Places of
particular interest in Tibet Outside of
Lhasa.
THE YARLUNG VALLEY
Ganden Monastery:
Tsong Khapa founded this Monastery, the first Gelukpa Monastery, in 1490 on one
of the most spectacular sites in Tibet, about40 km east of Lhasa near Dagze.
Work has begun to restore the damage wreaked by the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
So, extensive is the damage, one might easily think Ganden had been subjected
to saturation aerial bombardment. The four main temples now house about 200
monks, who were the remnants of a population that once exceeded 4000. The views
from Ganden, down into the Kyichu valley and across to the distant snowcaps,
are quite exceptional.
Chanzhusi Monastery:
This Monastery is about five km south of Tsedang. It was founded during the reign
of Songtsen Gampo. According to legend, many years ago this area was a vast
expanse of water, inhabited by a deadly Dragon. Songten Gampo decided to reclaim
the land beneath the water, in order to establish a city. He enlisted the help
of two magicians, who asked a roc (a mythical bird) to slay the dragon. The
roc then beat the Dragon over the head with its wings and killed it. Seven
days later the waters dried up and a grateful Songtsen Gampo built the Monastery.
In the 14th and 18th centuries the Monastery was enlarged. At present all the
buildings are under repair. The main temple, three storey high, has a large
sutra Chanting Hall in the centre of the ground floor. A small temple at the
rare of the walled compound has some interesting Thangkas.
The Tombs of the Tibetan Kings:
The Tibetans didn’t give their Kings a sky burial but choose interment
in tombs instead. Experts differ in their explanations; some believe this was
due to cultural influence of the Tang Dynasty in China, others consider this
was a result of Buddhist influence. Both of these explanations have been determined
by an archeological survey of Tibet, started in 1984, which has discovered over
1000 graves in 20 groups near Nedong. Since these graves belong to a Neolithic
culture, which flourished over 3000 years ago, it appears that burial in the
ground was a common practice long before the Tibetan Kings were interred in tombs.
TSEDANG
Yumbu Lagang:
Yumbu Lagang, situated in Nedong country of Lhoka prefecture, Yumbu Langang,
built in the second century B. C. is the first palace in Tibetan history. The
palace faces west and stands high on top of a hill. Statues of the Three Periods
of Buddha, the Tibetan king Nyatri Tsenpo, Lha Tho – Tho – Ri Nyantsen,
Tri Ralpachen, Songtsen Gampo and Trisong Detsen are all enshrined in the palace.
Tradduk Temple:
The Tradduk Temple, located in Nedong. It was established by King Songtsen Gampo
in the 7th century and belongs to the Gelugpa Sect (Order of Excellence). The
main attraction of this temple is the Assembly Hall. The images enshrined here
are all bronze and the corridors are covered with murals.
The Samye Monastery is the first Monastery
ever built in Tibet. It was founded by
the Tibetan King Trisiong Detsen and belongs
to the Nyingmapa and Sakyapa sects. The
architecture consists of three distinct
styles, namely, the Han, the Tibetan and
the Indian. The monastery was destroyed
by fire and was rebuilt three hundred years
later to serve as the residence of the
6th Dalai Lama.
TUMULI OF THE ANCIENT KINGS
Situated in Chongye, Lhoka, the Tumuli
are a group of tombs containing the kings
of the Tubo Kingdom. They are massive knolls
of earth with flat tops like platforms.
There are eight tombs that can be seen
including the tombs of King Songtsen Gampo,
Tride Tsukten and Trissong Detsen.
NAGARJE
Nagarje is a settlement on the shores
of Yamdrok Lake. This freshwater lake,
unlike other Tibetan lakes, is sweet and
non-saline. It is 624 sq. km. in area and
is shaped with like the two pincers of
a large scorpion. During the summer, it
is turquoise green in colour, but during
the winter it has thick crust of ice. It
is abundant in fish and has a large migratory
bird population.
Yamdruk Tso (The Turquoise
Lake):
Yamdok Tso, one of the three largest lakes of Tibet, lies about a hundred kilometer
to the southwest of Lhasa. The surface of the lake, with its fathomless depth,
covers some six hundred square kilometers. In the middle of the lake, ten or
so hilly islands stand independently one from the other providing homes to flocks
of wild ducks. Fish are also plentiful.
