Lhasa to Manasasarovar and Darchen is nearly two and half day journey. It is a long country side trip. While the country side is very good, there are hardly any villages or big towns on the road. Since our  plan had overnight stays at Shigaste and Saga , we stayed one night at Shigaste and one night at Saga. Both the cities are small towns constructed by Chinese govt. Both the places are at high altitudes. Thus we got  acclimatized  to high altitudes in these two days trip.
Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê, is a city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The city has a history going back to more than 600 years 

It is 300 kilometers (186 miles) away from the world’s highest peak Mt.Everest, and also on the only path to Tibet’s holy lakes. As one of the world’s highest cities with  beautiful high plateau scenery, the area is also a hot spot for  tourism. City has  a strong cultural heritage, especially in respect of Buddhism. It has a magnificent   600 year-old majestic Tashilhunpo Monasty  built on a magnificent architectural style with a golden roof and resplendent buildings.

There are small eating outlets, hotels available in these towns. There are hardly any manufacturing units or big factories seen in these towns. So, local people may depend on the govt. for job opportunities. while the road infrastructure is well done by Chinese govt. not many residential towns are seen on the way. Looks like, places are not well suited for residential purpose.

Some govt run camps are seen where schools are operated by the govt.Overall, clean environment and full of mountains all along the country.