Atlas of China
Sakya Monastery 萨迦寺Sàjiā Sì
4A scenic area · National heritage site · Shigatse, Tibet
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Days to budget
- Half a day
- City
- Shigatse
- Region
- Tibet
- Type
- Heritage
- Listed as
- 4A scenic area, National heritage site
About Sakya Monastery
Sakya Monastery, founded in 1073 by Khön Könchok Gyalpo, is the seat of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, whose leaders governed Tibet under Yuan-dynasty overlordship in the 13th and 14th centuries. Its walls are painted in the school's dark grey with red and white bands; the massive walled South Monastery, founded in 1268, holds a great assembly hall lined with a wall of scriptures, while the older North Monastery on the hillside across the river was largely destroyed in the 1960s and is partly rebuilt. The old town around the monastery is a separate scenic area, Sakya Old Town.
How to get to Sakya Monastery
In Sakya town, about 150 km by road south-west of Shigatse on a branch road south of the G318; carry your passport for road checkpoints.
On the map
Open Sakya Monastery on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it and what else is close, and to add it to a trip.
Open Sakya Monastery on the map