A palace, not a city
The Potala is a single palace-fortress complex built on a rocky hill called Marpo Ri, in the middle of Lhasa. It is not an ancient city, and no town of that name has existed there. The title of this page is loosely worded, but the place behind it is real and important: for centuries it was the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas and a seat of government, as well as a place of worship and pilgrimage.
Lhasa itself lies at roughly 3,600 to 3,700 metres above sea level, and the Potala rises above the surrounding streets. Seen from a distance, its whitewashed lower walls and darker red central section make it one of the most recognisable buildings in the Himalayan world.
Origins and history
Tibetan tradition links the hill with Songtsen Gampo, the 7th-century ruler credited with bringing Buddhism into royal patronage. According to that tradition he had a meditation retreat or palace on Marpo Ri. How much of this can be confirmed from physical evidence is uncertain, and historians are cautious about it.
The building that stands today is usually attributed to the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. After the Ganden Phodrang government was established in 1642 with Mongol backing, work on a new palace began in the mid-17th century, traditionally dated to 1645. The White Palace, containing living quarters and administrative offices, was completed first. The Red Palace, which holds the main religious halls, was added in the following decades, with work generally placed in the 1690s. Accounts say the Fifth Dalai Lama’s death in 1682 was kept quiet for some years so that construction could continue, though details vary between sources.
Later Dalai Lamas lived and held ceremonies here, usually in winter, and spent summers at the Norbulingka. The 14th Dalai Lama left Lhasa in 1959 and has lived in exile since. Today the Potala is run as a museum and heritage site, and it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994, with the Jokhang later added to the same listing. The Jokhang Temple history begins in the same 7th-century setting as the Potala’s legendary origins.
Why the name matters
The name Potala is borrowed from Mount Potalaka, the legendary mountain home of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion known in Tibetan as Chenrezig. Tibetan Buddhists traditionally regard the Dalai Lamas as manifestations of Avalokiteshvara. Naming the palace after his abode expressed that belief in architecture, and it is a large part of why many Tibetans see the Potala as more than a historic building. Chinese, Mongolian and Himalayan Buddhist pilgrims have long travelled to Lhasa with the Potala as one of their goals.
What visitors and pilgrims see
The two palaces serve different purposes. The White Palace was the domestic and administrative part. The Red Palace is the devotional core, with assembly halls, many chapels and the stupa-tombs of earlier Dalai Lamas. Specialist accounts of the Potala Palace chapels and tombs, of the Potala Palace architecture with its sloping walls and flat roofs, and of the longer Potala Palace history all go well beyond this overview.
Visitors are usually directed along a set route, often with limited time inside, and photography is commonly restricted in the chapels. Rules on ticketing, timed entry and visitor numbers have changed more than once, so any current detail should come from official sources rather than from this page.
For devout Tibetans, a visit may mean making offerings, prostrating, or walking clockwise around the base of the hill and the surrounding lanes. This is part of broader Tibetan pilgrimage customs, in which circling a sacred place is a way of showing respect and gaining merit according to the tradition. Customs differ between regions and communities, so it is best to watch what local people do and follow any signs or staff instructions.
Travelling to Tibet: permits and access
Independent travel to the Tibet Autonomous Region has generally been more restricted than travel elsewhere in China. Foreign visitors have typically needed a special permit in addition to a Chinese visa, and in many periods have been required to arrange their journey in a particular way. These rules have changed several times and may change again, sometimes at short notice and sometimes in response to political events or anniversaries. Areas can close to foreigners with little warning.
This site is an independent guide and cannot tell you what applies today. Before making any plan, check the current entry requirements with the relevant Chinese authorities, and read your own government travel advice for the region. Allow for the possibility that plans will change.
Altitude and health
At Lhasa’s elevation, many people feel breathless or tired in the first days, and some develop headaches, poor sleep or more serious symptoms. Altitude illness can be serious and, rarely, life-threatening, and it can affect fit and experienced travellers as well as others. This page is not medical advice. Speak to a doctor or travel clinic before going, particularly if you have heart, lung or blood-pressure conditions, are pregnant, or are travelling with children or older relatives. Build some altitude sickness awareness before arriving, and plan a slow first few days with little exertion. The Potala itself involves a long climb up many steps, which can be hard going at this height.
Respectful behaviour
Dress modestly, remove hats, be quiet in the chapels and ask before photographing people. Do not touch sacred images or offerings, and do not point your feet towards statues or altars. Walk clockwise around shrines and prayer wheels, as local pilgrims do. Monks and nuns should not be touched, especially by women, and it is polite to wait until people have finished prayers before passing. Rules inside the building are set by those who manage it, and they take precedence over general guidance such as this.
A place of living belief
The Potala is sometimes described as a monument or a museum. For many Tibetans it remains a living sacred place and the symbolic home of the Dalai Lama, a figure of great devotion even for those who have never been able to visit. Visitors will learn more by keeping that in mind: it explains the offerings of butter, the murmured prayers and the quiet focus of the people who queue alongside tourists. It also helps explain why the palace, for all its fame as architecture, is best understood as one stop on a wider journey among Lhasa Buddhist sites and the monasteries beyond the city.