Explore Tibet Offers Trips to the Historical City of Shigatse
Tibet (PRWEB) June 07, 2014 -- Explore Tibet, a Lhasa-based tour company, is now promoting tailor-made tours to Tibet.
When talking about the exciting travel destinations in Tibet, most of the people tend to think about the Mount Everest, Mount Kailash, or maybe Lhasa, the ancient capital of Tibetan empire, with attractions like Potala Palace and Jokhang in it. Not many people actually know about Shigatse, the historical second largest city of Tibet.
With over 600 years of history, Shigatse is a holy city that was the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the second highest spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism.
Prior to the emergence of Chinese rule in Tibet, Shigatse was a major prefecture in Tibet ruled by two Dzongpons (district chiefs) appointed by the center government in Lhasa. The prefecture then was divided into more than 50 districts called Dzongs.
Shigatse is located at an altitude of 3,840 metres (12,600 ft) at the junction of the Yarlung Tsampo River and the Nyang Chu River; the city is about 250km southwest of Lhasa. Currently, it is a prefecture of Tibetan Autonomous Region with an urban population of about 100,000. The city is situated on plain terrain and fertile land surrounded by high mountains. There are five peaks higher than 5,500 meters (18,000 ft) in the prefecture.
One of the major tourist attractions in the city is Tashilhunpo Monastery, the holy monastery founded by Gedhun Drupa, the First Dalai Lama. Subsequently, it became a very important learning center for Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Later on, the monastery became the traditional seat of the successive Panchen Lama. The monastery has a very brilliant architectural design, and it houses the funerary stupa of the First Dalai Lama, the only one not entombed in Lhasa. There is also the renowned 26-meter-high giant statue of the Maitreya Buddha.
Shigatse has great advantage from its location; besides being not very far from Lhasa, the Mount Everest is just about 300km from the city, and the city is well-connected by highway with the Tibet-Nepal border.
With its beautiful landscape and rich cultural elements coupled with the favorable location, Shigatse should be an indispensible part of your Tibet tour.
Explore Tibet is a locally-owned Tibet travel agency committed to responsible tourism, Tibetan travel permit and sustainable practice.
Sonam Jamphel, Explore Tibet Travel Agency, http://www.exploretibet.com, +86 15889090408, [email protected]
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