3 Days in Shigatse

Arrive on the Lhasa train (about 253 km, 2.5-3 hours) or at Peace Airport, some 43 km out at about 3,782 m. Keep the first hours gentle at 3,836 m, then see the monastery founded in 1447 — halls usually open 9:00-17:00 and the circuit takes about 2-3 hours — and end on the Nyang Chu riverfront.

1. shigatse tashilhunpo monastery
2. shigatse nyang riverfront

Climb the steps (about 20 minutes) to the dzong ruins, first laid out around 1360, for a view over the old city and the river valley, then run 15 km southeast to Shalu Monastery, founded in 1087 and rebuilt in the 14th century with Han-style tiled roofs. Slow steps on the hill — the altitude asks for it.

1. shigatse dzong ruins
2. shigatse shalu monastery

About 90 km south, Gyantse sits at roughly 4,040 m. The fort on the rock is the castle damaged in the 1904 fighting and repaired in later decades; below it, the nine-storey Kumbum of Palcho was begun in 1418 and finished in 1436, with 108 doors and 76 chapels. Return for the evening train.

1. shigatse gyantse dzong
2. shigatse palcho kumbum