Gyantse is a town located in Gyangzê County, Shigatse Prefecture. It is the fourth largest town in Tibet (after Lhasa, Shigatse and Chamdo). Its altitude is 3,977meters and is located 245km southwest of Lhasa. The town is strategically located in the Nyang River Valley on the ancient trade routes from the Chumbi Valley, Yatung and Sikkim, which met here.

Gyantse still retains the charm of a traditional Tibetan town untouched by modern expansion. Among its historical sites, the magnificent tiered Kunbum of the Palcho Monastery is the most famous in Gyantse. It is the largest chörten in Tibet. The Kumbum was commissioned by a Gyantse prince in 1427 and was an important centre of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. This religious structure contains 77 chapels in its six floors, and is illustrated with over 10,000 murals, many showing a strong Nepali influence, which have survived pretty well intact. They are the last of this type in Tibet. Many of the restored clay statues are of less artistry than the destroyed originals - but they are still spectacular. Pelkor Chode Monastery is situated in the west of Gyantse. Founded in 1418, Pelkor Chode was once a multi-denominational complex of monasteries, but today, much of the sprawling courtyard, enclosed by walls that cling to the hills backing on to the monastery, is bare and the remaining structures are attended to by Geluga monks, the only sect that survived the Cultural Revolution.

Although the monastery and the Kumbum were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, the main building of the Pelkor Chode or Palcho Monastery and the Kumbum have been largely restored now.