Overland from Lhasa to Kathmandu
via the North Face of Everest

Greetings from the Himalaya group.

Impressions from Lhasa (Sep 26 - 29, 2011):

Lhasa - Capital of Tibet – 260,000 people

Jokhang
With hundreds of pilgrims we visited the Jokhang – temple housing the most sacred Buddha statue in Tibet. Dark, smoky and packed we were moved along with the wave of human current to the very center where the statue is placed. There were monks painting it with gold leaf.

The roof top of the temple offered panoramic views of the Potala in the distance and bird-eye view of pilgrims doing their prostrations in front of the entrance. That's us posing on top of the roof.

Sanjay, Dave, Rod, Susan, Chandra, Gary & Paul

The Barkhor is the market place that lines the outer Kora of the Jokhang. Here local merchants sell everything from oranges to amber necklaces and monk’s robes.

Potala Palace

Potala lit up at night with water fountains

Begun by the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th Century, the Potala was the winter residence of the Tibetan spiritual leader from the time of “The Great Fifth” until the current and 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, occupied it. Now a museum, the Potala is a treasure trove of Tibetan history, its dark and mysterious chapels luring the visitor to discover its many secrets. Along with alot of pilgrims we visited the Palace. It was quite a hike (think hours on a stairmaster) to the top from the street. Once inside we were only allowed 90 minutes to see all of the rooms that are open to visitors. Photography is no longer allowed inside the Potala.

At Sera Monastery we witnessed a number of monks energetically participating in their traditional form of debate (picture below).

Drepung Monastery
Also visited Drepung to the west of Lhasa. Once home to over 10,000 monks, Drepung now has just 400 resident monks.