LHASA
Regardless of how much pre-departure reading you may have done, Lhasa will overwhelm with its extraordinary sights. And it’s not only the altitude (3,650 m) that will take your breath away. The magnificent Potala Palace, former seat of the Dalai Lama, presides over the city. Built in 1645 at the top of a hill, the palace contains 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 religious statues.
The old city revolves around the Jhokang Temple and the quaint Bakor market that surrounds it. The Jhokang built in the seventh century, is the holiest Buddhist shrine in Tibet and houses the Jowo Sakyamuni brought to Tibet from Nepal. Its mural paintings, finely worked golden roofs and other artworks are something to see. At a little distance from the old city core, Lhasa is also a modern capital of concrete high-rises, fancy department stores and wide boulevards.
Norbulingka, which means "the jeweled garden", consists of 360,000 sq m of wooded greenery and three palaces once used by the Dalai Lama as a summer retreat. The Drepung Monastery lies about 10 km from the city. Built in 1416 by a disciple of Tsong Khapa, it is the largest in Tibet. Its numerous Buddhist statues, ancient scriptures, scroll paintings and other cultural relics will keep you fascinated. The Sera Monastery, about 5 km north of Lhasa, is another important center of Buddhist learning. Built in 1419, its most remarkable image is a nine-meter figure of Maitreya.
