• Understand
• Get in
• Get around
• See
• Do
• Buy
• Eat
• Drink
• Get out

Xigatse (日喀则; Rìkāzé - Tibetan: གཞིས་ཀ་རྩ), also spelled Shigatse is the second largest city in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is located 3800 meters abouve sea level.

[edit] Understand

With a population or about 50,000, it is an important trading and administrative center.

[edit] Get in

Located at the intersection of several highways, the city of Xigatse is positioned on the Friendship Hwy. Buses and Mini-buses travel the distance from Lhasa. There is public transportaion to Gyantse, Lhatse, Sakya, Dromo, Gampa and Khangmar on a semi-regular basis.

[edit] Get around

All sites of interest are within easy walking distance. Auto-rickshaws are also available.

[edit] See

• Tashilhunpo Monastery. The traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas. It was constructed in 1447 and is where the Panchen Lamas resided and conducted their religious and secular duties. Covering a floorspace of 300,000 square meters, the monastery is enshrined with the world's largest gilded bronze Buddhist statue, the 22.4 meter high statue of Maitreya Buddha.

• The free market and the gift market in Old Town

• The ruins of the Xigatse Fortress

[edit] Do

[edit] Buy

Travelers' checks (but not credit cards) can be used to access cash at the The Bank of China branch near the Shigatse Hotel.

[edit] Eat

Lots of restaurants around Samdup Hotel

[edit] Drink

[edit] Sleep

Accommodation in Xigatse is more expensive than in Lhasa and there are only a few budget options.

[edit] Budget

• Fruit Hotel - located across from Tashilhunpo Monastery
• Samdup Hotel (Sangzhuzi Fandian) Tel:+86 892 882-2252
• Tenzin Hotel - located across from gift market in Old Town below Shigatse Dzong

[edit] Mid range

• Shigatse Hotel (Xigatse Binguan), Jiefang Zhong Lu. Tel:+86 892 882-5525 Fax:+86 892 882-1900
• Zhufeng Friendship Hotel (Zhufengyouyi Binguan), Dechen Potrang Lu. Tel:+86 892 882-1929 - good hotel, but a little far from the downtown area.

[edit] Splurge

[edit] Get out

Xigatse is one of the best places in Tibet to pick up a travel permit, issued at the police station with only an hour or two of waiting. The permit is valid for anyplace in Xigatse Prefecture that you specify. That allows you to go up to the border with Nepal. Interesting places to visit in Xigatse Prefecture include Sakya, Gyantse, Mount Everest, and Tingri.