and vivid.<<<<Back<<<<

6.Sakya Monastery ,it is also called the "Second Dunhuang" as it stores numerous valuable art pieces. In addition to lots of statues of Buddha, there are tens of thousands of sutras written in gold powder. So it is also known as the greatest religious library in Tibet. 130 kilometers southwest of Shigatse, the monastery is divided into two parts by the Drum River. However the northern monastery was left with nothing but ruins from which you can still see what a splendid history it ever had. The southern monastery is in good condition. In 1961, the State Council cited it as one of the cultural relic units subject to state protection.<<<<Back<<<<

7.Mt. Everest Standing at 8,848.13 meters above sea level, Mt. Everest is the highest mountain on earth. It is also called "Mt. Qomolangma" in Tibetan language. The eternal snow at the peak, massive glaciers and seracs make it such a natural splendor that every year, many mountaineers and tourists from all over the world come here to get a life-long experience with it.<<<<Back<<<<

• Other places: Lhasa;Lhokha/Tsedang; Ngari;Nyingchi;Chamdo
• Related tours: 6 days Lhasa-Gyantse-Shigatse- tour; 10 days Lhasa-Mt.Everest tour;Overland trip to Kathmandu