UNESCO-listed · LhasaPotala Palace
The winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, stacked against the Marpori hill and visible from most of Lhasa.
See this place →Monastery city
Shigatse & Tashilhunpo
The Tsang capital, and the giant seated Buddha of Tashilhunpo behind the town walls.
CountryTibet
RegionTsang
Height3,840 m
Best timeMay–Oct
Typical visitOvernight
What it is
Shigatse is Tibet’s second city and the seat of the Panchen Lama. Tashilhunpo holds a 26 m gilded statue of Maitreya, the tombs of the Panchen Lamas and the monks’ assembly hall, and the old town around it is a bazaar and printing-house quarter.
How we visit it
On the Lhasa–Everest and Lhasa–Kailash roads, and we stop overnight: the monastery on arrival, the fort and the market in the late afternoon, and then the valley road west next morning.
Before you go
Good to know
- Half a day is enough for the monastery, an overnight makes it comfortable
- The Sanconbazar market on the north side is the best part of the town
- Fuel stops and permits are arranged in Shigatse on the Kailash route
Keep exploring
Other places in Tibet
UNESCO-listed · LhasaSacred circuit
Jokhang Temple & Barkhor Circuit
Lhasa’s spiritual centre, and the pilgrim round that has walked around it for 1,300 years.
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Sacred lakeLake Namtso
The sky lake — turquoise water under the Nyenchen Tanglha range, and nothing else in sight.
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5,200 m baseMount Everest from Rongbuk
The north side of Everest — monastery, flag-squares and the Rongbuk glacier with the peak behind them.
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PilgrimageMount Kailash & Lake Manasarovar
Sacred to four religions and to no tourism at all: the mountain, the lake, and the three-day walk between them.
See this place →
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