The greatest attraction in Shey's palace complex is the royal temple, with its splendid 17th-century Buddha statue. The highly revered 7.5m-tall gilded copper Buddha was originally installed in 1645.
To reach it, climb the stairs from the palace approach slope, continuing up through the porch to find the austere whitewashed temple building. Circumambulate clockwise outside the temple, past the large Victory Stupa and continuing around to the fourth side of the square-plan building. Climb the 10 steps to reach a small rooftop area.