Tel:+ 86 0 13568288803
Email: nimatour@gmail.com

Tsetang(3100m)
Tsetang is 183km southeast of Lhasa. The capital  of Shannan prefecture. For travelers, Tsetang is of interest mainly as jumping boarder for exploration of the Yarlung Valey. Tsetang is divided into a new characterless Chinese town and an lod Tibetan of town.

. Samye Monastery
Samye Monastery is designed to represent the Buddhist universe and manyof the buildings in the courtyar are cosmological symbols. The square in front of the Monastery Guesthouse has some interesting bits and pieces. The stubby isolated building to the north constitutes the remains of a nine storey tower used to display festival thangkas.

Smaye Monastery situated in Dranang, was completed in 779 under the patron of Trisong Detsen. At the time of Samye's construction, Buddhism had been transmitted into Tibet, but there were no formal Buddhist priests or rituals. Trisong Detsen decided to invite Santarakshita and Padmasambhava, both Buddhist figureheads in India, to promote Buddhism in Tibet and participate in the construction of a monastery. Padmasambhava chose the construction site while the design was done by Santarakshita. After the construction was completed, Buddhism became the official religion in Tibet. Learned monks from inland China and India were invited to Tibet to translate Buddhist sutras into Tibetan. Trisong Detsen selected seven nobles to be the first monks in Tibet. Samye became the first formal monastery that established "triratna", referring to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, or Buddhist priesthood.

Samye means "unimaginable" in Tibetan. It was said that when Tritsong Detsen asked for suggestions about the construction of the monastery, Padmasambhava, exerting his magic power, showed the king an image of a monastery in his palm. That is the origin of the name.

The monastery combines the styles of China, Tibet and India, and the layout was designed to represent the ideal universe described in Buddhist scriptures. "Utse", the Great Hall symbolizing "Sumeru" in perfect Buddhist universe, is the largest structure in the monastery. The Sun and Moon chapels encircle the large hall, and four "stupas" of different styles stand at each corner of the room. These ¡®stupas¡® are colored in red, white, black and green to represent the four Heavenly Kings. Four larger halls and eight smaller ones, evenly distributed around ¡®Utse,¡® represent the oceans in that universe. The monastery is secluded from the outside world by a circular wall with thousands of Buddha statues sitting on it. This wall represents a mountain near the border of the universe.

"Utse" is a unique building, with three floors. The ground floor is Tibetan, with a turning wheel cloister full of splendid murals. Before the hall, visitors will see a stone "stele", which was erected to honor Trisong Detsen's vow of his piety to Buddhism. Inside there are several chapels in which different deities are enshrined. The holiest one is a Sakyamuni statue carved out of a huge rock from sacred Mt. Hepori. The second floor is a Chinese Sutra Hall which houses about 472 Chinese stone Buddhas.

The southeast corner is an apartment where the Dalai Lamas used to live during his visit to Samye. The Indian style top roof houses Arhats of Indian features. The hall is covered with murals depicting the lives of Sakyamuni & Padmasambhava, the Great Fifth, Samye's panorama layout and Tibetan history.

. Trandruk Monastery
Around 7km south of Tsetang Town.Trandruk Monastery is famous throughout Tibet since it was the first Buddhist chapel ever built in Tibet. Trandruk is one of the earliest Buddhist monasteries in Tibet, having been founded at the same time as the Jokhang and Ramoche in Lhasa. It lies five kilometers (three miles) south of Tsetang on the road leading to Yumbu Lakhang. Built under the reign of Emperor Songtsen Gampo (AD 617-650), Trandruk later experienced large-scale reconstruction after it converted to Gelugpa. According to legend, the monastery could only be built after Songtsen Gampo turned into a roc and conquered an evil dragon. The name "trandruk" means roc conquering a dragon.
In the fifteenth year of Emperor Taizong's reign, King Songtsen Gampo returned to Lhasa with his Chinese wife, Princess Wencheng. Songtsen Gampo and Princess Wencheng, a Buddhist, always visited the monastery. During their visits to Trandruk, they lodged in an apartment, which remains to this day. However the apartment is badly in need of restoration since it is in poor condition. Princess Wencheng was fond of willow trees and had many of them planted around the monastery.

The main building in Trandruk is the Tshomchen, in which Padmasambhava is enshrined. The Tshomchen was built in the style of Tang Dynasty structures and adopted the characteristics of Nepalese and Indian architecture. The building has many chapels. In one of the chapels, a precious pearl Thangka, representing Chenrezi at rest, is housed The Thangka, or scroll painting, is a special art of Tibetan Buddhism and is an elaborate and intricate depiction of Buddha's various forms and teachings. The Thangka in Tshomchen is made up of 30,000 pearls and hundreds of other gems like diamonds, sapphires, turquoise, rubies and amber. In Tibet, thangkas are frequently the center of Buddhist religious ceremonies. Pilgrims throw money to the thangka to show their respect.

