Lhasa Attractions

Lhasa is a unique and spiritual city. After a thousand years of vicissitudes, it has managed to retain its ancient palace, thick with religious history, its ancient temples, relics and streets whilst simultaneously keeping pace with modern society. Visitors have every reason to pay a visit the nice attractions when they come to Tibet.

On the way from the Gongkar Airport to Lhasa, you will see a simple but attractive temple north of the highway. A little east of the temple is a giant carved Buddha, Nietang Buddha. The Buddha is a big draw for visitors before they enter the downtown. Everyone wants their photo taken here with the Buddha.

Surely every traveler must visit the Potala Palace during their visit. This palace is sacred in Tibetan people's hearts. Before entering the palace you must show your identification card or passport (in the case of foreign visitors). The entrance ticket should be bought beforehand and for non-Tibetan visitors it costs CNY 100 (Nov.1-Apr.30).

Potala Palace

Another must-see attraction is the Jokhang Temple. It is surrounded by Barkhor Street in the center of Lhasa. Being the spiritual center of the holy land, the temple is richly decorated with Tibetan features. It is where visitors can go to get a real taste of Tibetan culture.
 
To visit Jokhang Temple, you have to pass through Barkhor Street where you will find many local people go to chant and sing. For visitors this is also a commercial street with lots of featured local artworks and souvenirs and it bustles with visitors from many different countries.

Barkhor Street

The three main monasteries in Lhasa are also not to be missed. They are Sera Monastery, Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery.

Sera Monastery is situated in the north of the city. The highlight of the Monastery is lamas debating on Buddhist Doctrine. The debating is held from 15:30 to 16:30 every day except Saturday and Sunday. There are buses to the monastery for CNY 2. Alternatively you can take a taxi, about CNY 15. You can also hire a bike.

Drepung Monastery is the largest monastery in Tibet and lies in the west of Lhasa. The Unveiling Ceremony of the giant Thangka of the Buddha is held in Drepung Monastery on the first day of the annually held Shoton Festival. To get here take a taxi which costs around CNY 20.

Ganden Monastery is also located in the west of Lhasa. Some buses on Jokhang Temple Square go to this monastery; they start at 07:00 every morning and return at 14:00. The journey takes about two hours in total and the round trip ticket costs CNY 20.

Jokhang Temple

Sera Monastery

In addition to the above-mentioned attractions, there are other sights worth visiting such as Ramoche Monastery (Xiao Zhao Si), Tibet Museum, Mentsekhang (the Tibetan Traditional Hospital), Lhasa Carpet Factory, Chakpori Hill (Yao Wang Shan) and the biggest man-made garden in Tibet, Norbulingka (the Summer Palace), listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 2001 as an extension of Potala Palace. Additionally, you can go to Yangpachen, which is about 90 kilometers far from Lhasa City. It gains its fame from the abundant geothermic heat which provides people with much to explore.

All these sights will offer you further insights into the fascinating history, culture and life of the Tibetan people.

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