Nethang Dolma Lhakhang – Tibet Travel Information

When you are traveling in Tibet, there is more to it than your Tibet tour itinerary mentions (unless you plan multiple trips to Tibet). But if you are making a one-time Tibet trip, you’d rather explore as many sites as you can on your own. All the smaller sites are as cool and with grand stories as the big ones.

Dolma Lhakhang’s courtyard and the visitors’ circumambulation circuit route.

Nethang Dolma Lhakhang, or just ‘Dolma Lhakhang’ as locals call, is one of those many unexplored smaller sites. Just a 30 minutes drive towards the south-west of Lhasa, it’s a small and awe-inspiring monastery very much worthy of a short visit for those interested in Tibetan Buddhism. It’s located in a thin forest of Shugpa (Juniper tree) just halfway to Chushul town between kilometers 4662 and 4663 from Lhasa taking the northern highway.

The monastery goes way back to the 11^th century when the scholar from Bengal (now part of Bangladesh), Atisha, came to Tibet. Drolma Lhakhang was established by the scholar’s best disciples Domtonpa, who later a sub-sect, Kadampa order, under the great Kagyupa Sect. Atisha is also said to have spent his last part of his life in Nethang. He passed away at the age of 72 in 1054.

Dolma Lhakhang is one of the few other monasteries with the original buildings that survived through many centuries. It still manages to give brief moments of true Tibetan Buddhist experience to its visitors. At least the trip to Shigatse will be refreshed a little more. Explore Tibet’s local Tibetan tour guides are only the best your Tibet tour as good as it gets. 6 Days Cultural Excursion, 8 Days Central Tibet Highlights, 10 Days Cultural and Spiritual Odyssey.