Tibet: Highlights in Brief

Lhasa (3658m)
Lhasa rose to prominence as an administrative center in the C7th when Songtsen Gampo moved his capital there and built a palace on the site now occupied by the Potala. The temples of Ramoche and the Jokhang were also established at this time to house the Buddha images brought as dowries by Songtsen Gampo’s Nepalese and Chinese wives. The rule of the Yarlung kings from their new capital lasted some 250 years, but Buddhism did not really take hold until the rule of Trisong Detsen (755-97) when Samye was established. Following the breakup of the Lhasa regime the city became peripheral to Tibetan history until Dalai Lama V (1617-82) defeated the Shigatse Tsang kings (with Mongol support).
The Barkhor: The holiest of Lhasa’s koras (devotional circumambulation circuits) and its most fascinating market. All around are shops, stalls, teahouses and cafes; the streets are filled with monks, pilgrims, street performers and hawkers. The atmosphere is an intoxicating blend of the sacred, medieval, commercial and exotic. Many hours can be spent wandering here (always clockwise) shopping for prayer flags, block prints of the holy scriptures, Tibetan boots, yak butter, rice, tea, silk, incense… Stop in a café and watch the many peoples – Khambas from eastern Tibet who braid their hair with red yarn and stride around with ornate swords or daggers; Goloks (nomads of the north) wear ragged sheepskin and their women display incredibly ornate hair bands.
4 stone incense burners mark the 4 extremities of the circuit. Behind the two in front of the Jokhang stand 2 enclosures; one housing the stump of an ancient willow allegedly planted by Songsten Gyampo’s Chinese wife and a stele inscribed with the terms of the Sino-Tibetan treaty of 822 guaranteeing mutual respect for the borders of the two countries.
The Jokhang: This 1300-year-old, golden-roofed building at the center of the Barkhor is the spiritual heart of both the city and of the Tibetan world. The most sacred and active of Tibetan temples, it was founded by Bhrikuti, King Songsten Gampo’s Nepalese bride, on a site chosen by his other wife (a Tang dynasty Chinese princess, Wenchang) as the principal geomantic power-place in Tibet. The courtyard in front of the entrance is almost constantly filled with prostrating pilgrims – inside the labyrinth of shrines, halls and galleries are dimly lit by butter lamps and filled with pilgrims and incense and house some of the finest treasures of Tibetan art including a pure gold statue of Sakyamuni.
The Potala Palace: The Potala towers over Lhasa and is an enduring landmark of Tibet. Little remains of the original structure built by Songsten Gyampo other than its foundations. After Lhasa was reinstated as the capital of Tibet in the C17th the Great 5th Dalai Lama began construction of the White Palace (built 1645-53) employing 7000 workers and 1500 artisans. It functioned as the traditional seat of the Tibetan government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas. The Red Palace is attributed to the regent Desi Sangye Gyatso and was completed in 1693. Dalai Lama V died in 1682, his death, concealed by the regent, enabling completion of the construction without the distraction of political upheaval. Within this palace are numerous outstanding temples and the reliquary tombs of eight past Dalai Lamas. Altogether the palace is 13 storeys (among the world’s tallest buildings until the C20th skyscraper) and contains approximately 200,000 images in 1,000 rooms.

