Tashilumpo Monastery

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Why
Tashilumpo Monastery
is special

Tashilumpo Monastery is the seat of the sizeable Panchen Lama sect, Tibetan Buddhism's second leading religious group.

Tashilumpo Monastery
tips and insights

How to pronounce

Tashilumpo: t'ah-she-l'um-po

Setting

The monastery is an interesting sprawling amalgam of traditional Tibetan monastic style halls, chapels and other structures connected by precipitous steps and narrow cobblestone alleys. The interplay between Tashilumpo's golden roofs and its white, red and black exterior walls creates a striking composition.

Creation

Tashilumpo Monastery was founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama (a close relative of the founder of the Yellow Hat sect.)

Maitreya Buddha

The gilded, bejeweled and immense sculpture of the seated Maitreya (future) Buddha is one of the monastery's major draws.

Monk population

Several thousand monks once inhabited Tashilumpo. Today, the number is considerably smaller.