Tibetpedia

Category: Central Tibet Towns

Central Tibet Towns

Central Tibet towns offer a great experience of Tibet particularly for those who appreciate history. There is good reason for why Lhasa qualified to have three different heritage sites preserved by UNESCO. Each of the these three sites – Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, and Norbulingka Park – could easily occupy a full day if you had a good guide to introduce you to their rich and complex histories. The same holds true for Shigatse‘s Tashi Lhunpo monastery and Dzong (fort) and the fascinating history of the British invasion just over a hundred years ago (who knew?), and much more. The beautiful and fertile Yarlung Tsampo river valley near Tsetang is held to be the birthplace of the Tibetan civilization and is home to Samye Monastery, the oldest Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Nearby is also the Yumbu Lagang Palace, the first building in Tibet according to legend and the palace of Tibet’s first king during the second century, Nyatri Tsenpo.

Planning to travel to Central Tibet? Check out our Tibetan Business Highlights in Central Tibet.

Beyond history

Much adventure is available beyond the towns of Central Tibet. These are all gateway cities to the vast and rugged Tibetan Plateau and the unparalleled natural beauty that awaits there. Interested in visiting Everest Base Camp? Or Mt. Kailash in far western Tibet? Or traveling overland to Kathmandu? All of these options and more are available during a visit to Central Tibet.

For a helpful introduction to the geography of Tibet’s three regions relative to each other and the rest of China, be sure to visit our page on Tibet Travel Essentials.

  • Lhasa

    Lhasa

    Lhasa (ལྷ་ས་) has been considered the capital of the Tibetan peoples since as early as the 7th century. After conquering several surrounding kingdoms and two significant political marriages with Chinese and Nepali princesses, Songtsan Gampo became the first leader of a unified Tibetan Empire. He began construction on a palace which formed the foundation and determined the design of the current Potala Palace. In 641, he built the Jokhang Temple to house a treasured gold statue of Siddartha Guattama dating back to the Buddha’s lifetime.
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    Pilgrims visit Lhasa from all corners of Tibet to worship at the Jokhang Temple

    Modern day Lhasa is interesting in and of itself. Though there is a larger Chinese population in the city than Tibetans these days, they have predominatly settled on the Western side of the city. The Central and Eastern parts of town are where you will find the majority of the Tibetan population and all of the significant cultural sights.

    When traveling to Lhasa, there are a few things to remember. Due to it’s location within the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), you will need both a Tibet Travel Permit (TTP) and a Chinese Visa to enter Lhasa as a foreign traveler. Once you arrive, especially if you have come by air, it is important to remember that with such a dramatic change in elevation every traveler will experience at least minor discomfort. This includes minor headaches, disturbed sleep, lack of appetite, and sometimes minor dizziness, so take things easy for the first couple of days. The body naturally adjusts within two to three days, although some find themselves fine after the first day, but watch yourself and your traveling companions for  elevation related symptoms. While the vast majority of people will be fine after two or three days, in serious cases medical evacuation may be neccessary, so don’t take this too lightly.

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    Drepung monastery sits on the north side of town with a beautiful view of the Lhasa valley

     

    Lhasa (or Lasa (拉萨) in Mandarin) is home to many cultural relics, including three UNESCO world heritage sites – the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Norbulingka (and Summer Palace). The three most popular Gelugpa sect monasteries can all be accessed from Lhasa: Drepung and Sera monasteries sit just outside of the city; Ganden monastery is just over an hour away, so many make a day trip out of it. Sera Monastery is famous for their live debates starting at 3pm Monday to Friday (sometimes Saturday), and many visitors are drawn like a bug to the flame to watch these lively conversations. Barkhor Plaza and Old Town surrounds Jokhang Temple with bustling foot traffic. Souvenir shops, jewelry and clothing stores, and restaurants abound, which makes walking the stone paved alleys around Barkhor Plaza and Old Town a cultural experience in and of itself.

    A variety of cuisine can be found in Lhasa, and often all within the same menu. You can enjoy a decent burger and fries while, your companion can choose anything from Nepali set meals to Indian curries or Tibetan momos. The majority of chefs at Lhasa’s best restaurants are Nepali.

    Your guide can help you book tickets to visit the Potala Palace, which is a must see. The maze of candle lit rooms on the inside is fascinating, and the park on the backside of the palace is refreshingly beautiful. Take an evening after dinner to stroll in the square, and snap some night photography of the Potala Palace.

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    The beauty of the Potala Palace rises over Lhasa and is visible from anywhere in the Lhasa valley

    Though the ticket price is high (seats start at approximately $60 USD), the live outdoor theater performance of Princess Wencheng is impossible to describe with words or capture with a camera. It has a cast of 800 members, along with live yaks, sheep, and horses all featured on the 150m wide stage. With the mountains south of Lhasa as the backdrop, the show begins at dark, and lasts for an hour and a half.

    While visiting Lhasa, many travellers make their way outside of the city to Yamdrok Lake. Yamdrok is a freshwater lake over 72kms long, and it is one of the biggest sacred lakes in Tibet. Being located only 100km south of the city makes it a popular day trip.

    For travelers who are interested, the New Year (Losar), Saga Dawa, and Chökor Düchen festivals are three of the biggest yearly festivals celebrated in Lhasa. Particularly the New Year and Saga Dawa festivals see the city splashed with colour, with thousands of pilgrims coming to the holy city from all corners of Tibet.