A small agricultural town famous for its
wool carpets and the Palkor Choide Chorten,
Gyantse lies between a Monastery and a
fort. This unique structure, built in 1414,
consists of five stories representing the
five steps to enlightenment, and is topped
by thirteen rings which symbolize the stages
of advancement towards Buddha hood. There
are 108 halls inside, all containing Indian
frescoes and Buddhist Shrines. Before 1959,
traders coming from Kalimpong and Gangtok
in India would enter Tibet through Yadong
traveling on to Gyantse, en route to Lhasa.
Palchor Choide Monastery:
Is located in Gyantse and founded in 1418 jointly by Kedup Je of the Gelugpa
Sect and Rabten Kunsang of the Sakyapa Sect, the Palchor Monastery has a special
influence over Tibet’s Buddhism owing to its unification of three different
sects, the Gelukpa, the Sakyapa and Bhuton Sects all worshiped in this Monastery.
The famous Kumbum pagoda stands nine story's high and has108 doors and 77 chapels.
It contains clay sculptures and various murals. The pagoda is said to have
100,000 images, either sculpted or painted, this is the reason for its name
the "100,000 Image Pagoda".
Pangmo Chorten:
The main site of Gyantse is an immense Chorten, or Kumbum (outsized chorten,
or pagoda of 100,000 images). It was built by Rapten Kunsang Phapa (1389 – 1442).
Chortens are receptacles of worship, similar to the stupas of India, with
many sacred objects within: statues, books, frescoes and items of gold
and silver. The Gyantse chorten is a deluxe model, and is quite innovative
in its architecture, it has about 70 interlocking chapels that you see
as you spiral your way up to the golden plume at the top. Each chapel is
richly, often grotesquely, decorated with thousands of frescoes, statues
and artifacts and lined with Buddhist texts inscribed in Sanskrit.
In aerial perspective, the chorten is
supposedly shaped like a Mandala, the embodiment
of the Lamaist universe. Pilgrims circumambulate
this giant wedding-cake, the inner spiraling
circuit of the chorten is a meditational
aid to enlightenment with the top canopied
section representing the highest plane
wisdom. As you wind your dizzy way to the
top, you begin to appreciate this principle.
The Fort (Gyantse Dzong):
The thick walls and the building-shells of this fort are much better preserved
than other forts around Tibet, but it is very difficult to get to see this
500- years- old colossus. You have to somehow try and get hold of a key from
a white house at the base, toward the south-eastern side. Ingeniously for times
of siege, the fort had its own well dug within the walls. It is not known if
they are still in place.
The Shalu Monastery, located within the Salu village, was built in the year 1000
by Jetsun Sherab Jungne. The architecture of the monastery resembles a Chinese
Yuan Dynasty temple. It is a rare and unique work of art, combining features
of both the Tibetan and Han dynasties. The monastery holds various relics such
and religious objects with Buddhist scriptures written on "pattra" leaves,
and the sacred decree of Pagpa, A Sakya Abbot.
SHIGATSE (3900 m.)
Most famous for its Tashilhunpo
Monastery built in 1447 by the first Dalai
Lama, Shigatse is the seat of the Panchen
Lama, who is regarded as the reincarnation
of the Buddha of Endless Enlightenment.
Items of interest inside this monastery
are: the relics of Sakyamuni, the Hall
of Maitreya, and a mind-boggling collection
of Thankas, frescoes and statues. There
is a bustling ‘free’ market
at the foot of the ruins of the Shigatse
Fortress where one can buy local handicrafts
embedded with coral and turquoise, Tibetan
daggers, Chinese porcelain and yak butter.
It is situated between 29o 02’N
and 88o 08’E in the southwest of
the Tibet Autonomous Region, where the
Nyangchu River joins the Yarlung Tsangpo
River. Shigatse is the second biggest town
in Tibet and acts as the center of transportation
and distribution of agriculture and husbandry
products from the southeastern part of
Tibet. "Shigatse" in Tibetan
means the "Estate that fulfills one’s
Wishes."
