Tsedang

Lying near the flanks of Mount Gongbori (3,400 meters), the area is the site of many ancient ruins, and the area of the Yarlung Valley is known as the cradle of Tibetan civilization. The Tibetan king, Trisong Detsen, founded the first Tibetan Monastery at nearby Samye monastery in the 8th century. After consulting with the Indian sage, Padmasambhava, the temple was built, although it was destroyed during the 11th century by war and then by fire, by fire again in the 17th century, and by an earthquake in the 18th century. Only a few of the original 108 buildings remain from the ancient cosmological layout, and the villagers now live outside the walls of the monastery.