  • Shigatse (Rikaze)

    Shigatse (Rikaze)

    Also known as Rikaze (日喀则), Shigatse (གཞིས་ཀ་རྩེ་ས་) is the second largest city in Central Tibet. It is a prefectural capital city with a population of over 700,000, and is most famously known for Tashilhunpo Monastery. This monastery is home to the Panchen Lama, the second highest lama in the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and best survived the excesses of China’s cultural revolution. It still functions as an active monastic community today. Shigatse is easily accessed by road, rail or air from Lhasa, the provincial capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Tourists typically stop through on their way to Everest Base Camp and Nepal, therefore it is known as the “Gateway to Everest.”

    The fastest and most direct way to Shigatse from Lhasa by vehicle is the newer Friendship Hwy (also known as the northern Friendship Hwy) that links Tibet with Nepal. This is a 270km trip that takes 5 hours due to strict speed control. It follows the Yarlung Tsampo river valley for most of the route where the farming lifestyle on the Tibetan plateau can be seen along the way. There is also a popular scenic route along the “old” Friendship Hwy that takes you over the Khamba La pass for a sweeping view of Yamdrok Lake, past the Karola Glacier, and through Gyantse – home of the largest stupa in Tibet. Most travelers will request to take the scenic route on one of the directions when traveling to and from Shigatse. A three hour train ride is an option as well.

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    Entrance to Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse.

    While in Shigatse, a tour of Tashilhunpo Monastery is essential. For those interested in visiting the various chapels and halls within the monastery grounds it is best to go in the morning before they get locked up for lunch soon after 12:00pm. Photographers be aware that photography fees are collected in each chapel and can be as expensive as RMB 150 per chapel! Travelers can opt to join both the locals and pilgrims from afar to do the lingkhor (“holy path”) around the monastery. There are essentially two routes that can be taken. First, is the path around the immediate monastery grounds that can take up to one hour depending on your pace. There is also a longer route that takes you over to the Shigatze Dzong (fort), destroyed in the 1960s but rebuilt in 2007, which can take up to three hours. The fortress perches over the town and resembles the Potala Palace. Walking the lingkhor, or Kora, is a great way to mix with the locals, get some wonderful photos, and further acclimatize spending a day at 3,800 meters above sea level.

    As most cities in China are growing rapidly in modernization, this town is no exception, meaning there are several good hotel options available. The Gesar Hotel, though not as convenient to the city center, has beautiful Tibetan themed rooms, a decent breakfast, and several good restaurants nearby. The Manasarova Hotel is in the city center, also Tibetan themed, but older and getting a little run down.

  • Tsetang ( Zedang)

    Tsetang ( Zedang)

    Nestled in one of the most fertile regions of the Yarlung Tsampo River basin, Tsetang (རྩེད་ཐང་།) was the perfect place to start a new civilization. Referred to as Zedang in Chinese (泽当), Tibetans consider this quaint city the birthplace of their people. According to legend, the union of an ogress and a monkey led to the first Tibetan people. Regardless of how you believe the first Tibetans got to the Yarlung Tsangbo River valley basin, history does attest to this region being the cradle of the earliest Tibetan civilizations on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. The Tibetan peoples spread out from Zedang over time, venturing to less fertile, harsher areas. The famed first emperor of the entire Tibetan plateau (33rd king), Songtsan Gampo and his father hail from this area.
    Overlooking Tsedang
    Zedang is nestled in one of the most fertile regions of the Yearling River basin.

    Visiting Zedang

    As the fourth largest town in Tibet, Tsetang city is a bustling town with modern streets. It is the capital city of Shannan Prefecture with nearly 16,000 residents and governs 13 other counties in the region. There is little about the town itself that would merit a visit, but the surrounding area is full of history and beauty. Accommodation options are limited in this remote town, but the Tsetang Hotel offers surprising comfort with decent wifi and friendly staff. Breakfast is passable but certainly not memorable, while other meals would be best enjoyed somewhere else in town.

    Around Tsetang

    Samye monastery is known as the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet and is only 30 km from Tsetang. It is a must see. In closer proximity (9km) is Yumbulagang, the first Tibetan palace for the first king of Tibet from the second century BCE. Songtsan Gampo used this as a summer palace in the seventh century CE and it was converted into a Gelugpa sect monastery in the 16th century CE. Yumbulagang is considered the oldest known dwelling in Tibet and its location combined with the style of construction makes it feel more like a fortress than a palace. The easy climb up the winding stairs is well worth the view of the valley from the top and visitors are permitted to enter the small chapel of this ancient palace turned monastery.

    Samye Monastery
    Samye Monastery Tsetang

    South of Tsetang lies the vast Himalaya Mountain Range that stretches across the southern border of the Tibetan plateau, and to the north of town are the Nyanchen Tanggula mountains. It is in between these two ranges that the Yarlung Tsampo river runs and the valley becomes the widest and most fertile in the Tsetang area. The city sits on the south bank of the river. A popular three day trek in the area begins from Ganden Monastery outside Lhasa and heads south over the Shugu La and Chitu La passes before arriving at Samye Monastery (alternatively you can do it the other direction of course). From there you can hire a local vehicle to take you the 30km to Tsetang.

    Transportation

    It is a three and a half hour drive (160km) from Lhasa to Tsetang. The trip involves retracing the route to the Lhasa Gonggar Airport, before following the Yarlung Tsampo River as it flows east to Tsetang. Due to its proximity to the airport, some travelers choose to visit Tsetang before going to Lhasa. Besides avoiding retracing your steps after going to Lhasa, the big benefit to visiting Tsetang first is the lower elevation (the town sits at 3100m, more than 500m lower than Lhasa) which helps travelers adjust more naturally to the high elevation of the Tibetan plateau, especially on the first night.