Tibet Diary by Zhou Yun

Sunday, June 5th

There's a saying that you can't claim to have been to Shannan without having visited Yambulakhang and Thandruk monasteries.

The Yambulakhang Monastery

It's pretty convenient to get to the two monasteries from Zedang. Yambulakhang, to the southeast, is less than an hour away. Yambulakhang in Tibetan means “a palace at the leg of a doe”. But why give a monastery such a strange name? The answer is simple: the monastery perches on a rocky outcropping of a mountain that has the outline of a doe.

The Yambulakhang Monastery

Though I know the monastery will be grand, I am overwhelmed looking upon it in person. Yambulakhang Monastery was the summer palace of Songtsen Gompa and his wife before Norbulinka was completed. It's the oldest known building in Tibet, and the first fort in Tibet. When the monarchy ended, the palace became a monastery.

The Thandruk Monastery

(CRIENGLISH.com)