Pelkor Chode Monastery

Pelkor Chode is a monastery complex in Gyantse, Tibet, notable for containing chapels belonging to three different Tibetan Buddhist sects within a single walled enclosure — an arrangement reflecting Gyantse's historical role as a cosmopolitan trading town. The complex's central feature is the Kumbum stupa of 1427, a multi-storey mandala structure whose 77 chapels are decorated with original 15th-century murals of exceptional quality, representing one of the best-preserved ensembles of early Tibetan Buddhist painting in existence. The stupa's distinctive stepped form and painted eyes make it a distinctive architectural landmark.