 View of Shigatse's new town from the top of Old Town near Shigatse Dzong |
 View of the area of Shigatse north of the castle |
 Looking south over Old Town, towards New Town, with the stairs to Shigatse Dzong |
 Semi-industrialized district north of Shigatse Dzong |
 View south from the hills west of Shigatse Dzong |
 Led by a local boy, I'm climbing up one of the mountains west of Shigatse Dzong where there are good views |
 Shigatse Dzong seen from the trail to the west |
 Climbing west of the castle, Shigatse |
 Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet with a population of 80,000 |
 A faint rainbow across the valley |
 Shigatse Dzong as we climb higher towards a saddle marked with prayer flags |
 District north of Shigatse Dzong |
 District north of Shigatse Dzong |
 District north of Shigatse Dzong |
 Prayer flags marking the saddle in the hills west of Shigatse Dzong |
 The next valley to the northwest |
 My helpful local guide from Old Town |
 The view is great from here |
 View from the saddle at N29.279/E088.868 |
 We continued over the mountain into the next valley |
 If we had more time, from here it is possible to climb over the mountain and end up behind Tashilhunpo Monastery |
 ...though the route to Tashilhunpo is steep |
 Local guide |
 Hiking along the faint trail in the hills behind Shigatse |
 It's getting late and I don't want my official guide to get nervous |
 Hiking in the hills above Shigatse |
 Headed back to town past a pile of rocks |
 Shigatse |
 It's a worthwhile walk - not too strenuous |
 Hiking back to town |
 The small mosque of Shigatse |
 New Town meets Old Town, Shigatse |
 Shigatse Dzong and city on a very nice afternoon |
 I enjoyed the first days hike in the hills so the next day after the official tour was over I went back to the hills |
 This time, I hiked from Tashilhunpo Monastery to Shigatse Dzong |
 Shigatse Dzong from the southwest |
 The Mosque of Shigatse (N29.272/E088.876) |
 The hike along the hill between Tashilhunpo Monastery and Old Town |
 Old Town Shigatse from above |
 A commercial street cut through Old Town Shigatse |
 Qingdao Lu, a broad east-west avenue in New Town |
 Shigatse |
 New Town Shigatse |
 Road cut through Old Town Shigatse |
 Road cut through Old Town Shigatse |
 Road cut through Old Town Shigatse |
 Produce spread out on a roof in old town Shigatse |
 Park to the east of Tashilhunpo Monastery |
 The park has a fake Himalayan peak with yak statues |
 Fake Himalayan peak with yak statues, Shigatse |
 Shigatse |
 Shigatse Dzong rising over Old Town |
 The hillside trail from Tashilhunpo to Old Town and the castle |
 The hillside trail from Tashilhunpo to Old Town and the castle |