Ramoche: Second in importance only to the Jokhang, the Ramoche was built to house the Jowo Sakyamuni statue brought by Princess Wenchang as dowry in the C7th until it was later moved to the Jokhang after the latter’s lengthy construction process. The image housed there today is claimed to be that brought to Lhasa by Songsten Gyampo’s Nepalese wife, however the image was certainly missing from 1960-83, although could have disappeared much earlier during the Mongol invasions. When re-discovered it was found in 2 pieces.
Norbulingka: This 40-hectare park to the west of town was built as a summer residence for the Dalai Lamas in the mid C18th; the site selected on account of its medicinal spring. It was here that monks protected Dalai Lama XIV from “invitations” from the Chinese military before he fled Tibet and began his government exile.
Tibetan Traditional Hospital: Tibetan medical scientific theory is backed by Tantric texts and diagnosis is largely carried out by taking various pulses, an illness is though to result from imbalances in the ‘humors’. Surgery of any kind is never used. Tibetan doctors still train here and the teaching Thangkas on the top floor are fascinating. Ask politely to be shown around and leave a small donation.
Drepung: Pelden Drepung dates from the early C15th and, at its height, was the largest of Tibet’s monastic towns, and possibly the largest monastery in the world (in 1641 it housed over 10,000 monks). Drepung also became an important center of political power and, before the construction of the Potala by Dalai Lama V; it was the principal seat of the Geluk School. There were originally 7 dratsangs (colleges), but were consolidated into 4, each with its own abbot and syllabus. The tantric college – Ngakpa Dratsang – was consecrated by Tsongkapa himself and contains the most powerful of Drepung’s images – Dorje Jigche/Chogyel Chaktakma (a Buffalo headed deity who is the Geluk’s principal tutelary deity). Much of the complex is unscathed by repeated war and plunder, many of the current buildings date from the C17th-18th. It was reopened in 1980 with around 500 monks, but numbers have been reduced and there are now about 300.
Sera: About 4kms north of Lhasa is the monastery Sera. It was founded in 1417 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa on a site where the teacher and his foremost students had established hermitages. In 1959 Sera housed 5-6000 monks, today there are only a few hundred. Much of the original complex was destroyed, however the chief colleges and Lhakhangs along with their images and relics were preserved – amongst them a vajra believed to have arrived from India in a miraculous flight. One of the highlights of a visit to Sera is the mid–afternoon debating session attended by most of the monks and takes place in an area specifically assigned for that purpose. The noise and fervor is exciting even if you can’t understand a word they are saying.
* Sera means “Enclosure of Roses”, but the name is often given as “Beneficent Hail”, a name indicating the rivalry between Drepung and Sera as hail (ser) destroys rice (dre).

Gyantse (3950m)
‘The Royal Summit’ is named after a crag rising suddenly from the plane, which has been fortified since early antiquity – the fort (dzong) which crowns the crag dates from the C14th. Gyantse was once Tibet’s third largest town, but nowadays its status is considerably diminished. It has however preserved much of its original atmosphere and is one of the least Chinese-influenced towns in Tibet. There is no record of Gyantse prior to the C14th, but it quickly emerged as center of a fiefdom with powerful connections to the Sakyapa order and dominated the wool and timber trade routes from Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan for centuries. By 1440 Gyantse’s most impressive architectural achievements had been completed – the Kumbum, the dzong and Pelkor Chode monastery.
Pelkor Chode: The main temple of Pelkor Chode, the Tsuklakhang, was built 1418-25 by the 2nd prince of Gyantse. It was an eclectic academy with 16 dratsang (colleges) belonging variously to the Sakya, Butonpa, Geluk and Kagyu schools. All the dratsang buildings have been destroyed, however the main assembly hall was preserved along with its remarkable C15th images and murals. The top chamber is decorated with fantastic mandalas in the Sakya tradition.
Within the complex stands Gyantse Kumbum (the Stupa of 100,000 deities) completed in 1427. Rising 35 meters high, the stupa has 108 gates, nine storeys and 75 chapels and is now unique in the Buddhist world. Structured according to a compendium of Sakya Tantra, each level creates a mandala and the whole represents a three-dimensional path to the Buddha’s enlightenment in terms of increasingly subtle tantric mandalas. Most of the clay images are new, but many murals are original and in good condition.

Shalu
In the history of Buddhism and of art Shalu is one of the most important gompas in Tibet. It was founded in 1040 and its dhukang erected by the Sakya hierarch at the beginning of the C14th when Mongol influence was at its height. It was the residence of the great scholar Buton Rimpoche (1290-1364) and became the seat of the Butonpa tradition, derived from both Kadampa and Sakya teachers. Most of Shalu’s treasures have vanished, including the library of Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscripts, but its remarkable murals remain.

