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Things to Do in Lhasa

For any tourist wishing to have an experience of a lifetime, there is nothing better than a vacation with so many eclectic things to do in Lhasa. The land of spirit and dream is a great destination to visit, whether you travel goal is a pilgrimage, adventure or just a leisure vacation. Following a thousand years of changes, it has figured out how to hold its antiquated royal residence, thick with religious history, its old sanctuaries, relics and avenues while at the same time keeping pace with current society. Guests have every reason to take inspiration and visit the decent attractions of Lhasa when they come to Tibet. A day trip into the countryside of Lhasa reveals the monastic ruins and restorations of Ganden, passing monks on the way to isolated shrines and enjoying fantastic panoramas across the valley.

Lhasa is also known as "the City of Sunlight" for it enjoys much more sunshine than most places in the world. As the holy land of Tibetan Buddhism, Lhasa boasts numerous well-preserved Buddhist constructions, most of which are mysterious palaces and monasteries. No matter what your interest is, let’s say climbing majestic towering mountains, circling around holy lakes, visiting sacred monasteries, riding horses across the vast grasslands, or hiking through national parks, Lhasa has something for you.

Lhasa houses some of the most renowned temples and monasteries like the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Tashilhunpo Monastery etc. And when it comes to natural sceneries, it is replete with breathtaking landscapes in the form of Mt Kailash, Yamdrok Lake and Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon. Lhasa is also the best place to climb the world’s highest peak in the Himalayas-the Mount Everest.

There are so many great places to see and amazing things to do in Lhasa that your vacation will remain jampacked with several interesting activities.

Tsurphu Monastery

While in Tibet you will have a lot of options for exploring the monastery. In between them Tsurphu Monastery is a must visit place for you in Tibet. Tsurphu Monastery is an a gompa which serves as the customary seat of the Karmapa, the leader of the Karma Kagyu heredity of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery stands at an elevation of 14,100 ft above .It was built amidst the valley confronting south with high mountains encompassing the complex. This religious community is said to be produced using the hairs of 100,000 dakinis, the black hat, decorated with gold is currently kept at Rubtek Monastery in Sikkim, India.

Highlights: The monastery has an extremely well known religious celebration once in consistently and that is constantly held around Saka Dawa (birthday of Lord Buddha) which falls in the fourth lunar month. This religious celebration as a rule goes on for four days. Cham (religious move) was performed by nearby friars in the monastery by wearing assortment of defender and divinities' veils with traditions.

Location: It is located in Gurum in Doilungdêqên District, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, 70 kilometres from Lhasa.

Price: The entry is free of cost.

Meru Monastry

Another attraction in Tibet which is a must see for you is the Meru Nyingpa Monastry. Meru Nyingpa is an unassuming monastery settled profound inside the complex back streets and whitewashed dividers of the old Barkor neighborhood. Its history comes to back to the establishing of the Jokhang, to the starting point of Budhhism in Tibet. The Jokhang, housed inside the bigger complex of the Tsuklakkhang, is a notable structure and the focal church of the Tibetan Buddhist world.

Highlights: The religious community is swarmed with Tibetans thumbing prayer beads or chanting prayer. Another fascinating element of the religious community is one of a kind devout complex situated inside the focal point of Lhasa. The structure of Meru Nyingpa contains the components that portray the quintessential Tibetan Buddhist religious community.

Location: Meru Nyingpa Monastery is located in the Barkor area at the heart of the old city of Lhasa.

Price: The entry to this monastery is free of cost.

Lhasa Great Mosque

While you are visiting Tibet there is another site which is a must visit for you, Lhasa Great Mosque is another site which is lately becoming a hit among the people around the globe. Also, known as the Hebalin Mosque this mosque is a gathering hub for the Hui ethnic group in Tibet. This mosque was built in Tibetian traditional style with circular arch and steeple. The interior of the mosque is decorated with Islamic decorative style flowers and plants.

