Lhasa Things to Do

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This enduring landmark remains the symbol of Tibet. Standing 13 stories high and consisting of over 1000 rooms the Potala towers over the western end of modern day Lhasa.

The Potala was begun during the reign of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama and took over 50 years to complete with a workforce of 7,000 builders and 1,500 artists. It served as the administrative centre, seat of government, fortress and home of all the Dalai Lamas from 5 - 14.

The most important room inside is the Chapel of the Dalai Lama's tombs containing the chorten of the Fifth Dalai Lama which is made of 3,700kg of gold.

The Potala is within walking distance from the old quarter west along Beijing Dong Lu.

Entrance: Y120

the best time to visit sera monastery is right after lunch. i suggest you visit drepung monastery or the potala in the morning, have a quick lunch, then head for sera and get there around 1pm, 130pm at the latest.

you can then spend an hour or two going around the monastery.

what's important is you GET TO THE DEBATING COURTYARD BY 3PM. from 3pm to 5pm, the monks of sera monastery engage in debate practice at the courtyard. this is an absolute spectacle! you don't need to understand what they're saying, just watch and listen. there will be intense, animated, almost violent debating and gesticulating! awesome! (get it on video if you can!)

though there is a similar practice at jokhang temple, the debating at sera is just so much more, well, outrageous.

entrance to sera monastery is Y55. the usual Y20/hall fee for interior photos.

i have written an extensive series of tips on my travelogue entitled "how to climb the potala without passing out" on my lhasa page and hp. it was too long to write here so kindly refer to the link below to view the tips.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/88920/#TL

hope they will be of help to future visitors to the potala!

cheers!

i was lucky, they held a gathering of all the monks in drepung the day i visited. i was just winding up my visit when, all of a sudden, a monk on the roof of the main assembly hall (tsogchen) started banging a gong. from every corner of the monastery, monks started to appear! amazing to see them in their crimson robes and gold head dresses making their way to the main assembly hall.

this happened right at noon. once all inside, they all sat down and started chanting in low and gutteral voices. the sound reverberated throughout the hall as incense burned all around - it was simply an overwhelming experience! after some time, bells started to chime then all the young monks ran to get the yak milk (which i witnessed being prepared in the kitchen) and started serving the older monks.

visitors are allowed inside too and you can take photos for a Y20 fee, do it!

apparently, a prominent benefactor of the monastery asked for some prayers (probably after making another donation) so the entire congregation prayed for him. these gatherings do not happen often.

so, if you're planning a trip to lhasa and are in touch with someone from there (local guide or agency), it makes sense to ask if there are any such gatherings scheduled (unlikely that they'll know but worth a try). might as well see if you can plan your visit to coincide with this.

since drepung is a complex of several buildings, it is very easy to overlook certain areas - especially if you start thinking that the different halls are starting to look alike (they're not).

whatever you do, make sure you don't miss checking out the main kitchen. if you go in the morning like i suggested, you're likely to see the monks preparing lunch. this is a sight (and smell) to behold! they cook the same way they have for the last thousand years, using the same ingredients, the same ovens and furnaces, the same pots and pans, the same butter churns, same everything!

pay the photograph fee of Y20, it's well worth it! (video it if you can!)

most people who visit lhasa only have a few days to go around. i therefore recommend the following schedule for visiting drepung monastery:

visit drepung IN THE MORNING. it usually opens at 9am so make sure you get there before then.

there's nothing like wandering around the narrow streets at this time because there will be very few tourists. you'll see only locals dressed in traditional tibetan attire going about their business in and around the monastery so you'll get an authentic glimpse into what life on this mountainside monastery was like 600 years ago - priceless!

morning is also the best time to visit so that you'll be able to look into preparations in case there'll be an activity in the monastery later in the day.

you should be done around lunchtime so you can then spend the afternoon at another monastery (pls. see succeeding tips for recommendations).

entrance fee is Y55.

fee for taking pictures inside is usually Y20 per room/hall.

worth it!

...but without defacing anything?

you can do this by writing your name on the t-shirts that are hung on the walls of snowlands restaurant. this is a good way of recording your visit to lhasa without resorting to any kind of vandalism. thus, the historical landmarks of lhasa stay intact while your visit is immortalized for posterity - or at least until they change t-shirts.

some of those t-shirts look really faded already so they've surely been there a long time. it's safe to assume they won't be taking any of them down anytime soon.

make sure you write your name and time of visit on a t-shirt (and on the part of the t-shirt) which you'll remember, just in case you're fortunate enough to come back one day - i know i did!

just about an hour and a half to two hours from lhasa by 4x4, yamdrok-tso is a must see for any visitor to lhasa. it is one of tibet's four sacred lakes and offers stunning views (pls. see my travelogue entitled 'yamdrok-tso' on my damxoi page).

a winding mountain pass must be climbed before getting to kamba-la summit (elev. 4794m / 15728 ft.) from where you can see the lake. it is about 1300m higher so make sure you acclimatize in lhasa for three days before making the trip.

yamdrok-tso is usually one of the stops on a tour to gyangze or shigatse (xigaze). you may get in touch with my guide, nga wang, if you want to arrange a trip. will list his contact info below.