The Palkhor Monastery, also known as the Palch Monastery, is located in the Gyantse county of Shigatse prefecture, around 230 km away from the Lhasa city. It stands at the foot of the Dzong Hill and commands a unique place for itself in the list of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. The reason for this is that the monastery is the only one where the three sects of the Tibetan Buddhism - the Sakyapa Sect (Stripe sect), the Kadampa Sect and the Gelugpa Sect (Yellow Sect) - coexist. Initially, there was lot of quarrel and disagreement amongst the monks of the different sect, however, today they have hit upon the art of living peacefully. Originally, the monastery was constructed in 1418.


If you are desirous of paying a visit, the timings when the monastery is open is between 9 in the morning to 5.30 in the evening. Around two hours are needed to explore the monastery properly.


Inside
The Main Assembly Hall of Palkhor Monastery, Tshomchen, was constructed between the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century. It is a three storey structure with the 48 columns Chanting Hall at the ground floor. These columns are with adorned with old silk "thangkas". There is also an 8 m high gilded image of Maitreya Buddha. Around, 1.4 tons bronze was made use of to construct this statue.

The second floor houses chapels dedicated to "Bodhisattva Manjushri" and "Arhats" from the Ming dynasty. In particular, the Arahat chapel is quiet well known throughout Tibet. The third floor houses a chapel which preserves a collection of 15 "mandala" murals, which are three meters (ten feet) in diameter. Also worthseeing are around 100 robes and costumes worn in Tibetan opera. These costumes were made of silk, embroidery and tapestry during the era of Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty.

The Palkhor Monastery is famous for its tower, Palkhor Tower, also known as the Ten Thousand Buddha Tower. The tower houses around 100 family halls for worshipping Buddha, one over the other. For this reason, the Palkhor Tower is also known as the towers within towers. The 10,000 figures of Buddha in the Buddhist shrines, murals and family halls of the tower gives it the name of Ten Thousand Buddha Tower.

Ten-Thousand Buddha Tower (Palkhor Tower) is located here. It is the calling card of Palkhor Monastery, the most important building in this monastery. It is true that this tower adds an extraordinary charm to Palkhor Monastery. Ten-Thousand Buddha Tower consists of nearly one hundred family halls for worshipping Buddha, one overlapping another. People call it 'towers within towers', which makes for a very vivid feature in this spectacular building. The reason for its name, Ten-Thousand Buddha Tower, is that there are altogether 10,000 figures of Buddha in the Buddhist shrine, murals, and family halls for worshipping Buddha.


Shigatse
The Shigatse region, also known as the Tsang, is located in the south Tibet and has Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim (India) to its south. The region has 1 city, Shigatse, and 17 counties including Gyantse. Shigatse city is second largest city in Tibet after Lhasa and the Gyantse County lies on the route that runs between these two places.

If you are visiting Shigatse, it is important to know that owing to its high altitude, the air pressure is quiet low here. Hence, all those who suffer from altitude sickness must carry their medicine. Also, for those people who face problems due to excessive sunlight must carry their sunglasses, a good sun block and a hat. The months from October to April are quiet windy whereas the ones between May and September are rainy.

Accommodation options are available for you in both Shigatse city as well as Gyantse County.