Lhori Nunnery


This tiny place, home to just nine nuns, is built around two ancient meditation caves of Guru Rinpoche, one of which has a stone footprint of the guru aged eight. It's an atmospheric place and you can clamber inside the candlelit caves (at the back of the small main assembly hall), which house some priceless antique statues. Most of the main buildings date to the 1980s.

It's signposted 1km up a side road along the route from Gyantse to Shigatse, and was undergoing some renovations at the time of writing.

A couple of kilometres further is Chenresig Monastery, thought to have been built by King Songsten Gampo.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Drongtse Monastery

3.42 MILES

On a tse (peak) said to resemble a wild yak, this Yellow Hat monastery was founded in 1442, and later adopted as a branch of Tashilhunpo. In the gönkhang …

2. Gepeling Water Mill

7 MILES

This traditional water mill is located halfway between Gyantse and Shigatse. Peek into the back room to see the working water-powered stone mill grinding…

3. Changme Monastery

9.68 MILES

About 41km from Gyantse is the county capital of Panam and the 15th-century Changme Monastery. Levelled in the Cultural Revolution, the monastery was…

4. Tsechen Monastery

11.7 MILES

The traditional village of Tsechen is located about 5km northwest of Gyantse en route to Shigatse. The small Sakyapa-school Tsechen Ge Tubden Rabgye Ling…

5. Gönlong Retok Ganden Retreat

13.85 MILES

Hidden in the fold of a valley north of town, this ruined and little-visited monastery is a 7km drive from Gyantse from a turn-off near the Rabse Nunnery…

6. Tsang Traditional Folk House

14.13 MILES

This private folk museum opposite Palha Manor offers an excellent introduction into Tibetan farm life. Alongside mock-ups of a traditional kitchen,…

7. Palha Manor

14.14 MILES

This former merchant’s house once belonged to the largest noble family in Tsang (the Palha – one of the five largest in Tibet), but is now a government…

8. Gyantse Kumbum

14.15 MILES

Commissioned by a local prince in 1427 and sitting beside Palcho Monastery, Gyantse Kumbum is the town’s foremost attraction. This 32m-high chörten, with…