Tibet, Himalaya and Silk Road
The Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple and the sacred circuits of Lhasa.
Start here · Essential guide
How Lhasa grew around the Jokhang from the traditionally dated 7th century, its main Buddhist sites and circuits, and cautions on permits and altitude.
A pilgrim's-eye walk: the Barkhor kora clockwise around the Jokhang, prostrations at the gate, butter lamps and quiet etiquette inside the temple.
The three traditional circuits of Lhasa, the Nangkhor, Barkhor and Lingkhor, plus nearby hills and hermitages and cautions about altitude.
A timeline of the Potala Palace: the early palace attributed by tradition to Songtsen Gampo and the 17th-century rebuilding under the Fifth Dalai Lama.
What pilgrims actually venerate in the Potala Palace: chapels, the reliquary stupas of past Dalai Lamas, and the meaning of offerings and devotion.
The White Palace and Red Palace, the hillside setting on Marpo Ri and how the Potala's form reflects its religious and administrative roles.
Why the Jokhang is often called Tibet's holiest temple: the Jowo Shakyamuni image at its centre and its place in Tibetan devotional life.
Why the Potala matters to Tibetan Buddhists today, its UNESCO listing, how its role shifted from residence to museum, and how to visit respectfully.
What the Jokhang means to Tibetan devotees today: prostrations at the gate, butter lamp offerings and quiet visitor conduct, rather than building history.
Founding traditions linked to Songtsen Gampo and his queens, the Jowo Shakyamuni image and later rebuilding of the Jokhang, noting where accounts differ.
Related topics