Highlights: The Lhasa mosque has three entrances and courtyard with several main buildings, such as the prayer hall, water house, bath house, bunker building etc. The prayer hall has three main parts, including the inner hall, open hall and moon platform. Get amazed by the striking architecture and the exquisitely built interiors with blues as the basic colour.

Location: Lhasa Great Mosque is located at Hebalin, Chengguan District of Lhasa.

Price: The entry to this mosque is free of cost.

Tibet Peaceful Liberation Monument

Standing tall in the southern part of the Potala square in Lhasa is the Tibet Peaceful Liberation Monument which celebrates the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. The monument is 37-meter-high spire and was designed by Professor Qikang of the South-East University of China. It is shaped as Mount Quomolangma.

Highlights: The Tibet Peaceful Liberation Monument has engraved names of the former general secretary and President Jiang Zemin. There is also an inscription referring to the “forces from Tibet in 1951 and also talks about the socio economic development. This monument is also stands as a tribute to freedom, joy, struggle, perseverance, rights for the Tibetian people.

Location: The monument is located in front of the Potala Palace, where it is flanked by a pair of Popular Army soldiers.

Price: The entry is free of cost.

Tibet Museum

With its amazing scenic beauty Tibet will never cease to enlighten you. There is another place which you should definitely visit while in Tibet, Tibet Museum. Learn about the musings of ancient China through a series of photographs, video and clear English-language display panels. This museum was inaugurated by Dalai Lama On April 30, 2000.

Highlights: Tibet Museum mainly aims on spreading the knowledge of the Tibetian culture and history. The museum showcases 30,000 photographs, traveling exhibition. They also have a permanent exhibition that documents the Tibetan journey into exile across the Himalayan ranges. So guys, this museum should be on the top of your list on your next visit.

Location: The Tibet Museum is located near the main temple of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tsuglag Khang, in the Dharamsala suburb of McLeod Ganj.

Price: The approximate price to the museum is Rs 5.

Ramoche Temple

Lately we can see that Tibet is becoming a hit among the tourist destination in the world. This time while you are visiting there you should definitely visit the Ramoche Temple. With peaceful vicinity and amazing views this Buddhist monastery is another most important temple in Lhasa after Jokhang Temple. Also, considered as a sister temple to Jokhang temple, this temple was believed to be originally built to house the much revered Jowo Rinpoche statue.

Highlights: Another interesting thing about the monastery is the life sized stature of 8-year-old Sakyamuni. This figure is regarded as a great saint in Ramoche Monastery which was carried to Tibet by the Nepalese Chizun Princess. One can see the ten pillars holding some of the relics such as the encased lotus flowers, coiling cloud, jewelry, and particular Tibetan Characters.

Location: Situated in the northwest of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, it is east of the Potala and north of the Jokhang.

Price: The entry is free of cost.

Ganden Monastery

If you are looking for some peace and serenity then Ganden Monastery ion for is the perfect option for you. Ganden Monastery is the first and essential religious community of the Gelug Sect in Tibetan Buddhism. Its Tibetan name alludes to a great site in the Western Heaven of Buddhism. Sitting on the Wangbori Mountain which looks like a leaning back elephant toward the upper east of the Dagze County, the monastery confronting east charges a rise of 3,800 meters above ocean level.

Highlights: The Ganden Monastery was inherent the mid fifteenth century. The Lamas residing here are administrated through the Xaze and Jamze Zhacangs. In the Qing Dynasty, the religious community had a portion of 3,300 individuals, while at its pinnacle, the cloister obliged 5,000 individuals.

Location: The monastery is located at Dagze, Lhasa, Tibet, China

Price: The entry is free of cost.

Drepung Monastery

Another monastery which is must visit for you in Tibet is the Drepung Monastery. It is one of the largest monasteries in the world, and housed 7,700 monks. The monastery mainly dedicated to study and preservation of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of wisdom and compassion. They believe in the cultivation of both heart and intellect which will provide inner peace and kindness. This will also help the monks to nurture themselves in the community understanding, and global healing. The Ganden-Phodrang-Palace situated at Drepung Monastery was constructed by the 2nd Dalai Lama.

