Shelkar is the an important stop before the Mount Everest Bascamp for better acclimatization, nearest Town and the County headquarter of Tingri. Local also call it the New Tingri. The Name Shelkar ཤེལ་དཀར་ means white crystal in Tibetan Language. It is located 7 kilometers off the highway along the friendship Highway. Though many traveler visiting the Mount Everest Basecamp, not Many travel would stay and enjoy the authentic remote town of Tibet. It is recommend a day in Shelkar to enjoy the Monastery and hike to the Fort. The hike to the fort will take about four hours to reach top.
Shelkar Chode Monastery
The Shelkar Chode Monastery was found in 1266 AD 1266 by a Kagyu Lama. It formerly host the practitioner from all the major Sects of Tibetan Buddhism including, Bodhong, Kagyu, Gelug, and Sakyapa. During its peek time the monastery consist 21 House. 7 for each Bodhong, Gelug and Sakya. Later the organizational structure of the Monastery has degenerated. It was the fifth Dalai Lama how converted the monastery into Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Later the Monastery and Shelkar fort were heavily damaged during the Gurkha War.
In past there were several hundred Monks in the monastery and now few dozen lives in the monastery. from the Monastery you will get a beautiful view of the village and valley below. You will find local people circumambulating around the monastery and monks are very friendly.
Shelkar Fort
You will find the remains of once a magnificent fort of Shelkar Above the Monastery on top of a hill. It is at least about 1000m above the rest of the Shelkar town. The hike to the top will take about 4 hours, Yet from the top, you will have a rewarding excellent view of Mt Everest and the Himalayas. The hiking trail to the top, for the most part, is decent, but some sections are in disrepair so make sure you watch your step and have good hiking shoes. You can hire a local tour guide from the town. Most of them don’t speak English, with help from your tour guide from Lhasa, communication will be easy. For such a tour we only use the tour guide how are locals from the town or the Everest region.
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