Welcome to the Holy Land of Tibet! Here’s my guide on where to stay, where to eat and best things to do in Lhasa.
Lhasa is a spiritual place that has the power to move even the most hardened traveler. Its name itself translates to mean “Place of the Gods”— and it’s easy to see why once you’re here.
The spiritual city has been the centre of the Tibetan Buddhist world for over a millennium. It is here in Lhasa, an other-worldly mix of flickering butter lamps, wafting incense and prostrating pilgrims, that most visitors first fall in love with Tibet.
These days, the booming boulevards of the modern Chinese city threaten to overwhelm the winding alleyways and backstreet temples of the Tibetan old town. So head there before Lhasa loses that old-world charm!
All Tibet tours start in Lhasa and most of them also end here, so you’ll inevitably get an introduction to Tibet here. Regardless, Lhasa is a highlight of Tibet for many, including myself, so I definitely recommend spending at least 4-7 days in Lhasa. You’ll not only get to know a bit more about Tibet’s history and culture, but also take the time to acclimatise to the high altitude.
My Guide to Lhasa Content
- How to Travel Lhasa
- How to Get to Lhasa
- Dealing with Altitude in Lhasa
- Where to Stay in Lhasa
- Where to Eat in Lhasa
- Things to Do in Lhasa
- Jokhang Temple
- Barkhor Square
- Potala Palace
- Tibet Museum
- Norbulingka Palace
- Great Mosque of Lhasa
- Day Trips from Lhasa
- Drepung Monastery
- Sera Monastery
- Ganden Monastery
- Nechung Monastery
How to Travel Lhasa
Tourism is highly restricted in Tibet and independent travel is not allowed — except in Lhasa.
Travelers are free to explore Lhasa’s markets, squares and old town on their own. It’s an amazing city that you can easily spend a week wandering around. You only need to be accompanied by a tour guide when visiting tourist attractions (any monastery and temple). Taxis are easily available in Lhasa and a one-way journey anyway in the city costs only 10 yuan (US$1.50).
Otherwise, if you plan to venture beyond Lhasa, you’ll need to book a Tibet tour in order to obtain a Tibet Tourism Bureau (TTB) permit; only Chinese, Taiwanese and Hongkong travelers are free to enter without a visa. Read more to find out how to get the Tibet travel permit.
Besides citizens of Singapore, Brunei and Japan, all visitors require a valid Chinese visa in addition to a Tibet permit. Make sure to get your Chinese visa at least a month before your trip, as your tour operator will need it to get the TTB permit. When applying for your Chinese visa, don’t mention Tibet and don’t list your occupation as ‘journalist’.
READ MORE: How to Travel Tibet Guide
When to Travel Lhasa
Lhasa can be visited all year round — but the best time to visit is in spring and summer (from April to October) when the weather is not too cold. This also depends largely on your Tibet itinerary as certain parts of Tibet can only be visited in summer (e.g. Mount Kailash is covered in snow throughout the year except summer.)
Most Tibetan festivals take place in spring and summer too, including the month-long Saga Dawa Festival (mainly to celebrate the birth of Buddha, enlightenment, and Nirvana), the week-long Shoton festival (Tibetan opera performance and Buddha Thangka unfolding ceremony) and Nagqu horse racing festival.
How to Get to Lhasa
Flights to Tibet are quite expensive, and a lot of people suffer from altitude sickness when flying straight into Lhasa. You will have to fly via other cities in China or Kathmandu (the only international transit point) to get to Lhasa regardless of where you’re coming from. Return flights to Lhasa from Singapore are around US$500 and from Beijing for US$600. I managed to score a pretty cheap flight from Lhasa to Singapore (single way) for US$180 with taxes included.
Find Flights to Lhasa
Another way of getting into Tibet is on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. This is the highest rail travel in the world, with more than 960 km (600 miles) at an elevation of more than 4,000 m (13,123 ft) and almost half of the tracks built on permafrost. The rail journey starts in Beijing, the Chinese capital, taking a total of 40 hours to get to Lhasa.
But the landscapes only begin to impress from Xining onwards, whizzing past high-altitude lakes, vast plains and mountain passes. Train tickets are not cheap, at around US$280 for a soft sleeper and $200 for a hard sleeper (prices can change depending on season) each way.
Dealing with Altitude in Lhasa
The capital city Lhasa itself stands at 3,550m above sea level. At such a dizzying height, it can be easy to suffer from AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) if you don’t take the time to acclimatise to the conditions upon arrival in Lhasa.