. Yumbulagang Palace
Perched on the mountain top, the towering and outstanding Yumbulagang looks like a blockhouse. ¡°Yumbu¡± means female deer named after the shape of the Jormo Zhaxi Ceri Mountain which looks like a female deer. ¡°lagang¡± means sacred palace. Yumbulagang , ¡°palace of mother and son¡± in Tibetan dialect, is the first palace and one of the earliest buildings in Tibet and it has a history of more than 2,000 years. It¡¯s said that it was built for Nyatri Tsanpo, the first Tibetan King by Bon believers in the 2nd century BC. Then it became the summer palace of Songtsan Gampo and Princess Wencheng. The 5thDalai Lama changed it as the monastery of Old-Yellow Hat Sect (Kadamspa). The Jormo Zhaxi Ceri means ¡°auspicious mountain¡± in Tibetan dialect. About 400 meters in the northeast from the mountain, there is an ever-flowing spring called ¡°Geer spring¡±. It¡¯s said that the spring can cure any diseases, so most people who come to Yumbulagang to worship will come here to have a drink and take a bath.

In the 7th century AD, Songtsan Gampo moved the capital to Lhasa and Yumbulagang gradually became a Buddhist palace. The ground floor is the palace of ancient Tibetan Kings. Now in the middle you would see a statue of Buddha with Nyatri Tsanpo¡¯s statue on the left and Songtsan Gampo¡¯s to the right. Along the left wall are statues of Songtsan Gampo¡¯s capable ministerSanbuzha¡¢Tritsong Detsen, Tibetan ruler Totonianzhan. Along the left wall are statues of Tibetan rulerHeyebabu, Wusong, Songtsan Gampo¡¯s another minister Ka Dongzhan.The first floor is an elaborate hall enshrined the statues of Avalokitesvara and Sakyamuni. It¡¯s said the statue of Avalokitesvara in Yumbulagang is as ancient as that in Potala Palace. The walls are painted with beautiful murals which tell the early history of Tibet. The most famous one of those is the first one on the left which tells the story of the first Tibetan King Nyatri Tsanpo.

The highest point of Yumbulagang is a watchtower. It¡¯s said that Princess Wencheng lived here for her first summer in Tibet. Standing on the top and looking around, you can enjoy the excellent panoramic view of the valley.

The original palace is of medium size and it was enlarged by the 5th Dalai Lama and became a Buddhist monastery gradually. Presently, besides the rooms for the monks, there is a bedroom for Dalai Lamas who come here to do religious service.

. Sheldrak Cave
Sheldrak Cave is the preserve of hardy hikers and Tibetan pilgrims. It is a tough six hour climb to the west of Tsetang with an altitude gain of around 1000m.

For Tibetans, Sheldrak is one of Tibet's holiest pilgrimage destinations. It is the site of Guru Rinpoche's firstmeditation cave. King Trisong Detsen invited Guru Rinpoche to Tibet to exorcise the land of demonds and the influence of Tibet's indigenous Bon faith. According to legend, it was here in the Crystal Cave that he got the job done. Unless you have a keen interest in Tibetan pilgrimage sites, it would be best to treat this as a strenuous hike rather than as a serious attraction.

The cave is reached from the road that heads out to Chongye from Tsetang. About 4km from the centre of Tsetang there is a large chorten known as the Tsechu Bumpa. It's worth trying to hitch a ride along this section. From the chorten a trail heads west from the Chongye road up the Sheldrak Valley to Sekhang Zhirka village, a sky- burial site and then a small monastery. From here it is a tough climb of less than an hour to Sheldrak.

. LhamoLa-tso
The Lhamola Tso Lake is 30 kilometers to Gyaca county. In Tibetan Lhamola means the "Fairy Lake in the Air? It is about 5,000 meters above sea level and covers an area of 1 square kilometer. Looked down from the 5,100-meter snow peak, the lake is just like a scull-shaped mirror beset with peaks. The authorized lamas will come to observe the lake to find the useful information for the incarnation of every generation of Dalai and Panchen, and the Dalai and Panchen is determined to worship the Holy Lake once in his lifetime. It is said that the preexistence, this life and the future of people can be shown in this lake. The Buddhists believe that it is a good fortune to worship the lake. Not far away from the lake area stands large-scale xanadu and mani stone carvings.  It takes five days to travel around the Holy Lake scenery spot passing by the four counties of Nedong, Sangri, Qusum, and Gyaca. The distance totals 360 kilometers. The average altitude of the spot is about 3,500 meters.