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Top Places to Visit in Shigatse

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Updated Apr 20, 2026
By ChinaTravelVIP  
As Tibet’s second-largest city, Shigatse is best known as the seat of the Panchen Lama. In this article, we’ll also highlight the top must-see attractions in Shigatse.

Shigatse, formerly known as Tsang by the Tibetans, is an ancient region situated at an altitude of 3,830 metres above sea level. As Tibet’s second-largest city, Shigatse is best known as the seat of the Panchen Lama. Situated on the alluvial plain at the confluence of the Yalong Tsangpo and Nyangchu rivers, Shigatse was once the political, religious and cultural centre of ‘Back Tibet’. The famous landmarks in Shigatse are considered the city’s calling cards, such as Mount Everest, standing at 8,848.13 metres, and Sakya Monastery, one of the six great monasteries of Tibet, founded by the first Dalai Lama in 1447. In this article, we will also introduce the top must-visit places in Shigatse.

Tashilhunpo Monastery

Tashilhunpo Monastery is one of the six great monasteries of Tibet, founded by the first Dalai Lama in 1447. It is the seat of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest-ranking figure in the Gelugpa school of the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy, just below the Dalai Lama. The monastery houses the tombs of the Panchen Lamas and a 22.4-metre-tall statue of Maitreya Buddha. Tashilhunpo remains popular amongst Tibetans today, and many believers come here on pilgrimage. At the entrance to Tashilhunpo Monastery, you can see the grand buildings with their golden roofs and white walls. There is a nine-storey-high Thangka wall, which displays images of the Buddha on 14, 15 and 16 May each year according to the Tibetan calendar.

Rongbuk Monastery

Rongbuk Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Nyingma tradition located in the town of Basum in Shigatse. The monastery lies at the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier at an altitude of 5,100 metres. It is the highest monastery in the world and lies just 200 metres below Mount Everest’s North Base Camp. It has been described as one of the places with the most spectacular views in the entire world, as the summits of Shishapangma, Mount Everest, Cho Oyu, and the peaks of Gyachung Kang can be seen. Rongbuk Monastery was founded in 1902 in an area that originally consisted of meditation huts which had been used by monks and hermits for over 400 years. The hermits’ meditation caves dot the cliff faces all around the monastery complex and throughout the valley. There are numerous walls and stones carved with sacred syllables and prayers, lining the paths. Today it remains an active site of Buddhist pilgrimage, hosting annual ceremonies attended by visitors from as far afield as Nepal and Mongolia.

Pala Estate

The Pala Estate is situated in the village of Banjuelenbu, Jiangzi County, Shigats Region, and is the main estate of the Pala family, a prominent Tibetan aristocratic family. It is the only fully preserved aristocratic estate in Tibet, and its buildings and grounds have largely retained their original appearance. The main building of the estate is a three-storey courtyard structure, with a total floor area of approximately 47,234 square metres. The estate features exhibition halls such as the Classical Pavilion, the Grand Exhibition Hall, and the Family History Hall, as well as special rooms for the owners to play mahjong. The estate’s cultural relics include a wide variety of fine foods, tableware, high-end clothing, famous watches, foreign wine, foreign cigarettes, medicines and so on, left behind by the estate’s owners, which vividly depict the arrogant and extravagant lifestyle of the aristocracy of that era.

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