Tibetan people on the other hand are genetically adapted to living at higher altitudes. They have more red blood cells than most of us and that helps them to live with the limited oxygen at high altitudes.
Most people flying into Lhasa suffer from AMS; symptoms include lightheadedness, nausea, short of breathe and headaches. Just make sure to get some Diamox (Acetazolamide) before your trip and start the medication at least one day before landing in Lhasa. Give yourself plenty of time to rest and acclimatise in Lhasa before you start exploring.
Where to Stay in Lhasa
Accommodation is included in most Tibet tours if you booked the tour before arriving. On our Wildjunket Tour, we stayed at comfortable 4-star hotels that offered surprisingly luxurious accommodation.
But if you are exploring Lhasa on your own or arriving a few days before your tour starts, it is definitely possible to book hotels in Lhasa online. Prices are pretty affordable — $50 can get you a comfortable three-star hotel in the historical centre. The best area to stay in is the old town where you’ll find plenty of temples, restaurants and narrow alleys.
Here are the Lhasa hotels I recommend:
St Regis Resort Lhasa — The best place to stay in Lhasa, with ultra luxurious and spacious rooms for those who want to splurge after roughing out in rural Tibet. It’s a walk away from town so you’ll need to get a taxi everywhere. Book here.
Lhasa Gang-Gyan Hotel — A comfortable 4-star hotel with high standards of accommodation and an excellent location, just a few minutes’ walk from Barkhor Square. The breakfast spread was impressive. Hotel staff don’t speak English though.
House of Shambala — A boutique hotel brimming with traditional Tibetan flair. We ate at its fantastic restaurant twice and loved it. Rooms are decorated in true authentic Tibetan fashion. Check for rates here.
Tashi Choeta Boutique Hotel — A simple three-star hotel that’s great for the budget traveler. It’s located in the historical quarters, with a charming lounge area in its central courtyard. The hotel’s interior is decorated in traditional Tibetan style, and the service is excellent. Book your hotel here.
Where to Eat in Lhasa
Don’t come to Tibet expecting gourmet meals; traditional Tibetan fare is quite simple and basic. Tibetans used to subsist on tsampa (barley flour) and butter tea, but now many Chinese dishes have been introduced to their culinary diet. Typical Tibetan dishes include yak momo (steamed dumplings with yak meat), Tibetan noodles in broth, and stir-fried vegetables with rice.
Chinese dishes that are usually on the menu include chili chicken, cashew chicken, double fried pork meat, and yak meat with vegetables. They’re pretty good and authentic in my opinion, but can be oily and spicy for some western tastebuds. Only in Lhasa will you find international restaurants that serve pizzas as well as Nepali and Indian thali sets.
My favorite Lhasa restaurants are:
House of Shambala — As I mentioned above, I ate dinner once with the group and we loved it so much that we returned to have our last dinner here. The choice of momos was impressive and the platters of pakhora and other Tibetan-Nepali snacks were excellent. The atmosphere there was great and service was good. Read the Tripadvisor reviews.
Tibetan Family Kitchen — This cosy home-style diner makes you feel like you’re eating in someone’s home. Make your way there through a narrow alleyway, up the stairs through an apartment building and you’ll find yourself in a local home. You not only get to eat home-cooked Tibetan food but you can also try your hand at cooking them. Read the Tripadvisor reviews.
Po Ba Tsang Restaurant — A modern restaurant serving Tibetan and Chinese dishes that are huge in portions and great in flavor. There’s live folklore music for entertainment and also hotpot available for those who want a true culinary experience. Read the Tripadvisor reviews here.
Things to Do in Lhasa
1. Jokhang Temple
I recommend starting your trip in Lhasa with a visit to the Jokhang Temple. There is an ancient Tibetan saying that says “no journey to Lhasa is complete without a visit to Jokhang Temple” and for that reason, this is everyone’s first point of call.
Jokhang Temple is considered by Tibetans as the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. Dating back to the 7th century, this is the oldest Buddhist temple in the country. The beautiful ancient temple, painted in deep hues of Red and Gold, is an important pilgrimage site and it is not uncommon to see lines upon lines of pilgrims waiting outside the temple today, ready to make their special journey.
Around the temple, you’ll find explore Barkhor street where crowds of worshipers are either prostrating in prayer, turning their prayer wheels or bowing to Buddhist statues.
2. Barkhor Square
Barkhor Square is the main square of Lhasa. The square has been a focus for violent political protest on several occasions, notably in 1998 (when a Dutch tourist was shot in the shoulder) and most recently in 2008.
