Pilgrimage on the plateau
For Tibetan Buddhists, pilgrimage is not a single journey to one destination. It is a way of moving through a landscape that is understood to be full of sacred places: temples, hermitages, mountains, lakes and caves, many of them linked to particular teachers, deities or events in the story of how Buddhism took root on the plateau. Pilgrims may visit a nearby temple on a festival day, walk around a holy mountain once in a lifetime, or travel for weeks to reach a distant shrine.
This guide gives an orientation to that world. It is independent and educational. It is not a tour operator, a booking service or a religious authority, and Tibetan Buddhism itself includes several schools with different emphases. Where practices differ between communities, that is noted rather than smoothed over.
The idea of kora
The central practice of Tibetan pilgrimage is kora (also spelled skora), the act of walking around a sacred object, building or mountain. Buddhist pilgrims typically walk clockwise, keeping the sacred centre on their right. Followers of the Bon tradition, which has its own pilgrimage customs, often circle in the opposite direction.
Koras come in every scale. There are short circuits around a single shrine, a street-level route around the central temple in Lhasa such as the Barkhor kora, and long circuits around mountains that take several days. Some pilgrims chant mantras, spin hand-held prayer wheels or count beads as they walk; others prostrate the whole way. The wider logic of walking around holy things is covered in our piece on circumambulation practice, and the specific Tibetan pilgrimage customs, from prostration to mani stones, are described separately.
The main regions
Tibet is vast, and pilgrimage sites are scattered across it. A useful way to think about them is by region.
Lhasa and central Tibet. The Jokhang Temple, the Potala Palace and the great monastic seats around the city form the heart of most itineraries. The Jokhang is traditionally associated with the 7th century and the image of the Buddha known as the Jowo, and it draws devotees from across the plateau.
The Yarlung and Samye area. South-east of Lhasa lies the valley where Tibet’s early kings are traditionally said to have originated. Samye, regarded as the first monastery in Tibet, and nearby sites are associated with the first transmission of Buddhism to the plateau.
Tsang and Shigatse. West of Lhasa, Shigatse is home to Tashilhunpo, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas, while the town of Sakya is the centre of the Sakya school.
Western Tibet and Ngari. Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar draw pilgrims from Tibetan Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Bon traditions. The ruins of the old Guge kingdom lie in the same remote region.
Eastern Tibetan areas. Much of the Tibetan cultural world lies outside the Tibet Autonomous Region, in parts of present-day Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces. Monasteries such as Kumbum, in Amdo, belong to this wider geography, and rules for visiting them can differ from those in Tibet proper.
For a compact list of major places, a Tibet sacred sites list is kept separately. A place-by-place treatment of some of the less-visited ones appears in the article on lesser-known Tibet monasteries.
Schools and sites
Which school a monastery belongs to shapes its art, its festivals and the stories pilgrims tell there. The four main Tibetan Buddhist schools are commonly given as Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug, and a visitor who knows a little about the Gelug school will better understand the big monastic universities near Lhasa, such as Ganden Monastery. The material here is only a starting point, and local communities may describe their own history differently from published summaries.
When to go
Most visitors travel between spring and autumn, when roads are generally more open and temperatures are milder. Winter is cold, and some high passes and remote areas can be difficult or closed. Summer brings more rain in many parts of the plateau, and in places this can affect roads.
Pilgrimage seasons also follow the Tibetan lunar calendar. The fourth lunar month, often called Saga Dawa, is widely observed as especially meritorious and sees larger crowds at sites such as Kailash. Festival dates change from year to year, so they need to be checked against a current calendar.
Permits, rules and current conditions
This is the area where plain caution matters most. Entry to Tibet for foreign visitors has long involved special permits beyond an ordinary Chinese visa, and in many periods travel has been required to be arranged in advance, often with a guide. Additional permits have been required for some regions, and some border or sensitive areas have been closed to foreigners at various times. Rules, fees and the list of open places can change at short notice, and they are not the same for every nationality or for visitors with different travel documents.
Before making any plans, check:
- the current requirements published by the relevant official authorities and your own government travel advice
- whether specific monasteries require advance reservations or limit numbers
- whether areas you hope to visit are currently open
Nothing in this guide can be treated as current permit information.
Altitude and health
Lhasa sits at about 3,600 metres above sea level, and many pilgrimage routes go much higher. Mount Kailash’s circuit crosses a pass above 5,600 metres. Altitude affects people unpredictably, regardless of fitness, and serious altitude illness can occur. Anyone planning to visit should read about altitude sickness awareness, speak to a doctor with experience of high-altitude travel, and allow time to acclimatise. Broader preparation, including pilgrim health basics and pilgrim travel insurance, is worth reading well before departure. This guide is general information and not medical advice.
Visiting respectfully
Tibetan temples are active places of worship. The usual courtesies apply: dress modestly (see the temple dress code), remove hats where asked, walk clockwise in temples, do not touch sacred objects or monks, and ask before taking photographs, since photography is often restricted inside chapels or requires a fee at the door. Offerings and donations are part of devotion rather than tourist transactions, and customs vary by monastery, so follow local guidance and the instructions of monastery staff.
Reading the landscape
Tibetan pilgrims often describe the land itself as sacred, with mountains seen as the homes of deities and lakes as holy bodies of water. This understanding explains why a lake such as Namtso Lake or a pass marked with prayer flags can matter as much to a pilgrim as a building. The wider idea, sometimes called Tibetan sacred landscapes, is why so many routes combine walking, ritual and scenery.
Taking time at each place, rather than hurrying through a checklist, is probably the most useful advice for a first visit.