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Lhagang (Tibetan: ལྷ་སྒང་ / Chinese Tagong) is located in the Minyak cultural region of Kham, located between Rangakha (Tibetan: ར་རྔ་ཁ་ / Chinese: Xinduqiao) to the south and Barmé (Tibetan: བར་སྨད་ / Chinese: Bamei) to the north. Situated at an altitude of approximately 3700 meters (just over 2 miles), the town occupies a corridor of land between two ridges and a large bend in the Serché River. Lhagang’s main street is lined with retail and food supply shops, restaurants, hotels, a hospital, and two schools, among other places. At the heart of the town is Lhagang Monastery, in front of which is a large public square. On the other side of the wide hill lies the Golden Stupa, an impressive temple complex built in relatively recent times on a sacred area of grassland known as the Guru Tang by Dorjé Tashi Rinpoché, a well-known lama from Lhagang. Beyond the Golden Stupa to the north lies the Serché grassland. To the northeast one can see the massive form of Zhara Latsé, a mountain considered sacred in the region, and to the right of Zhara one can see Zhamo, Zhara’s female counterpart (Zhara is considered male). In the immediate vicinity of Lhagang are five additional sacred mountains in addition to Zhara Latsé and Zhamo. The Manjushri (Sanskrit name or Jampeyang in Tibetan), Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan: Chenrezig), Padmasambhava (Tibetan: Guru Rinpoche) and Vajrapani (Tibetan. Chakna Dorjé) Mountains lie on the opposite side of the Serché River from Lhagang and overshadow the town. The fifth sacred mountain, the Drölma Mountain, lies behind the town on the same side of the river. Climbing these mountains is considered a way to accumulate good karma, and tourists are welcome to climb them provided they maintain appropriate decorum and refrain from littering.

Taking no more than 10-15 minutes to walk the length of the .7 mile main road, Lhagang is not a very large town by any means. From the surrounding hillsides you can easily view the entire town and the grasslands that surround it to the north. Although not large, there is no shortage of interesting sites to see and experiences to be had in the surrounding area, ranging from horseback riding, to hikes to glacial-fed turquoise lakes, to beautiful remote monasteries, a variety of interesting wildlife, and much more.

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