Drak Yerpa situates northeast of Lhasa around 45km, it's a place with many mythical stories of Tibetan kings, scholars, lamas and so on. Initially from the great king Songtsen Gampo in (604-650) and then to Lhalung Paldor (the one who assassinate the last king of Tibet called Lang Dharma). Yerpa contains of more than 80 meditation caves and temples on an altitude of 4300 meters, all the meditation caves are lined-up along the hill where there is stairs to climb up and visit each every caves and temples. More than 300 peoples meditated there and histories of enlightenment succeeded as well, Yerpa also shares a divine stream that originally comes with the stories of Tara (Dolma in Tibetan).

History

The 33rd king Songtsen Gampo and his two foreign queens are said to have meditated here in the Peu Marshergyi Lhakhang, where they discovered ‘self-arising’ symbols of Buddha-body, speech and mind. The historical site is still at Yerpa with a meditation cave in the inner most chapel and a statue of the king and some white dotted colors can be seen on the ground which historically states that a female goat came to serve the king for his thirst and feed him milk and suddenly a servant coming up the chapel where the goat immediately run back and milk dropped on the ground.

Lhalung Paldor who is the assassinator of the king Lhang Dharma and escaped to Yerpa through the Transem la or Ngachen la (pass before the Yerpa) and spent his rest of life in the Naytan meditation cave containing of Shakyamuni Buddha surrounded by the Sixteen Arhats or Elders. In the center, there is a pillar that is said directly linked with the heaven and hell, by doing good thing and actions leads directly to heaven in the form of enlightenment where doing bad actions lead straight to hell, however there are four statues of gods facing the four directions at the present.

Apart from that Khando Yeshi Tsogyal (one of wife of Padmasambava) also meditate there and one of the self-arising stone contains the 5 year old Khando Yeshi’s foot print. Also the Bengali master called Atisha (master of Lamrim) meditated at Yerpa for three years in the Jampa Lhakhang. These are some major meditation caves, which are Peu Marsergyi Lhakhang, Chongyal Duppuk, Dawa Duppuk, Virocana Lhakhang, Kyormo Lhakhang and Jampa Lhakhang.

At present, there are many of local Tibetan prayer flag sellers who also run up to the high mountains to tie the flags for the buyers for their good luck and good omens. The surrounding is full of colorful prayer flags and meditation caves all around with a breath-taking view of the valley and some beautiful shaped stupas