SHIGATSE
An excellent excursion from Lhasa is a circuit that takes in the towns of Shigatse, Gyantse and Tsetang. Fine highway and stunning scenery on the way make this a superb trip. It also offers a comprehensive experience of Tibet in a neat itinerary.
Shigatse (altitude 3,900 m) lies some 274 km to the west of Lhasa and is Tibet’s second largest city. The highway runs alongside the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river passing through narrow gorges and broad river valleys. Farmers plowing their fields with yaks, sheep grazing on the vast plains, awe-some sand dunes and rocky hills in the distance are the scenic rewards of this journey.
The Tashilunpo Monastery, built in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama, is Shigatse’s most important culture and religious site. The main chapel here contains a huge 16-meter high statue of Maitreya, the future Buddha. Other buildings contain images of Sakyamuni (the present Buddha), white and green Taras and embalmed bodies of past Panchen Lamas.