Tashilhunpo Monastery:
Tashilhunpo Monastery is the biggest Gelugpa Monastery in the Tsang region of
Tibet. It is located in the town of Shigatse and was founded by Gedun Drup,
a disciple of Tsongkapa, the founder of the Gelungpa Sect. Gedun Drup is recognized
as the first Dalai Lama. It was first built in 1447 and continuously expanded
by the successive Panchen Lamas. The Ngagpa College (Tantric College), one
of its four monastic colleges, is the residence of the Panchen lamas. The most
amazing image in this monastery is the statue of the giant Maitreya (Future
Buddha) erected by the 9th Panchen Lama in 1914. It took four years to build
this monumental statue, which stands twenty six meters high and is composed
of 275 kg. of solid gold, and a great quantity of precious things such as pearls,
turquoise, coral and amber. The 4th Panchen Lama’s funeral stupa was
built in 1662 and it stands eleven meters high and is covered in solid gold
and silver.
LHATSE (3950 M.)
Lhatse is situated where a main Tibetan
road turns westwards towards Mt. Kailash
and Mansarovar Lake. During the short summer
season, the whole valley is covered with
green barely fields and bright yellow mustard
meadows. It is a welcome change after the
barren lands of the Tibetan plateau. There
is also a small, hot spring located a few
kilometers away.
Sakya (Sag’ya, ‘Grey Earth’),
off the main Shigatse to Tingri route,
was once the base of the Sakyapa Sect (Red
Hats), which rose to power in the 13th
century. The sect has numerous followers
in Tibet, so Sakya is naturally the object
of their pilgrimage.
Sakya Monastery:
Located in Sakya, the Monastery stands in two parts on either side of Dongchu
River. This Monastery is the centre of the Sakyapa Sect (White Earth Order).
The northern part of the monastery was built in the year 1079 and the southern
founded in 1268 by a famous Abbot of Sakya, Pagpa, who once ruled the whole
of Tibet during the Yuan Dynasty. The State Council has classified it as national
protected monument, owing to its valuable number of Buddhist sutras and cultural
remains.
XEGAR (4350 m.)
A new Chinese commune built at the foot
of the ruins of Xegar Dzong, 7 km. from
the main road. With a population of 3000,
it is the centre of this large and remote
area and a base from which expeditions
to Mt. Everest and other peaks are launched.
GUTSUO
Gutsuo is a military base camp situated
at the base of the plateau. After passing
through the Nyalam Thong-La or Lablunga-La
pass (16400 ft.), panoramic views of the
northern face of the Himalayan range can
be seen including the best view of Mt.
Everest and its neighboring peaks. Accommodation
here is in tented camps or at the barracks.
NYALAM (3750 m.)
Known as ‘Kuti’ to
Nepalese traders, Nyalam used to be an
important trade centre. Nowadays, barrack
style Chinese communes surround the typical
old flat roofed, mud-brick houses. Although
vegetation is sparse, one can see an abundance
of alpine fauna on the hillside during
the summer months.
Better known by its Tibetan name, Khasa,
Zhangmu is a small settlement clinging
to a hillside 10 km from the Friendship
Bridge that crosses the Bhotekoshi river.
Since the closure of the China/India border
from Gangtok, Zhangmu has become the major
trading point between Tibet and Nepal.
The climate is quite different from the
hinterland. The hills around Zhangmu are
heavily wooded with many waterfalls in
summer and impressive ice formations in
winter. It has a bank, a post office, a
government store, and is presently undergoing
a construction boom to meet the demands
of trade and tourism.
THE KARO RUINS
Located 12 km away to the southeast of
Chamdo town, Karo is at an altitude of
3200 meters above sea level, Karo ruins
date back four to five thousand years and
belong to the Neolithic Age. These ruins
contain simple living structures, stone
paved roads, stone walls and cave dwellings.
Also many different kinds of chipped stone
implements have been discovered. The discovery
of the Karo ruins provided new material
for the study of migration and exchange
between peoples of northwest and southwest
of the region in the Neolithic Age.
THE RUINS OF THE GUGE KINGDOMS
Situated in the Tsada region of Ngari
the Guge Kingdom was originally built in
the 10th Century. According to historical
records some sixteen hereditary kings have
reigned here. The extensive Guge kingdom ruins are found
on a hillside around 300 meter high. The
ruins cover an area of 180,000 square meters,
and include five magnificent temples and
palaces, more than 300 chapels, 300 caves,
and 3 stupas each of which are around 10
meters in height. The temples contain many
lively murals and clay sculptures.
TERRESTRIAL HEAT IN TIBET
The northern grasslands,
called "Changthang" in
Tibet, have an extremely cold climate.
