Gyanste Tibet Photos

Gyantse is Tibet's 3rd largest city and seems to come out of nowhere when traveling from Lhasa to Shigatse. It has served as a trading post with India. The main sites are Palkor (or Pelkor) Chode monastery, containing the Kumbum (or Kumbu) Stupa, and the Dzong Fortress. The Kumbum Stupa to the right, built in the 16th century(?), is a 3 dimensional "Mandala", which is a model of the Buddhist universe. Its 5 stories represent the 5 steps to enlightenment. On the top are some additional chapels.

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Tibet - Gyantse

I read somewhere that there are 100,000 images of God in Kumbum, but hard to believe somebody counted them all. There are a lot of very cool icons and paintings. I didn't make it to the Dzong Fortress, but at a distance, it looks like the fortress and/or fort are pretty run down.