Shigatse / Zhigatse (4040m)
Standing at the confluence of the Nyang-chu and Brahmaputra rivers, Shigatse is Tibet’s 2nd largest city. When Karma Tseten took power in 1565, Shigatse became the capital of Tibet with strong allegiances to the Karma Kagyu School at the expense of others. An alliance was formed with the Mongols and Lhasa captured in 1605. Following years of civil war Lhasa emerged victorious in 1642 and has remained the capital ever since. Shigatse continued to flourish as both trading center and seat of the Panchen Lamas.
Tashilhunpo Monastery: Founded in 1447 by a nephew and disciple of Tsongkhapa who was retroactively named the first Dalai Lama. The original building was built above a sacred sky-burial site, the stone slab of which can still be seen on the floor. Tashilhunpo is one of the four great Geluk monasteries in Tibet and at its peak housed 4700 monks and is still the largest functioning monastic community in Tibet. While its extent has been reduced by two-thirds, most of the buildings razed consisted of monks’ quarters. The principal temples and buildings mostly date from the 17th and 18th centuries, rebuilt following its sack by the Gorkhalis in 1792. The most amazing image is the 26m Maitreya, erected in its own Lhakhang by the 9th Panchen Lama in 1914 and covered with 279 kg of gold.
The title ‘Panchen’ means great scholar and was traditionally bestowed on the abbots of Tashilhunpo. Being an emanation of Amitabha, Buddha of Infinite Light; the Panchen Lama ranks amongst Tibet’s foremost incarnate successions and considered by many superior to the Dalai Lamas with whom there has often been intense rivalry.

Pel Sakya (4100)
Sakya is the principal seat of the Sakya school and as such played a dominant role in the political and religious history of Tibet in the 13th and 14th centuries. Founded in 1073 its fortunes rose with the Mongol conquest of Central Asia as the Sakya abbots were given political control of Tibet by the Khans. Its great temples were built during this early period, but warfare, time, C16th restoration and Red Guards have destroyed the greater part of the Sakya-Mongol legacy. The oldest and principal buildings stood on the north side of the river, now completely destroyed. Across the river the Lhakhang Chempo (built in 1268) still stands, surrounded by a high, fortified wall. It contains an extraordinary wealth of symbols of the Buddha’s Mind, Body and Speech by which the history of Buddhist art in Tibet and surrounding regions can be traced, although what remains is only a fraction of what once was.

Milarepa’s Cave & Nyelam Pelgye Ling
Milarepa himself suggested the name for this small temple, the ‘Place of Increase and Expansion’. It was erected around a cave where he had meditated, though it was not built until after his death. Originally Kagyu, as was Milarepa, it was taken over by the Gelukpa at the time of the 5th Dalai Lama. At one time it was home to 70 monks; today there are 8. The current structure is a reconstruction of the one destroyed during the 1960s.

Qomolangma & Rongbuk
Seven kilometers below Base Camp at the foot of the north face glaciers Rongbuk is said to be the highest monastery on earth - 5000m. Built in 1902, on the site of a hermitage for nuns from Mindroling, it originally housed 500 monks and nuns, today only a few dozen remain.
From here the views of Qomolangma (Everest) 8848 meters are simply fantastic

Kailash / Kang Rinpoche / Precious Snow Mountain (6714m)
Collectively known as Kangri Tsosum - Ponri Ngaden, Lake Manasarovar & Kailash – are said to be the heart of the ancient Shangshung Kingdom, the supposed land of origin of the pre-Buddhist Bonpo. Kailash is their soul mountain, which they also call Yungdrung Gu Tse (Nine-Storey Swastika Mountain). This is the place where their legendary founder, Tongpa Shenrab descended from heaven to earth.
In the 11th C with the revival and ascendancy of Buddhism in Tibet, Milarepa was the dominant influence in the area. He defeated his Bonpo archrival, Naro Bonchung, in a series of magical contests. Relic traces of this epic battle can be seen from time to time along the kora. From the 12th C the Kagyupa flourished around the mountain. Monasteries and retreats sprang up and pilgrims arrived in large numbers to pay homage to Kang Rinpoche.
To Buddhists it is the abode of Demchok, the wrathful manifestation of Buddha Sakyamuni. To Hindus it is the dwelling of Shiva, the destroyer and according to the Sanskrit tradition of Vishnu Purana (200BC) it is a representation of Mt Sumeru, the cosmic mountain at the center of the universe.
Four major rivers have their sources here. The Indus, the Sutlej, the Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) and the Karnali. The holy Ganges also originates in the area. Tibetans consider all these rivers sacred and their sources even more so.

Lake Manasarovar (4572m)
The ‘Lake Conceived from the Mind of God’ is a brillant turquoise expanse of water, pure beyond conventional scientific confirmation. Its sun shape a balance and contrast to Rakshal Tal. Chiu Gompa, spectacularly perched on a rocky pinnacle, is the site of the cave where Padmasambhava lived for the last 7 years of his life.