These days, there’s still presence of riot-squad vehicles surrounding the square but the atmosphere is a lot more relaxed. There are lots of vendors here selling everything from fresh produce to incense. Much of the market remains traditional and authentic and you can watch on as nomads haggle with the sellers in order to push for the best prices.
3. Potala Palace
Next, make a beeline for the world renowned Potala Palace, former home of the Dalai Lama. This iconic building symbolizes Tibetan Buddhism and its central role in the traditional administration of Tibet. Built in the 7th Century, this was the chief residence of the Dalai Lamas until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
Today it’s a museum and a World Heritage Site. It’s an impressive complex to visit, with hundreds of rooms and historical artefacts and displays. You’ll have to climb quite a few steps to get up to the palace, but the view from the top is spectacular. The ancient hallways and constant aroma of incense makes you feel like you’re stepping back in time.
4. Tibet Museum
After visiting Lhasa’s most popular sights, head on to Tibet Museum to see some interesting exhibits and heavy Communist Party propaganda. Starting with the prehistory of Tibet, the multiple halls cover everything from weapons and musical instruments to folk handicrafts and fine ancient thangkas (Tibetan sacred art). A useful handheld audio self-touring device (10 Yuan) is available if you bring your passport as a deposit.
The halls start logically with prehistory, highlighting the Neolithic sites around Chamdo and rock paintings at Rutok and Nam-tso, mixed in with a few oddities (5000-year-old grain). The third hall features 21 thangkas of Drolma along with a central sand mandala, while the fourth room covers ethnography, with traditional costumes and yak-skin coracle boats.
5. Norbulingka Palace
Norbulingka was used as a summer palace as well as administrative and religious centre for the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780s till the 14th Dalai Lama’s self-exile in 1959. Norbulingka has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011.
The palace is situated in the west side of Lhasa, a short distance to the southwest of Potala Palace. Norbulingka covers an area of around 36 hectares (89 acres) and considered to be the largest man made garden in Tibet. During the summer and autumn months, the parks in Tibet become hubs of entertainment with dancing, singing, music and festivities.
6. Great Mosque of Lhasa
The Great Mosque of Lhasa, also known as Hebalin Mosque, was built in 1716 with a construction area of only 200 square meters. Unfortunately Lhasa Great Mosque was burned down in 1959. The next year, a new mosque was rebuilt with the construction area of over 1300.
Day Trips from Lhasa
1. Drepung Monastery
If you have more than three days, I recommend heading out to the outskirts of Lhasa to explore three of the most important monasteries in Tibet. Drepung Monastery is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries and is perched on the Gambo Utse mountain. Note that there are lots of slopes and stairs (which can get pretty tiresome at such high altitudes), but it’s worthwhile to visit just to witness monks chanting their daily prayers and soak in the spiritual atmosphere of the monastery.
2. Sera Monastery
In Tibetan monasteries, monks often carry out debates for better understanding of Buddhist philosophies; but these debates are usually not opened to the public, except at Sera Monastery. Sera is another one of the three great Gelugpa monasteries of Tibet and was founded in 1419.
The highlight of anyone’s visit here is the monks debate at around 3-5pm everyday. It was such an eye-opening experience seeing the monks in action. The debates were punctuated with vigorous gestures which made the whole ambience really lively. They made dramatic gestures such as clapping after each question and striking the left palm with the right palm.
3. Ganden Monastery
About 50km east of Lhasa, the Ganden Monastery was the first Gelugpa monastery. It was founded in 1417 by Tsongkhapa. Two koras (pilgrim circuits) offer astounding views over the braided Kyi-chu Valley and you’ll probably meet more pilgrims here than anywhere else. Some 400 monks now study in Ganden, and extensive reconstruction has been under way for some time now, alongside a strong police presence.
4. Nechung Monastery
This monastery, 10 minutes’ walk downhill from Drepung Monastery, is worth a visit for its historical role as the seat of the Tibetan State Oracle until 1959. The Nechung oracle was the protector of the Buddhist state, and the Dalai Lamas would make no important decision without first consulting him. Nechung Monastery is an eerie place associated with possession, exorcism and other pre-Buddhist rites. The blood-red doors at the entrance are painted with flayed human skins, and scenes of torture line the top of the outer courtyard.
Nechung is easily reached on foot after visiting Drepung, on the way to the main road. A path leads past mani stone-carvers to the monastery (10 minutes). En route look for the metal icon moulds that are dipped in streams to act like underwater prayer flags, releasing fleeting fluid icons.
READ: Things You Should Know Before Your Trip to Tibet
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