Tashilhunpo Monastery

Tashilhunpo was founded in 1447 and grew into a walled complex of assembly halls, chapels, colleges and whitewashed monks' quarters covering a hillside, large enough to read as a town in itself, with gilded roofs above the ochre and white. Its most striking single object is the Jampa Buddha, a Maitreya figure of 26.2 metres completed in 1914, covered in gold and studded with jewels, standing in a purpose-built hall that visitors climb alongside floor by floor. Chapels hold the reliquary stupas of successive abbots, and a wall on the hillside is used to hang a huge appliqué thangka at festival time.

History

Tashi Lhunpo was founded in 1447 by Gedun Drub, a disciple of Tsongkhapa later counted as the first Dalai Lama, with donations from local nobles. Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, the fourth Panchen Lama, greatly enlarged it, and since then it has been the seat of the Panchen Lamas, each of whom added to it (Wikipedia, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery).

What's there

• The Jampa Buddha - a gilded Maitreya over twenty-six metres tall.
• The reliquary stupas - the tombs of successive abbots in the chapels.
• The monastic town - halls and quarters covering the hillside.
• The thangka wall - the structure used to display a giant painted banner.

When to go

April to October for mild weather; the thangka festival falls in summer and is the busiest and most spectacular time. Shigatse sits at 3,840 metres. Foreign visitors need a permit and guide.

Things to know

Photography inside chapels is restricted or charged. The complex involves considerable climbing at altitude. Shigatse itself is a modern city with limited other draw.

Nearby

Gyantse lies southeast; Everest base camp is south.

Key facts