Highlights: This monastery believes in providing their disciples with the perfect knowledge of inner peace and kindness. To study the texts of Jhe Tsong Kha Pa and his closest adept disciples and of Kunkhen and his son-like closest disciples as to wield as the key to open the treasure safe of the texts of the Indian Pundits .

Location: Chengguan, Lhasa, Tibet, China

Price: The entry is free of cost.

Samye Monastery

Situated in the peaceful piedmont territory of the Shannan Region, the Samye Monastery is the principal sanctuary to be inherent Tibet and the main complete with the three Buddhist gems of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. With these one of a kind components, this breathtaking sanctuary has turned into a fascination for guests from close and far. The sanctuary was worked by the Trisong Detsen (ruled 742-798) of the Tubo Kingdom and was directed by the Buddhist expert Padmasambhava.

The Detsen contributed a great deal to the venture. At the point when the sanctuary was finished, Detsen joined in the establishment service and after that appointed seven relatives of nobility to develop in the sanctuary. They turned into the main gathering of ministers to inhabit the sanctuary and later the alleged 'Seven Enlighten Disciples of Samye'.

Location: Tibet

Highlights: • Wuzi Hall • Pagoda of Sangye Temple

Jokhang Temple

Jokhang signifies 'Place of Buddha'. Situated in the focal point of old Lhasa city, Jokhang Monastery is the prime seat of the Gelugpa (Yellow) Branch of Tibetan Buddhism. It was initially implicit 647 AD. Jokhang Temple is the profound focal point of Tibet and the holiest destination for all Tibetan Buddhist pioneers. Through ni It is said the site was picked actually by the wife of King Songtsan Gampo, the Tang Princess Wen Cheng.
The princess saw Wutang, a lake in Lhasa, to be a "fiend's heart", a wellspring of abhorrence, and had it filled in and the sanctuary based on the site to balance insidious strengths.

Location: Central Lhasa, 2 km (1.5 miles) east of the Potala Palace, in the middle of the Barkhor Street circuit.

Best time to visit: Anytime in the year

Highlights: • Life-Sized Sitting Buddha Statue • Tibetan New Year Celebration • Barkhor Street • Lhasa Mosque • Ramoche Temple • The Potala Palace.

Yangbajing Hot Springs

Yangbajain is a town 87 kilometers northwest of Lhasa City. It is a rich green valley encompassed by the Nomads with yaks and sheep along the slope. The town is well known for its Yangbajain Hot Springs which are geothermic and have been created and used to deliver a large portion of the power for Lhasa and ranges adjacent. The field of Yangbajing Hot Springs field has a height of around 4500 meters which makes it the most noteworthy elevation of its kind in China.

The water temperature is around 30 to 84 degrees centigrade. The Yangbajing Geothermol Power Station is situated on the edge of the Yangbajing Hot Springs field. As the principal geothermal force station it has a territory of around 30 square kilometers.

Location: Lhasa

Highlights: • 87 Km’s long • Surrounded by green valley • Water temperature varies from 30 to 84 degrees centigrade

Norbulingka

Lying at the western rural areas of Lhasa, Norbulingka is 2 km toward the east of the Potala Palace. In 1988, the State Council approved it to end up a national vital social relic security unit. On Dec. 14, 2001, the UNESCO included Norbulingka into the expansion subjects of the Potala Palace which is enrolled as a World Cultural Heritage site. In 2001, the State Tourism Administration evaluated Norbulingka as 4A on the national tourism locale level.

Norbulingka signifies "Treasure Garden" in the Tibetan dialect. It was first implicit the mid-eighteenth century and expected today's scale through numerous extensions. Norbulingka has 3 sections: the patio before the royal residence, the castle and woodland. With more than 400 arrangements of rooms, the greenhouse takes up 3.6 square kilometers, among which 3.4 square km are green knolls or woods.

