Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lhori Ani Gompa is a tiny place built around two ancient meditation caves of Guru Rin-
poche, one of which has a stone footprint of the guru aged eight. It's an atmospheric place
attended by a couple of nuns. It's signposted 1km up a side road.
A couple of kilometres further is
Chenresig Monastery
, thought to have been built by
King Songsten Gampo.
Dramaje Monastery
BUDDHIST, MONASTERY
About 41km from Gyantse is the county capital of Penem Xian and its 15th-century
Dramaje (or Tramejen) Monastery. Levelled in the Cultural Revolution, the monastery was
rebuilt in 2006 and is home to 20 monks. In the inner chapel look for three lifelike statues:
King Trisong Detsen (wearing a white hat), Shantarakshita (wearing a red hat) and Pad-
masambhava.
According to lore, it was Shantarakshita (at the behest of Trisong Detsen) who invited
Padmasambhava to Tibet in order to subdue Tibetan devils and demons.
Shigatse
0892 / pop 80,000 / elev 3840m
About 250km southwest of Lhasa and 90km northwest of Gyantse lies Shigatse (Rìkāzé),
Tibet's second-largest town and the traditional capital of Tsang province. Shigatse is a
modern, sprawling city, with wide boulevards humming with traffic (even in the
pedestrian-only lane). As you drive in across the plains, the site of the Potala-lookalike
Shigatse Dzong, high on a hilltop overlooking the town, will probably fire your imagina-
tion, but the fort is empty and most of what you see dates from a 2007 reconstruction. It is
the Tashilhunpo Monastery, to the west of town, that is the real draw. Since the Mongol
sponsorship of the Gelugpa order, Shigatse has been the seat of the Panchen Lama, and
this seat was traditionally based in the monastery.
The modern city is divided into a tiny old Tibetan town huddled at the foot of the fort,
and a rapidly expanding modern Chinese town that has all the charm of, well, every other
expanding modern Chinese town.
During the second week of the fifth lunar month (around June/July), Tashilhunpo
Monastery becomes the scene of a three-day festival when a huge thangka is unveiled.