Rakshas Tal
Manasarovar’s western neighbour, Rakshas Tal is known as the ‘Lake of the Demon’ or ‘Lake of Poisoned Water’ is totally different, its waters dark and stormy. Shaped like a crescent moon, it embodies the forces of the night, the dark and the unknown side of the psyche.

Tirthapuri (4320m)
On the banks of the Sutlej, in a striking ravine of red and white earth, unusual rock formations and draped with prayerflags, Tithapuri is an important finale to a Kailash kora. It is an area strongly associated with Padmasambhava as well as events from the lives of numerous buddhas and bodhisattvas. The small gompa was originally constructed by a Nyingma lama, but is now maintained by the Kagyu. Within the temple is a cave where Padmasambhava meditated with his consort and a hole through which he is said to have extracted the consciousness of the ogress who previously inhabited the cave.

The Guge Kingdom (3650m)
The kingdom of Guge was established in the 9th century following the assassination of the anti Buddhist king Langdarma and breakup of the Yarlung Empire. His descendents traveled west and established a capital at Tsaparang. The 10th century king, Yeshe-O and the translator Rinchen Zangpo worked together with Atisha to reestablish Buddhism in Tibet and built over 100 monasteries.
The presence of Jesuit missionaries prompted Ladakh to invade in 1630. They held the territory for a period, but it was eventually absorbed by Lhasa.

Tholing
Tholing was the greatest and historically most important monastery of western Tibet, its influence stretching from Kashmir to Assam. Built in the 11th century by Rinchen Zangpo, it was one of the three major monasteries founded by him.
The surviving 15th and 16th century murals are splendid examples of the Guge style, a synthesis of Kashmiri and Newari art.

Tsaparang
Tsaparang sprawls over a ridge alongside the Sutlej River. The entire ridge is covered with temples, chortens, houses, cave dwellings, fortifications and secret passageways.
It is one of the most important art-historical centers in Tibet with stunning murals adorning the Lhakang Marpo and Lhakang Karpo.

Ganden (4500m)
Tsongkhapa founded the first monastery of the Gelukpa order, Ganden in 1409 or 1417 (sources differ). It has remained the main seat of the Gelugpa and it ids the abbot of Ganden, the Ganden Tripa, rather than the Dalai Lama who is head of the order. Of all Tibet’s monasteries Ganden suffered most at the hands of the Red Guards, subjected to both artillery fire and bombing, probably due to its political importance. Today it is being revitalized and rebuilt and its setting high on a ridge overlooking the Kyi Chu Valley is spectacular.

Drigung (4280m)
Built like a fortress above the valley floor. Founded in the late 12th century by the first Drigung Rinpoche. He was a popular teacher and after his death Drigung grew to become a serious religious and political contender to the Sakya. In the 13th century Drigung lamas traveled across Tibet establishing meditation ‘colonies’ at famous pilgrimage sites. When Mongol armies sacked Reting in 1240 Drigung warded off the invaders, but the challenge of Drigung’s political power brought another Mongol army, led by a Sakyapa general, to destroy it in 1290. This ended Drigung’s political power, but it continued to be a center for contemplative teaching and home of a Kargyupa subsect.

Tirdrom (4360m)
Renowned as a Guru Rinpoche meditation site and for its medicinal hot springs.

Reting (4070m)
Founded1056. Few places in central Tibet can rival the serenity of Reting. Completely destroyed in the 1960s the ruins of this once great monastic complex and its rebuilt temples are surrounded by juniper trees said to have sprung from the hairs of Dromton Gyelwai Jungne, chief disciple of Atisha and founder of Reting and of the Kadampa sect. Reting was sacked by the Mongols in 1240. The gompa was rebuilt, but the Kadampa were eventually absorbed by the Gelukpa. The 7th Dalai Lama appointed his tutor as the abbot of Reting; from that time the incarnate lineage of Reting Rinpoche became eligible for selection as Regent of Tibet during the minority of a Dalai Lama. Three times the Reting tulku was Regent, bringing great wealth and prosperity to the monastery. The sixth Reting Rinpoche died in 1997.

