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Why
Tashilumpo Monastery
is special

Tashilumpo Monastery is the seat of the sizeable Panchen Lama sect, Tibetan Buddhism's second leading religious group.
The monastery is an interesting sprawling amalgam of traditional Tibetan monastic style halls, chapels and other structures connected by precipitous steps and narrow cobblestone alleys. The interplay between Tashilumpo's golden roofs and its white, red and black exterior walls creates a striking composition.

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Tashilumpo Monastery
tips & insights

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Creation

Tashilumpo Monastery was founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama (a close relative of the founder of the Yellow Hat sect.)

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Air is rarified

Tashilumpo is 3800 meters (nearly 13,000 feet) above sea level.

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Maitreya Buddha

The gilded, bejeweled and immense sculpture of the seated Maitreya (future) Buddha is one of the monastery's major draws.

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Monk population

Several thousand monks once inhabited Tashilumpo. Today, the number is considerably smaller.

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Festival days

If possible, visit the Tashilumpo Monastery on special festival days when a colossal, colorfully painted banner called a thangka is hung on a towering display wall behind the monastery (you can see the thangka wall with its draped painting of Buddha on the right side of the above photo). The crowds who come to view the thangka create a lively ambiance.

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Nearest major city

Tashilumpo Monastery is located just west of Shigaste. That city lies 280 kilometers (170 miles) west of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet autonomous region. See my map below for photos and descriptions of Tibet's other five Hillman travel wonders.

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Pronunciation guide

Tashilumpo:   t'ah-she-l'um-po

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