Legend has it that this combined Nyingmapa- and Kagyupa-order monastery was founded by the 7th-century King Songtsen Gampo, who was led here by the Buddha disguised as a doe with antlers. The temple is also significant as one of the original demoness-subduing temples – it pinned the monster’s right shoulder. Currently home to 47 monks, the monastery was heavily damaged in 1966 and rebuilt in 1983, with a later reconstruction in 2016.
The yellow house on the hilltop behind the monastery served briefly as the living quarters of the fifth Dalai Lama.
Katsel is several kilometres from the town centre, on the road to Drigung Til.
