Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Upstairs is the throne room and living room of the Dalai Lamas, and to the right a lib-
rary.
Getting There & Away
Drölma Lhakhang is 16km southwest of Lhasa on the old road to Shigatse but is bypassed
by the main airport expressway that connects the capital to the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley.
Shongse (Shugsheb) Nunnery
Elev 4410m
Hikers and anyone who likes to get well off the beaten track will enjoy this excursion to
Tibet's largest
nunnery
(Xióngsè Nígū Sì; admission free)
, set in a large natural bowl about
55km south of Lhasa and home to over 160 nuns. The region is a favourite of birdwatch-
ers.
The newly paved road leads right up to the village-like nunnery. The central
assembly
hall
contains statues of Guru Rinpoche and several old lamas of the Nyingma and Dzo-
gchen schools. Stairs to the right lead upstairs to a chapel with a statue of Machik Lab-
dronma (holding a double drum), the famous 11th-century adept who opened up the valley
and is considered an emination of Yeshe Tsogyel (the consort of Guru Rinpoche). The as-
sembly hall contains a B&W photo and wall mural of one of Labdronma's subsequent rein-
carnations.
You can hike up the hill, following the electric poles, for about 45 minutes to the
Gan-
gri Tokar shrine
(Drubkhang), where Longchenpa, an important 14th-century Dzogchen
lama, once meditated. The chapel has a cave shrine and a sacred tree stump in front of a
rock image of the Dzogchen deity Rahulla.
From here fit and acclimatised hikers can climb for a couple of hours up past meditation
caves (marked by prayer flags) to the ridgeline behind. The views of the Kyi-chu Valley
are fantastic from here and if the weather is clear you'll get views of snowcapped 7191m
Nojin Kangtsang and other Himalayan peaks to the south. From the ridgeline you can con-
tinue northwest across a boulder field for 15 minutes to a small hill (5160m) topped by a
chörten that offers epic views northwards as far as Lhasa. Alternatively you can continue
east along the ridge to summit the bowl's main peak.
