China, Tibet, Shigatse Prefecture, Gyantse County, Gyantse, View of Gyantse Dzong

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Gyantse Dzong


The main reason to make the 20-minute climb to the top of this 14th-century fort is for the fabulous views of Palcho Monastery and Gyantse's whitewashed old town below. Most visitors drive up halfway to the top but you can walk via the road leading west out of the old town. Unfortunately, the fort is closed to visitors, but it dominates the view from almost everywhere in Gyantse.

The fort was the epicentre of the British attempt to march on Tibet during the Younghusband expedition in 1904.