Location: Lhasa

Highlights: • Temple • Losel Doll Museum • Shop • Hummingbird Café

Attend Losar

Tibetan New year, otherwise called Losar, is the most imperative celebration in the Tibetan timetable. Tibetan New Year is said to most recent 15 days, however the initial 3 days are generally essential. It is mostly celebrated over a time of 3 days in late The Tibetan date-book comprises of 12 (or 13) lunar months, and Losar starts on the principal day of the Tibetan year. The Tibetan date-book is lunisolar and verging on indistinguishable to the Chinese schedule.

Losar is commended by Tibetan individuals. It is set apart with antiquated functions that speaks to the battle in the middle of good and insidiousness. There is droning and going of flame lights through the group. A specific measure of levity is given by occasions, for example, the move of the deer and the diverting fights between the King and his different pastors. Losar Festival is described particularly by moving, music, and a general soul of fun.

Barkhor Street

Situated in the old range of Lhasa City, Tibet, Barkhor Street is an extremely antiquated round road encompassing the Jokhang Temple and local people are constantly glad for it. As an image of Lhasa, it is additionally an unquestionable requirement see place for guests. It's said that in 647, the main Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo (617 - 650) manufactured the Jokhang Temple.

Because of its brilliance, it immediately pulled in a great many Buddhist explorers. Additionally you can see a few explorers strolling or advancing body-lengths by body-lengths along the road. Indeed, even some of them are youngsters or have encountered a great many miles' stroll to achieve this hallowed spot. The way they express their devotion could make you comprehend the blessedness of religion.

Location: Central Lhasa

Best time to visit: Any time in year

Highlights: • Buddhist worship • Watching pilgrims do prostrating obeisances • Shopping • The Circumambulation Road • Makye Ame • Canggu Monastery

Potala Palace

This astonishing castle has the pleasure of being the most astounding antiquated royal residence on the planet, with its most noteworthy point achieving 3,750 meters (12,300 feet) above ocean level, towering 100 meters (300 feet) over the city of Lhasa. The Potala Palace has remained for quite a long time as a demonstration of the Tibetan individuals and their convictions. A huge number of travelers from around the globe come each year to pay reverence to this great home and the image it remains for.

Location: central Lhasa, 2 km north of the Lhasa river, 5 km south of Sera Monastery, 3 km east of Norbulingka, and 2 km west of Jokhang Temple

Best time to visit: Any time in year

Highlights: • The Red Palace • The White Palace • Inside the Potala Palace • The Golden Roof Group

Nyenchen Thangla Traverse

This trek is going through canyons, forested slants, snow capped glades and the fields of the Changtang. The trek starts on the principle street to the Namtso lake, 5km past the Damxung-Lhasa Hwy turn-off. The trail cuts over the relentless Nyenchen Tanglha range and heads straightforwardly for Tashi Do, the praised headland on the southeast shore of Namtso.

Location: Tibet

Best time to visit: April to June and September to December

Altitude: 5,300 m

Difficulty level: Average

Highlights: • Go down into the entrails of the Potala Palace, the great yet spiritless bastion of the Dalai Lamas. • Join the rearranging, mumbling pioneers around the places of worship of the Jokhang Temple, the otherworldly heart of Tibet. • Take after friars, beggars and kindred travelers around the Barkhor Street, Lhasa's entrancing medieval explorer circuit. • Take in a supplication to God meeting or some friar debating at Sera and Drepung Monastery, two of the biggest and most in place of Tibet's incredible religious communities.

Ganden Samye Trek

Ganden to Samye Tibet trekking course is viewed as one of the best climbs on the planet. It is a satisfying and wonderful journey trip with much to offer, a diagram of Tibetan Buddhism and religious society, blue blessed lakes, high frigid passes and mountains, rich snow capped glades, sporadic herders' camp, peaceful Tibetan towns, time-respected consecrated locales, at long last coming full circle at the infertile, desert-like environment close to the Samye Monastery. On the off chance that you go to Tibet, we exceedingly prescribe you to attempt this trek, which will make your Tibet visit additionally intriguing. This is additionally an all around utilized journey course for Tibetans for it is helpful to join a visit to Ganden with a sensibly immediate yet hard stroll to Samye.