Eight or nine months a year, the whole
region is frozen except for the occasional
hot springs. The regions terrestrial heat
spots are found in Yangpachen, eighty-seven
kilometers to the northwest of Lhasa, they
cover some forty km. Steam and hot geezers
shoot up from the ground to over one hundred
meters.
THE HIMALAYAS
The mighty Himalayas, like
a silver screen, zigzag along Tibet’s southern horizon.
It possesses eleven peaks over 8000 meters,
among which five lie along the Sino-Nepalese
border, Mt. Everest (8848 m.), the world’s
highest peak, Mt. Lhotse (8516 m.), Mt.
Makalu (8463 m.), Mt. Cho-Oyu (8201 m.),
Mt. Shisha Pangma (8012 m.). There are
some thirty peaks over 7000 m. and many
more above 6000 m. The landscape on the
northern side of the Himalayas contains
the world’s highest glaciers.
Qomolangma, meaning " Goddess" in
Tibetan, is the highest mountain on earth
with an altitude of 8848m. Mount Qomolangma,
known to the western world as Mt. Everest,
stands south of Tingri in southern Tibet,
on the border between China and Nepal.
The optimum time to visit Mount Qomolangma
is from April to June, a golden period
for mountaineers.
Rigorous overland driving, trekking and camping
in Tibet at altitudes between 4390m/14400ft and 5150m/ 16,900ft.
Overland travel from Lhasa to Kathmandu, with nine days Trekking. Read More »
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Is located in Gyantse and founded in 1418 jointly by Kedup Je of the Gelugpa
Sect and Rabten Kunsang of the Sakyapa Sect, the Palchor Monastery has a special
influence over Tibet’s Buddhism owing to its unification of three different
sects, the Gelukpa, the Sakyapa and Bhuton Sects all worshiped in this Monastery.
The famous Kumbum pagoda stands nine story's high and has108 doors and 77 chapels.
It contains clay sculptures and various murals. The pagoda is said to have
100,000 images, either sculpted or painted, this is the reason for its name
the "100,000 Image Pagoda".
The Shalu Monastery, located within the Salu village, was built in the year 1000
by Jetsun Sherab Jungne. The architecture of the monastery resembles a Chinese
Yuan Dynasty temple. It is a rare and unique work of art, combining features
of both the Tibetan and Han dynasties. The monastery holds various relics such
and religious objects with Buddhist scriptures written on "pattra" leaves,
and the sacred decree of Pagpa, A Sakya Abbot.
Most famous for its Tashilhunpo
Monastery built in 1447 by the first Dalai
Lama, Shigatse is the seat of the Panchen
Lama, who is regarded as the reincarnation
of the Buddha of Endless Enlightenment.
Items of interest inside this monastery
are: the relics of Sakyamuni, the Hall
of Maitreya, and a mind-boggling collection
of Thankas, frescoes and statues. There
is a bustling ‘free’ market
at the foot of the ruins of the Shigatse
Fortress where one can buy local handicrafts
embedded with coral and turquoise, Tibetan
daggers, Chinese porcelain and yak butter.
Tashilhunpo Monastery is the biggest Gelugpa Monastery in the Tsang region of
Tibet. It is located in the town of Shigatse and was founded by Gedun Drup,
a disciple of Tsongkapa, the founder of the Gelungpa Sect. Gedun Drup is recognized
as the first Dalai Lama. It was first built in 1447 and continuously expanded
by the successive Panchen Lamas. The Ngagpa College (Tantric College), one
of its four monastic colleges, is the residence of the Panchen lamas. The most
amazing image in this monastery is the statue of the giant Maitreya (Future
Buddha) erected by the 9th Panchen Lama in 1914. It took four years to build
this monumental statue, which stands twenty six meters high and is composed
of 275 kg. of solid gold, and a great quantity of precious things such as pearls,
turquoise, coral and amber. The 4th Panchen Lama’s funeral stupa was
built in 1662 and it stands eleven meters high and is covered in solid gold
and silver. 
The northern grasslands,
called "Changthang" in
Tibet, have an extremely cold climate.
Eight or nine months a year, the whole
region is frozen except for the occasional
hot springs. The regions terrestrial heat
spots are found in Yangpachen, eighty-seven
kilometers to the northwest of Lhasa, they
cover some forty km. Steam and hot geezers
shoot up from the ground to over one hundred
meters.