Namtso
Tibet’s largest saltwater lake and, at 4700m, one of the highest.
Tashidor is a small chapel housing an image of the local deity, Nyenchen Tanglha, who has roots in Bon and resides in the nearby mountain of the same name. The same deity is the protector of Marpo Ri, the hill on which the Potala is built.
A short kora leads around a rocky promontory of cairns and prayer flags where pilgrims undertake ritual washing then continues past several caves and a prostration point. Twin rock towers look like two hands in the Namaste greeting and are connected to the male and female attributes of Chakrasamvara. Pilgrims squeeze into the deep slices of the nearby cliff face as a means of sin detection, drink water dripping from cave roofs, ingest ‘holy dirt’ and, at a group of ancient rock paintings, test their merit by attempting to place a finger in a small hole with their eyes closed.

Samye
Tibet’s first monastery, probably constructed 775-9. by Padma Sambhava at the behest of King Trisong Detsen (revered by Tibetans as an emanation of Manjushri) formally established Buddhist monasticism in Tibet. Buddhist geomantic temples had been established by Songsten Gampo some 130 years earlier, but due to hostility from aristocratic Bon families, the formal institutions of the Buddhist religion had not emerged. Over the centuries it has come under the influence of the Nyingma, Sakya and Geluk schools and is thus considered a symbol of Tibet’s national identity.
Rignga Chortens: The 5 white chortens before Samye mark the place where Emperor Trisong Detsen met Guru Rimpoche (Padma Sambhava) in 765 and are known and worshiped as the Chortens of the 5 Buddha families.
Samye Chokor: Built as a symbolic representation of the mandala of the Buddhist cosmos with Mt Meru at the center. Surrounding it the 4 colleges (lingshi lhakangs) are located at the cardinal directions and represent the 4 continents and the 8 satellite islands are the smaller Lhakhangs either side of the lingshi. The temples of the sun and moon stand to the north and south of the Utse and large, newly rebuilt chortens mark the 4 directions .
Hepo Ri: The site of a magical conflict between Bonpo and Buddhist and Guru Rinpoche’s meditation throne. It is a power place where offerings are made to protector deities. Excellent view over Samye.
Samye Chimpu: Extremely important in the history of tantric meditation, Chimpu is considered Guru Rinpoche’s Speech Center in the mandala of his power-places. Completely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, the Gompa and many hermitages and caves have been rebuilt and restored and there may be as many as 50 monks and nuns in retreat here.

Tradruk (3500m)
The second of Tibet’s great geomantic temples, built after the Jokhang, it pins down the left shoulder of the ogress. It suffered badly during the reign of the anti Buddhist king, Langdarma, it was renovated and expanded by Dalai Lamas V and VII. Following the Cultural Revolution many of the buildings were reconstructed and reconsecrated in 1988.

Yambu Lhakhang
This resplendent hill top structure is reputedly a reconstruction of Tibet’s oldest building, although the current structure only matches pre 1959 description to a limited extent. It is remarkable mainly for its tower, now unique in Tibet, but once one of many such watchtowers. Some sources say that when Nyatri Tsenpo emerged as the first king of Tibet in 247 or 127BC he was escorted here by his Bonpo followers and his first palace built. Later additions including Dalai Lama V’s gold roofs and Songsten Gampo’s chapels were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and the current structure dates from 1982. The newly painted murals depict the history of Yarlung, the 8 forms of Guru Rinpoche, and Shakyamuni and his forms of manifestation.

Chongye
The Chongye Valley was the ancient capital of the Tibetan kings prior to the 7th century and as such contains the royal burial grounds. Tibetans, at this time, were followers of the shamanist Bon tradition, a tradition which interred kings in colossal tumuli along with their worldly goods (and sometimes their retainers as well).

Buchu Sergyi Lhakhang
The oldest Buddhist shrine in Kongpo, Buchu is one of the four ‘Border Taming’ temples built by Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century. It pins down the right elbow of the ogress who represents the Tibetan landscape. Originally associated with the Nyingma School, Buchu was formally adopted by the Gelukpa in the late 19th century.

Lamaling
The main seat of the head of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism is a beautiful temple, rebuilt following the 1930 earthquake and again after the Cultural Revolution. The new structure contains images in the best metal casting tradition of the region.