Tarboche Flagpole
塔尔钦大经幡（塔波切）
A tall prayer flag pole at the start of the kora, where a grand ceremony to replace the flags is held each Saga Dawa, drawing pilgrims from far and wide.
Tarboche lies about 5 km northwest of Darchen, at the entrance to the Lha Chu valley, where the kora officially begins. A tall flagpole stands here, surrounded by five-colored prayer flags forming a huge umbrella-like array. Every year on the 15th day of the fourth Tibetan month, during Saga Dawa (commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and passing of Shakyamuni Buddha), thousands of worshippers gather here. They use ropes to lower the old flagpole, replace the flags, and raise it again. Whether the pole stands straight is seen as an omen for the year ahead. At other times it is where pilgrims burn juniper offerings and circumambulate, and nearby is the sky burial site of the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas. Sightseeing shuttles for the kora usually pass by or stop nearby.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Gyangdrak Monastery
- Chuku Gompa (Nyenri Monastery)
- Darchen
- Mount Kailash & Kora
- Zutulpuk Monastery
- Dirapuk Monastery
- Drolma La Pass & Gauri Kund
- Chiu Gompa