Location: Tibet

Prices: Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000

Best time to visit: April to June and September to December

Altitude: 4180m

Difficulty level: Moderate

Highlights: • Ganden Monastery • Samye Monastery • Traditional Tibetan Villages • Interesting outside experience

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Lhasa Things To Do FAQs

What are the activities that can be done in Lhasa?

Lhasa, mostly renowned for being the world famous center for Tibetan Buddhism for so long, is a great place to enjoy a vacation. Replete with its charming boulevards and temples that resemble the traditional Tibetan life, Lhasa offers a great tourist experience. It is not wrong to say that Lhasa is a city of wonders replete with interesting history and culture.

Here are the best activities that you can enjoy in Lhasa:

Take a tour of Potala Palace
Visit the holy Jokhang Temple
Enjoy some fun entertainment at Norbulingka
Walk on the famous Barkhor Street
Enjoy the serenity of Sera Monastery
Dive into Tibetan History at Tibet Museum
Take a dip into the hot springs at hot springs

Which places are best for trekking in Lhasa?

Trekking in Lhasa is a perfect way to explore Tibet and a wonderful experience of a lifetime that you can’t get anywhere else on earth. By trekking in Tibet, you can enjoy the unique landscapes on the roof of the world and have a full insight of Tibetan culture. You can sense the subtle and harmonious relationship of people with nature once you step on the highland. The best trekking near Lhasa would be Tsurphu to Yangbachen Trek as it is just 60km far from Lhasa city.

This trek is a perfect choice for everyone who would like to have a short trekking near Lhasa to discover countryside and Tibetan village as well as it combines lovely lake Namtso. Starting from the seat of Karmapa the Tsurpu monastery the trek leads toward Yangbachen hot spring crossing magnificent Tibetan landscape and remote villages meeting with Nomads. It is a very romantic and panoramic trek near Lhasa perhaps best trekking experience.

Tsurphu to Yangpachen trek begins at Tsurphu Monastery walk crosses several alpine valleys like Leten valley, Bartso valley. This trek combines with alpine Valleys and mountain panoramas with visits to monasteries and a nunnery, cultural and wilderness.

Where to experience art and culture of Lhasa?

Lhasa attracts tourists for its traditional and spiritual ambience leaving everyone spellbound. This mystical yet fast modernizing still resonates with Tibetan culture that was practiced in the most spectacular Tibetan Buddhist temples and shrines in Lhasa. Morever, the company of Lhasa’ spiritual and devout people makes the art and culture even more beautiful.

If you wish to explore the cultural side of Tibet, then the best places to go are:

Potala Palace
The Barkhor
Jokhang Temple
Tibet Museum
Sera Monastery

Which are best places for camping in Lhasa?

One of the best features of Lhasa is that it is the best place to go for camping. And what can be a better than Everest Camp when you’re in Lhasa. Camping up close to the Mount Everest in Lhasa is overwhelming experience which tourists would love to experience in their lifetime. The spectacular view of the glorious Mt. Everest is such a sight to see and feels as if it was one of the greatest achievements of life.

Which are some famous pilgrimage sites to visit in Lhasa?

Surrounded by colossal mountain ranges in southwestern China, the city of Lhasa ("Place of the Gods") is the religious and political capital of the Tibetan world. Not only it’s a dream destination for every Tibetan Buddhist but also for the casual vacationers looking for something unique.

Jokhang Temple: This historic temple in Lhasa is the holiest site in Tibetan Buddhism. It houses a venerated Buddha statue and has been a major pilgrimage destination for centuries.
Drepung Monastery: Founded in 1416, this monastery on the outskirts of Lhasa was once Tibet's largest and most influential, with over 10,000 monks. It remains active today

Potala Palace: This castle-monastery was long the primary residence of the Dalai Lama, who now lives in exile in India. Today it is a state museum and World Heritage Site.