Get to Gyantse & Get around Gyantse

Gyantse is one of the famous national historical and cultural cities as well as an emerging tourist town in Tibet. Masses of tourists come to visit Palcho Monastery, Pala Manor and Gyantse Dzong Fortress in Gyantse when passing through on their to Shigatse each year. As an important transportation hub, Lhasa Yadong Highway and Shigatse Yadong Highway join Shigatse Gyantse Highway at Gyantse. Apart from cultural landscapes, you can also enjoy the gemmy Yamdrok Lake and Kharola Glacier if you travel from Lhasa to Shigatse through Gyantse.

Lhasa to Gyantse

Gyantse County is about 260 km from east Lhasa, nearly 6 hours’ driving. Now there are already direct busses from Lhasa to Gyantse to take. Independent travelers who expect to view the verdurous sapphire –Yamdork Lake on the way to Gyantse can buy bus tickets from Lhasa to Gyantse at Lhasa Western Suburb Bus Station. So Yamdrok Lake and Kharola Glacier can be enjoyed on the way. Perhaps you can simply rent a jeep or other cross-country vehicle to send you to Gyantse in a more straightforward way. Remember to bargain with the driver until he agrees to drive you for a reasonable fare.

Foreigner tourists will be directly escorted to Gyantse from Lhasa or from other starting point by our local driver and tour guide if you booked our tour packages. It’s the easiest and most convenient way to go to Gyantse and see the quiet and vast blue Yamdrok Lake and other attractive sceneries en route.

Firstly, our driver will pick you up and drive on the National Highway G318 to Quxu County, southwest of Lhasa. Then drive on the S101 provincial road and exchange to S307 Hwy to the first site - Yamdrok Lake after driving for 1.5 hours. The holy lake is just at the road side, easy to witness on some pointed observation deck. After tour the Yamdork Lake for several hours, keep driving on road S307, you will see the staggering Kharola Glacier is by the road too. In the end you will arrive at Gyantse which is 71 km far from Kharola Glacier. A longer route it is, the old southern road is extremely picturesque and unmissable.

Potala PalaceMajestic Potala Palace Under Night Sky

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Shigatse to Gyantse

Maybe you are searching for more history behind Shigatse, having a Gyantse tour is a good choice. Gyantse County, southeast of Shigatse, is about 90km from Shigatse areas. Taking a regular bus from Shigatse to Gyantse costs about 2 hours. Usually the minibus departs at opposite the Qomo Langzong Hotel, Shanghai Middle Road of Shigatse when it’s filled. Suggest you get a seat in a taxi for around 40CNY, which you only spend 2hours.

For overseas travelers, the travel agency will arrange the local driver and guide to provide convenience for you. Passing through S204 Hwy from Sangzhutse District in Shigatse, soon you will get to Gyantse via Bainang County. There is barely attraction on this route. Thus, you’d better relax and get some rest during the ride.

A more common schedule is that tourist travel from Lhasa to Shigatse or Mount Everest via Gyantse since it has so many scenic spots to visit and is a better order of attractions arranged.

Tashilumpo MonasteryExquisite Tashilumpo Monastery in Shigatse

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Transportation of Attractions in Gyantse

Places of historic figures and cultural heritage are mainly in Gyantse and natural landscapes are on the way to Gyantse. Humanistic sites like Palhkor Monastery, Dzong Fortress and Pala Manor are the witness of long history of Gyantse, Tibet. The holy lake Yamdrok Lake and majestic Kharola Glacier are the creatures of nature.

Gyantse is a small county which covers an area of 3,771 square km in east Shigatse Pfefecture. Therefore, you can tour all sights of Gyantse on foot with short distances. Local rickshaw and taxi are available too if you need one.

Palcho Monastery is located in west Gyantse Town, about 90km to Shigatse. After you arrive at the Gyantse Passengers Station, you can walk to Palcho Monastery and spend several hours on visiting the must-see Myriad Buddha Stupa – Kumbum.

Gyantse Dzong Fortress is very close to the Palcho Monastery within hundreds of meters. Still you can walk from Gyantse Bus Terminus to Dzong Fortress which is only 800 meters apart from the station.

Pala Manor is located in Banjorlhanbo village, Gyantse County of Shigatse Prefecture, 4km from southwest Gyantse County. Taking a chartered vehicle or walk to Pala Manor is both feasible. The most easy and fast way is taking a taxi for 10 minutes, costing around 10CNY.

Gyantse AttractionsKumbum in Gyantse Palcho MonasteryDzong FortressHistoric Dzong Fortress in Gyantse

Travel Tips:

1. Arrange tour itinerary in advance. Tourists who want to explore all kinds of attraction in Gyantse together with Lhasa and Shigatse, and other destinations in Tibet are welcome to contact us and customize your exclusive Tibet tour.

2. Prepare permits needed. Gyantse County belongs to Shigatse Prefecture, bordering on Nepal, Bhutan, and India on the south. Tibet Entry Permit is not enough, because other permits like Aliens' Travel Permit is also required.

3. High Altitude Sickness prevention. Gyantse and Shigatse area are at a much higher elevation than Lhasa. So you are suggested to acclimatize yourself to plateau environment firstly from lower altitude area, like Lhasa. Keeping warm and do enough sunscreen work are important too.

4. Get more supplies ready. Say prepare spare batteries for your electronic equipment. The low temperature on Qinghai Tibet plateau may lead to reduction in battery life, slow response of your cell phones.

Gyantse ScenerySea of Rape Flowers Around Dzong Fortress

Gyantse Travel Guide

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