Lhasa

Worth seeing in and around Lhasa

10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

1. 01
   Potala Palace

   Potala Palace is a museum complex in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It was formerly the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, and from 1649 until 1959 served as the Dalai Lamas' residence.

   400 m · 7th-century Tibetan fortress and palace in Lhasa, rebuilt in the 17th century as the winter seat of the Dalai Lamas · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Jokhang

   The Jokhang, historically known as the Rasa Trulnang or Qoikang Monastery or Zuglagkang, is considered the "heart of Lhasa". The Jokhang consists of a Tibetan Buddhist temple, its temple complex, and a Gelug school monastery.

   1.4 km · Buddhist temple in Barkhor Square in Lhasa · Wikipedia
3. 03
   Norbulingka

   Norbulingka is a palace and surrounding park in Lhasa, Tibet built from 1755. It served as the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780s up until the 14th Dalai Lama's exile in 1959.

   2.2 km · palace in Lhasa, Tibet · Wikipedia
4. 04
   Drepung Monastery

   Drepung Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three" Gelug monasteries of Tibet. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery.

   7.3 km · Tibet Monastery · Wikipedia
5. 05
   Sera Monastery

   Sera Monastery is one of the "great three" Gelug university monasteries of Tibet, located 1.25 miles north of Lhasa and about 5 km north of the Jokhang. The original Sera Monastery is responsible for some 19 hermitages, including four nunneries, which are all located in the foothills north of Lhasa.

   5 km · Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Lhasa, Tibet, China · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Lhasa Great Mosque

   The Lhasa Great Mosque, also known as the Hebalin Mosque, is a mosque in Lhasa, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

   1.9 km · mosque in Tibet · Wikipedia
7. 07
   Ramoche Temple

   Ramoche Temple is a Buddhist monastery in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. It dates back to the seventh century and is considered to be the most important temple in the city after the Jokhang Temple.

   1.4 km · building in Lhasa, China · Wikipedia
8. 08
   Nechung

   Nechung Monastery, Nechung Gompa or Nechung Chok, is the seat of the State Oracle of Tibet. It is also referred to as Sungi Gyelpoi Tsenkar, the "Demon Fortress of the Oracle King." It is about 10-minute walk down from Drepung Monastery, and was the residence of the three-headed, six-armed Pehar Gyalpo, the chief protector of the Gelugs and the seat of the State Oracle or Nechung Oracle.

   6.3 km · monastery in Lhasa, Tıbet, China · Wikipedia
9. 09
   Tibet University

   Tibet University is a regional public university in Lhasa, Tibet, China.

   6 km · a college founded on 1985 · Wikipedia
10. 10
    Tibet Museum

    The Tibet Museum is the official museum of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in Lhasa. Inaugurated on October 5, 1999, it is the first large, modern museum in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

    2 km · museum in Lhasa, Tibet, China · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Wikivoyage says to see

1. 01
   Barkhor Street
2. 02
   Tibet Museum
3. 03
   Tibet Museum of Natural Science
4. 04
   The Yak Museum of Tibet
5. 05
   Former Site of the Amban's Yamen
6. 06
   Norbulingka Summer Palace

   It is about 1 km south of the Potala Palace - the Seventh Dalai Lama constructed the first summer palace in 1755 and each successive ruler added his own buildings.

From Wikivoyage: Lhasa, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Things to do

Kora. A meditative circumambulation around a sacred site, such as a temple, practiced by many Tibetans. Langma Opera. literally "royal music", a traditional Tibetan singing and dancing show. Blind Massage, #59 Beijing Middle Road, 3rd floor (at Medical Massage Clinic Lhasa, directly across from the Kichu Hotel),. ¥80/hour. English spoken. A vocational project of Braille Without Borders.

1. 01
   Princess Wencheng Live Action Drama

From Wikivoyage: Lhasa, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Where to eat

See Tibet#Eat for descriptions of typical Tibetan food. A lot of nice and comfortable restaurants are located near the Jokhang Temple along Beijing Zhong Lu (or called Beijing Road Middle) and its tributary road Zang Yiyuan Lu (or called Tibetan Hospital Road). Some of them serve Western food, Nepali and Indian food. Meals can be as cheap as ¥20 per person, including drinks.

From Wikivoyage: Lhasa, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Getting to Lhasa

Airports

Lhasa Gonggar (LXA), 44 km · Xigaze Peace / Shigatse Air Base (RKZ), 179 km · Paro (PBH), 300 km

Stations

Lhasa railway station, 5.7 km

• Shannan (Gonggar) → Lhasa

  48 km · quickest by road, 1h 28m · ¥28–37
  GuideToday
• Xigazê (Samzhubzê) → Lhasa

  219 km · quickest by road, 3h 42m · ¥100–135
  GuideToday
• Paro → Lhasa

  297 km · quickest by air, 8h 10m · $300–460
  GuideToday
• From anywhere

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Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

No local-transport research exists yet for Lhasa

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Lhasa. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

If you know how people move in Lhasa – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.