We drove about two hours from Gyantse to Shigatse, Shigatse is Tibet’s second largest city and the main attraction is Tashilhunpo Monastery.

thydzikgooglemap(http://sonyaandtravis.com/maps/gyantse-tibet-to-shigatse-tibet.xml)

Tashilhunpo Monastery

Tashilhunpo Monastery is very similar to previous Gelugpa (Yellow Hat sect) monasteries we had visited, the drawcard though was a large twenty-six metre high statue of Jampa (Maitreya), the Future Buddha. Housed in the Chapel of Jampa (Jamkhang Chenmo), the gilded statue is the largest in the world.

thydzikgooglemap(http://sonyaandtravis.com/maps/shigatse-tibet-tashilhunpo-monastery.xml,s)

Shigatse Dzong

Similar to the Gyantse Dzong, Shigatse Dzong sits on a hill overlooking the town. It strangely resembles the Potala Palace in Lhasa, only smaller, our guide shared a story in which the design of the Potala Palace was drawn on a banana leaf, and when it was transported to Shigatse for reproduction, it had shrank.