Kyirong County

Kyirong – The Backyard Garden of Mount Everest 

Gyirong or Kyirong is a Tibetan town located in the south-west of Tibet. The Kyirong Valley has long been known as the ‘Valley of Happiness’ as well as the Backyard Garden of Mount Eeverest, located at the middle of Himalayas, and 490km southwest of Shigatse. The Kyirong region has historic connections with King Songtsan Gampo and the famous Tibetan yogi Milarepa, and provided a vital corridor for the arrival of Buddhism into Tibet, It is famous because of its mild climatically conditions and its abundant vegetation which is unusual for the Tibetan plateau. The capital lies at Zongga. Its name in Tibetan, Dzongka means “mud walls”. It is one of the four counties that comprise the Mt Everest National Nature Preserve (Gyirong, Dinggyê, Nyalam, and Tingri).

Kyirong became the gateway of Tibet and Nepal after the close of border town Zhangmu or Dram in Tibetan due to the earthquake in 2015. Kyirong port is opened for both foreign and domestic tourists in September 2017. Now, all the overland tour from Kathmandu to Lhasa or Kathmandu to Moutn Kailash will be going through Kyirong. Kyirong is located just 23 kilometers from the border between China and Nepal at Kyirong Port / Rasuwa Gadhi, 70km from Kyirong County where the admiration offices are located, and only around 174 kilometers by road to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The border line between Nepal and Tibet / China is a river called Kyirong Tsangpo River, one of the tributaries of the Trishuli River that runs along this international border.. The Kyirong town is lies on the east bank of the river.  

The places to visit in Kyirong / Gyerong

1. Pakpa Lhakhang

Pakpa Lhakang is one of the monasteries built to guard border towns, was built by King Songtsan Gampo for Princess Bhrkuti from Nepal. Its architectural style is mainly in accordance with the format of Nepali temples. The monastery is located around 30 meters near to the eastern side of Kyirong Town, with the altitude of 2,850 meters.   The main statue in this monastery is a copy of the Arya Wati Zangpo, one of three statues of Phakpa Lokeshvara (a form of Chenresig) said to have arisen naturally from a single piece of sandalwood.

Other things to look for are the mirror of Songtsen Gampo’s Nepali wife Bhrikuti Devi hanging on a pillar; the funeral chörten of previous abbot Ngawang Kunsong; and a stone footprint of Guru Rinpoche in the left corner.

Due to the convenient to access from town, it is one of the main place you can spend sometime in Kyirong. You can make a walk around the temple following by the local pilgrims. If you are interested in cultural events, you can join the Tibetan circle dance or Kordro in the evening in front of this temple in the main Kyirong Square.

2. Drakar Taso Hermitage

Drakar Taso Hermitage is located about 40 kilometers south of Kyirong. It is about 4,200 meters above sea level. Built on the top of the cliff of Lungta Tso which has been dried up. It is said to be one of the main holy places of the second generation of the Tibetan Buddhism Yogi Milarepa. The temple was originally a Nyingma school, and later changed to the Kagyu school. The temple used to have 12 generation of Khenpos and hosting about 20 nuns.

The hermitage is famous as the site where Milarepa spent nine years meditating in two caves.  The collection of retreat residences and chapels are perched high on the cliffs above the Dzongkhar–Kyirong road, 34km south of Dzongkhar. Milarepa’s hometown is not far away, near Tsarong (Zalung) village. The site was being renovated at the time of research, and is home to 20 nuns. Getting to the main shrines involves a climb of around 350metres vertical on concrete steps. Halfway up branch left to the cave where Milarepa spent three years in retreat, then continue up to the main cave where he spent a further six years. A small inner chamber holds his statue and footprint. To the right is the recently renovated assembly hall. A small kora leads behind the assembly hall past several trees to a valley viewpoint.

3.Kyipu Canyon

Kyipu Canyon is located at two kilometers southwest of Kyirong Town. You can cross on a vertigo-inducing suspension bridge draped in prayer flags. A 10-minute walk up the hill to the right after the bridge leads to a charming collection of Bhutanese-style prayer flags that offers views over Kyirong.

4. Guru Rinpoche Cave

Walk towards south of the town is the Kyirong Police station from where you can turn left following a dirty road (this road will be paved soon as it is under constration at this moment), you will reach to the suspended bridge with full of prayer flags.

After crossing the bridge, you will be approaching a beautiful village. Walking through this authentic village itself is a great experience.

Continue the trail towards south about 12km will be Guru Rinpoche’s cave. This 12km walking trail is very pleasant. Not only the landscape is beautiful, you the trail is leading you through forest and many variety planets can be seen such as fields of different fields, wild flowers, wild peppers trees .etc.

Finally, the trail ends at the Guru Rinpoche caves. It is a surprisingly a big cave with many lamps burning inside. There is no monk to take care of this cave temple. The cave is taking care by the villagers nearby. We recommend to spend sometime in this quiet and holy place.