Tibet Local Customs

 
by ozalp
 
  •   Local Customs
    by ozalp
  •   Local Customs
    by ozalp
  •   Local Customs
    by ozalp
  • Sakya Monastery - of the Sakyapa Order
      Sakya Monastery - of the Sakyapa Order
    by Maria81
  • Inside the Assembly Hall of Tashilhunpo
      Inside the Assembly Hall of Tashilhunpo
    by Maria81
 
Plenty of choices
agoda.com Save up to 75%, Don't miss! Live support, Instant confirmation.
Save up to 50% off Hotels Everyday
Expedia.com Photos, Reviews and the Guaranteed Lowest Prices

Sponsored Links

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Debating Monks

by mad4travel

You can see the debating monks at the Sera Monastery.They were featured in Michael Palin's Himalaya series.Every day at 3oc for 2 hours the monks go out into the courtyard to debate. Who knows what they were debating as they were speaking Tibetan but sometimes it got very heated. If the monks get excitable with all this heated debate they slap their hands infront of the other monks, this is instead of hitting the other monk which I think is fair.As a tourist you can go and see them do this, although I think they derive as much amusement staring at you as a tourist as you do staring at them!

Tip Photo
Yak Butter

by mad4travel

You will come across Yaks and Yak butter wherever you go. They burn it in candles in some monasteries (altho they are converting to candle wax as apparantly its cheaper) or they serve it as Yak butter tea (which everyone warned me about and I managed to avoid).In Shigatze there was even a Yak Butter shop. Next door was a store selling only blenders. I thought that a bit odd until it was explained to me the best way to make Yak Butter tea was in a blender. You learn something new every day!

Tip Photo
Put the kettle on

by mad4travel

You see these solar kettles all over Tibet. An ingenious idea. A kettle can boil in 15 mins (quite quick because water boils at a lower temperature at altitude apparantly).Having stuck my hand under the kettle I can report it was very hot indeed!

Tip Photo
Say hello in Tibetan

by mad4travel

Say hello is Tibetan, they will love you for it!Don't know how its spelt but its pronounced Tassi DelekFor the Chinese Hawkers who give you the "you buy this one dollar "routine say:"Xie xie (Shay shay) wo bu yao" it means thanks, I don't want it. Works every time!

Tip Photo
Drying cow dung for firewood

by tremendopunto

The lack of firewood in this waste land of the Himalaya makes people creative. They collect the cow dung, put it into handy portions (dinner plate size) and let it dry on walls/house walls. Nothing else but recycling. Using the rare natural resources carefully!

Tip Photo
Different areas of Tibet

by sugarpuff

In different regions of Tibet, Shannan or Changtang, rural or pastoral areas, eastern or western Tibet, the customs are varied. As a Tibetan saying goes: "Different lamas teach in different ways; different inhabitants have different sayings and different nature cultivates different folkways". The nomadic herders living on the highly-elevated, frigid and sleeted grasslands in northern Tibet wear hides and furs, eat beef, mutton and milk products, and live in yak woollen tents. The farmers living along the Yarlung Zangbo River Valley and the mountain dwellers in the Himalayas wear wool tweed clothing, eat tsampa (roasted highland barley flour), and reside in stone or earthern houses, while the the inhabitants in forested regions dwell in bamboo and wooden houses.Most of the places we went to were all earthen or stone houses, many of them so much more beautiful than half the buildings they...

Tip Photo
Floor layers

by grets

Gangs of workers toil together to lay a concrete floor on the roof. Stone is ground to a fine powder and mixed with water, elm tree resin and rape seed oil. They use a flat piece of wood attached to a long pole, which they stamp on the ground in tune to singing. They work in alternative groups so as not to tire themselves out too much. The sound and movement was absolutely captivating, something akin to our line dancing. What a great idea to keep workers’ spirits up! Later the set concrete floor will be polished with a stone.

Tip Photo
Greenhouses

by grets

Up until four years ago all vegetables where imported to Tibet. In the last few years, many greenhouses have been built, and now Tibetans can enjoy fresh vegetables all the year round. I must say, all the vegetables we were served, were of very good quality.

Tip Photo
Language

by grets

Tibetan and Mandarin Chinese are the two main languages of Tibet. Tibetan is spoken by over seven million people throughout the Himalaya region, with some local variations. Below are a few useful phrases in Tibetan. Most urban people in Tibet will speak both Tibetan and Chinese, but not many people outside Lhasa can speak or understand English. Hello = tashi deleGoodbye (the one who’s going) = kale shooGoodbye (the one who’s staying) = kale pheThank you = thoo jaychayYes = la ongSorry = gonadWhere are the toilets = sangchö kabah yörayWater = tou tje theExcuse me = gongtaPlease = nang roknangI have altitude sickness = nga la sa-to-wei natsa pok songGlossaryBa = nomad tentBarkhor = generally speaking, the intermediary circuit (kora) around the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.Bö = Tibetans name for their own landBodhisattva = a devotee who chooses to prevent himself entering nirvana for the benefit...

Tip Photo
The Elm Tree

by grets

The Elm Tree is a very useful plant to Tibetans, it has traditionally been used to produce shampoo and paper. It becomes glutinous after soaking for 24 hours, and is then used in renovations of old buildings.

Tip Photo
Local traditions and culture in Tibet

Top 3 Hotels in Tibet

Yak Hotel  Lhasa

 8 Reviews and 61 Opinions  This is a supposedly 3 star hotel but why remains a mystery. We stayed there for 2 days on our... 

 Hotels in Lhasa

Gyantse Hotel  Gyangze

 2 Reviews and 29 Opinions  The hotel's official rating is ***, which did mean it was pretty basic - and so it was (it would not... 

 Hotels in Gyangze

Kyichu Hotel (Jiqu Fandian)  Lhasa

 1 Review and 65 Opinions  I stayed at this hotel in February 2007. The beds were hard, but that's normal in China. They had... 

 Hotels in Lhasa

66 Hotels in Tibet
 
Explore the World
Travel Destinations
Travel Highlights

The Place

Reviews and photos of Tibet attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Tibet sightseeing.

Experience Tibet
Local Customs: Cities in Tibet
  1. Lhasa Local Customs
  2. Gyangze Local Customs
  3. Xigaze Local Customs
  4. Samyai Local Customs
  5. Zhigung Local Customs
  6. Lhaze Local Customs

More Cities in Tibet

 

Questions and Answers

YWLTP profile photo

Q:  I am planning a trip of a life time and have two years to do so… so first I want to get some ideas from seasoned travelers and... 

GrumpyDiver profile photo

A: If you want to hike or bike, Tibet (which is stunning, by the way) is probably not going to work out. The Chinese government will only issue permits for people to enter... 

Read 4 Replies

postQuestion_button

Click here for best deals for

Save Up To 50% On Hotels
ORBITZ.com Find great deals on Orbitz & pay no hotel change or cancel fees
Great Rooms. Great Rates.
Travelocity Hotel rooms at up to 50% off. 
Save up to 50% off Hotels Everyday
Expedia.com Photos, Reviews and the Guaranteed Lowest Prices
Plenty of choices
agoda.com Save up to 75%, Don't miss! Live support, Instant confirmation.

Sponsored Links