Lhasa Things to Do

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Aside from the Potala, this is the other "must do" destination in Lhasa. Everybody takes pictures on the roof, and afterwards people walk around the temple's perimeter in the clockwise footsteps of Tibetan pilgrims.

At the entrance of Jokhang Temple you'll see Tibetan pilgrims doing repeated prostrations.
(See additional photo) They consider this temple to be among the most sacred sites in Lhasa.

Inside the temple are many religious and cultural relics, among the most well known being the golden Buddha statue dowry of Tang dynasty princess Wen Cheng. She married a Tibetan king in order to form an alliance between him and China's emperor back in the capital of Xi'an.

Once you've seen the Buddhist art treasures and smelled enough yak butter lamps then it's time to go up on the roof and take beautiful photographs of golden ornaments. The view of the Potala from Jokhang Temple is famous and you'll also get good looks at the surrounding area called Barkhor, which means "eight corners" as the street surrounding Jokhang is actually shaped like an octagon.

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On the morning of my organized tour of the Potala, we were told to bring our passports along for admission. The price of the ticket was 100 RMB in August 2006, but there are rumors of an increase that will double or triple this fee in the near future. I will update this information as necessary. There is also a one hour time restriction inside the palace, as groups are moved along by police who frequently interrupt tour guides during their narration telling them to hurry up.
You may take pictures outside the bottom of the Potala, but photos are forbidden inside the palace after you reach the middle terrace where the restroom is located. Photos are also not allowed atop the roof. This rule is strictly enforced.
I saw a tourist try to sneak a photo and he was immediately surrounded by palace police, who roughed him up a bit and then ushered him through a back door. Nobody in our group saw him again; he simply vanished just like the naughty kids in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory:

Oompa Loompa Potala Doo
I've got a Potala warning for you
Oompa Loompa Potala Dee
If you are wise you'll listen to me

What do you get when you try to sneak pics
a mob of mad monks and police with big sticks
What a sad feat, getting terribly beat
then whisked away and dumped onto the street
... I don't like the look of it!

Oompa Loompa Potala Da
You shall go far if you obey the law
You will buy some nice postcards too
Like the other group members do!

The Potala is not a monastery, so you are not going to see many monks. It is more like a combination museum and library for the Tibetan Buddhist religion. You will see the tombs of former Dalai Lamas as well as thousands of thangkas, statues, and ancient scriptures.
One of the major highlights is the oldest part of the Potala, dating back 1300 years. Another big highlight is the restroom on the middle terrace. (You can see photos of it in my travelogue.) From the restroom's window you can have a view behind the Potala, as seen in my additional photo on the right.

The Potala is a beautiful monestary in the center of Lhasa. It cost 100 yeun to enter, which is the most expensive to enter in Tibet. The walk up is very steep. It is a good idea to try this after you have been in Lhasa for several days if you are not use to the altitude.

Although the monestary in beautiful and is one of the most important monestaries in Tibet, I wasn't that happy with the visit. I happen to enjoy the more remote monestaries.

I would not recommend paying the 100 yeun to go in.

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The Kora is a pilgramage of circling the monestary clock wise. The route can be difficult at times. Try and follow the tibetan pilgrams. If you ask anyone by saying "Kora Lam" they will point you in the right direction.

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When visiting Sera Monestary, be sure to find the debating court yard. This is not well mark, but the monks are very friendly and will point you in the right direction.

The debating starts at about 3pm so time your trip accordenly so you don't miss this intriguing part of the Monks life. The monks welcome you to take photo and video if you like and there is no charge.

The way it works is that the monks team up, one sits on the ground and the other stands. The standing monk asks question of the seated monk concerning certain buddhist text. A correct answer receives an animated slap of the hand thrusting one hand downward. A wrong answer and the standing monk will cross his hands. This should not be missed!

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This is a huge monestary with alot of pilgrams. The coblestone road walking into the monestary is great. There are a number of prayer wheels on the right. A tour on your own is not as well organized has many other monestaries in Tibet. You are pretty much on your own after you enter.

Whatever you do, do not miss the monks debating everyday between 3:30 and 5:30 pm at the Sera Monastery....plan to reach this monastery at the right time...best time to go is after lunch...go through the standard buddhist tour of the monastery....if you ask me, by the time you have reached this monastery, you already have an overdose of Buddhism....

But when it is time, get ready for the monks clapping and debating....it is absolute amazing....also an incredible mechanism, where buddhist philosophy is debated, changed and moves from one generation of monks to the other.

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Sera Monastery is the other one of the three major monasteries in Tibet. I only visited Drepung and Sera, as they were located at slightly higher elevation as Lhasa. Ganden is quite high up on the mountain and I don't want to risk my health. Sera is at the foot of the mountain just north of Lhasa. It was established and built in 1419, and had as many as 7000 monks at three colleges in the complex. Similar to Drepung, part of the monastery was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. You could still see the reconstruction of some of the buildings today. Sera housed treasures brought from China in the 15th century by a Tibetan monk, who taught in the imperial court in China.

Many people visit Sera Monastery in the afternoon for the monks debating at the courtyard. It is a daily event that takes place at around 3:30pm. It seems more like a show for tourists.

Admission is 55 RMB. You can reach there easily by public bus. Ask your guesthouse on where and which bus to take.