SIGATSE (el. 3900m) lies 274 km to the west of Lhasa. It is Tibet’s second largest city and has a 500-year old history. The highway runs alongside the YARLUNG TSANGPO (Brahmaputra) river passing through narrow gorges and broad river valleys. The TASHILHUNPO Manastery, build in 1447, houses a 26-meter high statue of MAITREYA (the Buddha to come). Other buildings contain images of SAKYAMUNI (the Buddha of our times) and embalmed bodies of lamas.

GYANTSE (3800m.) is located 260 km to the southwest of Lhasa. This trading town was a major stop on the legendary India-Tibet caravan route. Gyantse’s centerpiece is the KUMBUM Stupa which is 32 m. high and contains 77 rooms and 100000 images of the Buddha. PELKOR CHODE Monastery and Gyantse Fort (built atop a massive rock) are other major sights here.
 

TSETANG (195km) from Lhasa to the southeast is known as the cradle of Tibet civilization. The ancient town offers a number of side trips that illustrate Tibets’s early history. The Valley of the Kings (ancient capital of the Yarlung Kings who established the Tibetan nation), the YUMBU LANGANG Palace (built for the first Yarlung king), and the TANDRUK monastery (one of the three royal Buddhist temples) are some of the major sights. Mt. KAILASH and Lake MANASAROVAR in western Tibet are intensely sacred pilgrimage sites for the Hindu, Buddhist, Janis and Bon faithful-besides presenting an entrancing natural sight. Kailash is 1257 km over a mountain highway from Lhasa.