Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Looking over the main street, this Tibetan place has a cosy atmosphere amid Tibetan de-
cor. The green-jacketed waiters are friendly and will help explain the various Tibetan
dishes available.
Sakya Monastery Restaurant
TIBETAN
(, Sàjiā Sì Cāntīng dishes ¥7-15; 8am-9pm)
This Tibetan joint is owned by the monastery and serves fried rice,
thugpa
, dumplings and
lashings of milk tea. It's cosy and always full of characters.
Manasarovar Sakya Hotel Restaurant
INTERNATIONAL
(, Shénhú Sàjiā Bīnguǎn Cāntīng 824 2222; dishes ¥25-35; breakfast, lunch & dinner; )
For those who are after Western food, such as omelettes, burgers, sizzlers and pizza. There
are also Tibetan, Nepalese and Indian dishes. The food is OK but the large dining hall
lacks the charm of other places in town.
Getting There & Away
Sakya is 25km off the Friendship Hwy. En route you'll pass the impressive ridgetop
Tongar Choede Monastery. Just 5km before Sakya at Chonkhor Lhunpo village is the Ogy-
en Lhakhang, where local farmers go to get blessings from relics said to be able prevent
hailstorms.
Lhatse
0892 / elev 3950m
Approximately 150km southwest of Shigatse and some 30km west of the Sakya turn-off,
the bleak town of Lhatse (Lāzī) is a likely pit stop for travellers headed to western Tibet.
Lhatse is more or less a one-street town with a small square near the centre. The 3km-long
main street runs east-west and used to be part of the Friendship Hwy, but this has now
been diverted to the north. Passing 4WD traffic will mostly be heading to Everest Base
Camp, the Tibet-Nepal border or the turn-off for Ali in western Tibet, about 6km out of
town.
