Home | About Us | Contact Us | Email | Reservation   
Potala Palace Tibet
About Tibet
Tibet Introduction
Tibet Buddhism
Tibet Festivals
Tibet Tour Packages
 4 Days Lhasa Tour
 5 Days Lhasa Tour
 8 Days Tibet Tour
 8 Days Lhasa Tour

more...

Tibet City Guide
Lhasa City
Chamdo City
Nagqu City
Tibet Monastries
Curpu Monastery
Drepung Monastery
Gandain Monastery
Tibet Places to Visit
Gyantse
Lhasa River
Tibet Museum
Tibet Hotels
Flora Hotel
Hubei Hotel
Yak Hotel
Tibet Themes
Architecture
Horse Festival
Folk Carving
Home Tibet Themes Religion

Religion
The Potala Palace, of course is a must. Its gold roofs are visible all over Lhasa, but most notably from the roof of the Jokhang. It's easy to see why the first Western visitors to Tibet were utterly enchanted with Lhasa.

The sense of achievement at having finally attained this remote city, even by airplane, is still very real. Lhasa sits in a huge crater formed by mountains surrounding it on all sides. In the middle sits the Potala, itself atop its own sizeable hill. In front of it spreads the city and the Kyichu River.

Behind it a veritable tapestry of fields and flowers spreads back to the mountains. A more picturesque scene could scarcely be imagined. The Potala is the official residence of the Dalai Lama, Buddhism's highest ranking priest. He is believed to be both a living god and an incarnation of all previous Dalai Lamas.

Construction of the Potala Palace was begun by the 5th Dalai Lama, but it was not completed by the time of his death, in 1682. His regent concealed his death whilst the new Dalai was found [there is an elaborate process involved in locating the new Dalai upon the death of the previous incarnation].

The regent also knew that the workers would never have the heart to complete their work if they knew their beloved leader to be dead, so the regent convinced the entire country that the Dalai had merely gone on a lengthy spiritual retreat for some 20 years, while the new Dalai was raised to adulthood.

The Potala contains treasures unimaginable, although it is unfortunate that very little of it is open to the public today. The Tomb of the Fifth Dalai Lama is within the Potala. It is three stories high, and made of 3,700kg of gold. A multi-tiered model of a palace resembling a wedding cake, and made of over a quarter of a million pearls, is staggering to behold.

Send Online Query

 

 

 

 





Home | About Us | Contact Us | Email | Reservation   
Site Designsed & Promoted by Tour of Tibet.com