Sakya monastery is located in the central Tibet, some 130 km southwest from Shigatse. “Sakya” is a translation from Tibetan pronunciation, it means “Grey and White Soil”.
- The white color that represents Avalokitesvara
- The red color that represents Manjushri
- The blue color that represents Vajrapani
Sakya monastery is to be painted with the above three colors, therefore it is also called as “Flower Pa | 花教”
The monastery cover more than 18,000 square meters, while the huge assembly hall covers 6,000 square meters. It was founded in 1073 by Konchok Gyelpo (1034–1102), whom was originally a Nyingma pa monk and became the 1st Sakya Trizin. His powerful family governed Tibet during the 13th and the 14th centuries under the over-lordship of Yuan dynasty.
It contains some of the most magnificent surviving artworks in Tibet, which have not been damaged even in the Culture revolutionary that happens in the 60’s of 20th century
Its Mongolian architectural style is quite different from other monasteries of other sects of Tibetan religion. Moreover around 84,000 scrolls were found sealed in a wall 60 meters long and 10 meters high at this Monastery in 2003. It is anticipated that they will be Buddhist scriptures, as well as literature, history, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and art from ancient times. Those scrolls are said to have remained untouched for hundreds of years.
Address & Contact
Add : Ba Si Ba Road, Sakya county | 萨迦县八思巴路
Contact ： +891 892 824-2589/824-2181
Opening hour
09:00 am – 18:00 pm
Entrance fee
RMB 50 per person
Altitude
4,320 meters
How to get Sakya Monastery
It is located in the center area of Sakya county, it is about 5 minutes walk from Sakya county Bus Terminal
There are 3 buses between Sakya county and Shigatse county,
From Shigatse to Sakya county, with departures at: 10:00 am, 13:00 pm, 14:30 pm
From Sakya county to Shigatse, with departures at: 08:30 am, 10:30 am, 15:30 pm
