Saga, Tibet
Saga (Tibetan: Kyakyaru) is a town and township, and the seat of Saga County in Shigatse Prefecture, in southern Tibet. It lies at an altitude of 4,640 metres (15,223 ft.)
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Coordinates: 29°19′48″N 85°13′56″E | |
Country | China |
Province | Tibet Autonomous Region |
Prefecture | Shigatse Prefecture |
County | Saga County |
Elevation | 4,640 m (15,220 ft) |
Time zone | UTC+8 (CST) |
Description
Saga ("happy land") is an army town with a Chinese garrison which patrols the whole length of the Tibetan-Nepalese border (and often conducts target practice with machine guns very close to the town).[1]
Saga straddles the Dargye Tsangpo river above its junction with the Brahmaputra River. It is strategically located at the junction of three roads - the Lhartse road coming from the east, the Dzongka road from the south and the Purang and Drongpa roads from the west. Saga is also an important stop-off point for pilgrims and tourists on the way to visiting Mount Kailash being the last town on the southern route with supplies for travellers, having both a store and a restaurant and several guest houses and hotels.[2][3]
Footnotes
- Dorje (1999), p. 312.
- Dorje (1999), pp. 311-312.
- Mayhew and Bradley (2005), pp. 203-204.
References
- Buckley, Michael and Robert Strauss. (1986). Tibet: A Survival Kit. Lonely Planet, St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia. ISBN 0-908086-88-1.
- Dorje, Gyume. (1999). Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan. 2nd Edition. Footprint Handbooks, Bath, England. ISBN 1-900949-33-4.
- Mayhew, Bradley and Michael Khohn. (2005). Tibet. 6th Edition. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74059-523-8.