Photo: Windmemories / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Gyantse
Gyantse has preserved old-world atmosphere
Gyantse (3,950m) in the Nyang Chu valley, 254km south-west of Lhasa, is one of the least Chinese influenced towns in Tibet and is worth a visit for this reason alone. There are no conclusive records of settlement in Gyantse prior to the 14th century. But the town emerged as the center of fiefdoms with powerful connections with the Sakyapa order between the 14th and 15th centuries. By 1440 Gyantse’s most impressive architectural achievement the Kumbum and the Dzong were completed. Gyantse used to be the major centre for the trade of wood and wool between India and Tibet. Its position at the cross-roads of trade routes leading south to Bhutan and India, west to Shigatse and north east to Lhasa turned Gyantse into the third largest town in Tibet.
Trips that visit Gyantse
- Three Himalayan KingdomsDay 5: Lhasa-Yamdrok Tsho-Gyantse 15 days
- Nagchu Festival & Everest Base Tour to NepalDay 7 & 8: Around Namtsho Lake-Drive to Gyantse 16 days
Near Gyantse
More to see around Tsang.
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Sight
Everest North Area (Rongphu Face)
The north face of Everest and the Rongphu Glacier, reached by road from Tingri to Rongphu and Base Camp.
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Sight
Nyalam
A small town on the Friendship Highway near the Nepal border, used as an acclimatisation stop.
