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Day 2
Place & Transport: Lhasa
Today's Activities: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple,
Barkhor Street
Meals: Breakfast, Chinese Lunch at Tibet Steak House
- Potala Palace: Former winter home of the Dalai
Lama, a vast, awe-inspiring maze of corridors and
stairs leading through countless rooms of richly
decorated statues, tombs, murals and antiques. You
will climb past the White Palace into the Red
Palace, where the file of pilgrims offering silk
scarves, coins or yak butter to burn in the shrines
combine to make this an unforgettable experience.
Note: you need to be fit for the long stairways.
- Jokhang Temple: Smaller and more manageable than
the Potala, this 4-storey, golden-roofed temple is
at the heart of a rich and living Tibetan Buddhism.
Many locals pray here regularly; the Temple is
surrounded by Barkhor Street and thronged with
pilgrims and visitors. Yak butter lamps burn in
front of rich statuary that includes the Sakyamuni
Buddha brought to Tibet by Princess Wen Cheng in the
7th Century.
- Barkhor Street: Watch the pilgrims, wearing local
dress from many different parts of Tibet, as they
circle clockwise around Jokhang Temple with prayer
wheels, or prostrate themselves near the front gate.
Join the locals and visitors to shop for local goods
at the colourful stalls, or relax in a coffee shop
or tea house to enjoy the passing parade.
- Tibet Steak House : Steak House belongs to the
same restaurateurs with Snowland Restaurant, mainly
caters Western and Tibetan cuisine to overseas
tourists. Surrounding by alluring landscape in Lhasa,
it will leave you a deep impression of dining
experience as it is a suitable choice for diners
while traveling in Tibet. |
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Day 3
Place & Transport: Lhasa
Today's Activities: Yambajan, Lake Namtso
Meals: Breakfast, Chinese Lunch
- Yambajan: It is famous for its hot spring and is a
nice choice for those who want to get a close look
at the Tibetan herders (drokpa) and their
semi-nomadic lifestyle. Covering an area of about
150,000 square meters, Yambajan, 87 kilometers away
from Lhasa, is situated in the basin at the foot of
Nyainqentanglha Mountains to the northwest of Lhasa.
- Lake Namtso: Lake Namtso is the second largest
saltwater lake in China. The lake is beautiful with
its azure water and surrounding snow capped peaks.
There is a gravel road from Damxung to the lake. In
the rainy season, the route can be quite difficult. |
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Day 4
Place & Transport: Lhasa
Today's Activities: Sera Monastery, Norbulingka,
Drepung Monastery
Meals: Breakfast, Chinese Lunch
- Sera Monastery: It is known as one of the three
greatest monasteries of Tibet. As one of the three
main monasteries of Lhasa, it is here that the monks
"famous daily debates" take place.
- Norbulingka: Norbulingka means "Jeweled Garden".
It was constructed as a summer palace for the Dalai
Lama and later served the whole governmental
administration.
- Drepung Monastery: Drepung Monastery lies in west
of Lhasa under Mt. Gambo Utse, clustered round by
the black mountain, its white grand buildings
shining under the sunlight. Built in 1416, it is
considered as one of the largest monasteries in the
six principle monasteries of Gelu Sect in China.
Drepung Monastery used to be the living palace of
Dalai Lamas before the reconstruction of Potala
palace (after the 5th Dalai Lamas was bestowed by
Qing emperor Qianlong). |
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