Sakya Monastery

ས་སྐྱ་དགོན་པ།

Head monastery of the Sakya school and the center of the Yuan-era Sakya regime. Its walled, fortress-style Southern Monastery is famous for a scripture wall holding tens of thousands of volumes.

Sakya Monastery lies in Sakya County of Shigatse, at about 4,300 m. In Tibetan, “Sakya” means “grey earth.” The local houses’ outer walls are painted grey and decorated with red and white stripes, symbolizing the three protectors Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani. The monastery has two parts. The North Monastery was founded in 1073 and was originally built into the hillside. Today it is mostly ruins and partly restored buildings. The South Monastery, founded in 1268 under the direction of Phagpa, is a fortress-style complex with walls, corner towers and a moat. In the Yuan dynasty, Phagpa, the Sakya leader, was appointed State Preceptor and Imperial Preceptor, and Sakya Monastery became the political center of Tibet at the time. The main hall of the South Monastery, Lhakhang Chenmo, has a tall interior. Its most famous feature is the scripture wall at the back of the hall, about 60 m long and 10 m high, which stores tens of thousands of scroll volumes. The hall also holds many Yuan-era murals, mandalas and ceramics. Admission is about 45 yuan, subject to on-site prices. Getting there: the monastery is about 25 km south of the G318 Sakya turnoff, about 2.5 hours from Shigatse. It is often visited on the way to Everest. Notes: photography is prohibited inside the halls, and some halls require paid photography. Respect the monks’ daily routine.

Sakya Monastery

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