Royal Mountain Travel Magazine Royal Mountain Travel Magazine Issue 1 | Page 35

The journey continues

Continuing our way from Lhasa, we went
along impressive winding roads, with amazing
panoramicviewsofthesurroundingmountains.
At the Khamba La pass at 4,794 meters we
stopped our land cruisers to take a look at
the stunning landscape of the Yamdrok Tso,
one of the four holy lakes on Tibet. The huge
deep blue waters make a beautiful contrast
with the brown mountains, the snowcovered peaks and the colorful praying flags.
The Kharo La pass at 5,560 meters is the
highest point where we admired the ice river
that makes its way down the slope. A huge
glacier of unspoiled ice extends itself smoothly
from the top of the mountain to almost the
edge of the road. From here it is downhill
until Gyantse. Well known for its monastery,
this boasts the highest stupa in Tibet.
The city itself is a modern, Chinese town.
Behind the new concrete buildings, is the old
town, which is a charming area of beautiful
Tibetan houses. All painted in white, the houses
have colorful decorations in the windows and
the roof. The old area feels like a little village,
with cows tied at the entrance of the houses,
dusty streets and silence, in contrast to the
hustle and bustle of the modern quarters.

Pelkor Chode Monastery

The following day, we visited Pelkor Chode
Monastery. Dating from the 15th century, it is
one of the main monasteries inTibet. It belongs
to the Gelukpa order, one of the main four
schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The stunning
stupaofsevenfloorsoffersabeautifulpanoramic
view of the complex, the walls and the nearby
Dzong. Apart from the many painted chapels
dedicated to Buddha and the other deities of
Tibetan Buddhism, the calm and peaceful
atmosphere of the monastery is impressive.

Sakya

Our trip continued to Sakya, a little town with
a very special monastery.The Sakya monastery
belongs to the Sakyapa School, another of the
four main orders of Tibetan Buddhism. I