Top destinations in Tibet

Tibet is an incredible travel place, so much history and mystery. Samye Monastery was the first monastery built in Tibet, and the place where Tibetan Buddhism was established. Inside the monastery there are numerous frescos, sculptures, and prayer wheels. The monastery is set in a valley surrounded by barren mountains and sand dunes. The scenery around is austerely striking.

Potala Palace is one of the most recognized and beautiful structures in the world. Located in the ancient capital of Tibet, Lhasa, the place was once the residence of Dalai Lama until the current Dalai Lama fled to India after 1959 Tibetan uprising. With over 1,000 rooms, Potala Palace is a major tourist attraction today and is the best place to have a fantastic birds eye view of Lhasa. The palace is named after Mount Potala, the mythical abode of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Its construction started in 1645 and took 3 years. The building measures 400 metres east-west and 350 metres north-south. It contains the living quarters for Dalai Lamas and houses great amounts of rare cultural relics including hand-written golden Buddhist scripts. The palace is 14 stories tall, and the visit involves climbing a lot of stairs up and down.

Tibet trekking top places : Ganden to Samye Trek: This is one of the most popular treks in Tibet connecting the famed Ganden and Samye monasteries. Its one of the closest trekking routes to Lhasa and also one of the shorter treks at 4 days so it the best option for those with less time. Despite the relative ease of logistics it has great mountain views and is a challenging trek that includes crossing over Chitu La and Shug La, both these passes exceed 5000m (The word “La” means pass in Tibetan). The ruins of Ganden at the start are built high on a cliff and are attraction for many on day trips from Lhasa. One reaches the Samye Monastery at the end of the trek which is significant as the first Buddhist monastery to be built in Tibet and many Buddhists make a pilgrimage from across Tibet to visit this site.

Founded by the First Dalai Lama in 1447, Tashilhunpo Monastery is one of the six big monasteries in Tibet. It is the seat of the Panchen Lama, the second ranking person in the Gelugpa Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy, after the Dalai Lama. The monastery houses the tombs of Panchen Lamas and a 22.4-meter statue of Maitreya Buddha. Tashilhunpo remains popular among the Tibetans, as they carry on coming here on pilgrimage. Standing on the entrance of Tashilhunpo, you can see the grand buildings with golden roofs and white walls. The remarkable Tangka wall which is nine-floor high, displays the images of Buddha on the 14th, 15th and 16th of May every year following the Tibetan Lunar Calendar. Besides the grand palace and gigantic statues, the Tashilhunpo also treasures characteristic wall paintings. Because of the variety of shapes, resplendent colors and exquisite painting, the murals are considered to be another masterpiece of Buddhist art. Rare sutras, tangka, china and glass service of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are also invaluable asserts found in the monastery. These are good relics for researching the history and society of Tibet.

As Tibetans, our core values are our rich culture, indigenous tradition and natural environment. We are proud to be one of the first companies in the region to practice Responsible Tourism. In a nutshell, it is tourism “that creates better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit.” We design our tours to pass through smaller Tibetan villages to utilize their services. By partnering with Tibetan owned hotels, family-run guesthouses, restaurants and handicraft shops we can promote local economic growth. Read extra info on Travel Tibet.