For tourists who like to see unusual places that have a rich religious history, the Drak Yerpa is a must-see place. It is a cave retreat 16Kms to the northeast of Lhasa City, where King Songtsen Gampo, the founder of the ancient Tibetan empire used to meditate. His Tibetan wife set up the first Yerpa's chapel here. It is worth a day's trip to see the surrounding natural beauty along the way as well as at the attraction itself. There are impressive, bigger-than-life-size statues of various Bodhisattvas as well as Tsongkhapa, the 5th Dalai Lama. What takes center-stage is the 1000-armed Chaktong Chentong statue.
