by 
There are so many great places to see in and around Lhasa that it’s important to check out the most popular attractions for your short Lhasa Tour.
It’s always good to have some advice and recommendations from friends who have visited Lhasa.
The top 10 Lhasa attractions listed below in order of popularity are based on the visitors in latest available numbers. If you have more time after visiting these big attractions, you can still have many more things to do during your stay in Lhasa.
Top #01: Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is located in the middle of Lhasa city. The name of the palace was taken from Mount Potala, the living place of the Goddess of Mercy. The palace was first built by King Songtsen Gampo in 637 for the purpose of greeting his bride Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty in China.
During the reign of The Fifth Dalai Lama, the rebuilding of Potala Palace was started in 1645. Later the Dalai Lama and his government moved into Potala Palace in 1649. Today the Potala Palace has been turned into a museum. The Potala Palace was listed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.
The palace is 400 metres wide from east to west and 350 metres from north to south. It has the sloping stone walls with average 3 meters thick, and 5 meters thick at the base. There are 13 stories in the palace buildings, which accommodate more than 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues.
Check out the link: Best Places to Take Picture of Potala Palace Lhasa
Lhasa Potala Palace
The Jokhang Temple is located within the Barkhor Street in the downtown of Lhasa city. The temple was first constructed during the reign of king Songsten Gampo. It was founded to please Bhrikuti – the Nepalese princess.
It was recorded that many Nepalese artists came to build the temple.For most Tibetans Jokhang Monastery is the most holy and important temple in Tibet.
Jokhang Temple
Now Jokhang Temple was under the control of the Gelug school.In 2000, Jokhang Temple was added to the list as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site with the Potala Palace, a spiritual centre of Lhasa.
Top #3: Norbulingka
Norbulingka is a park-style park the west of Lhasa city. Its construction was started in 1755. It was used as a summer resort as well as administrative centre and religious centre for the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780s till the 14th Dalai Lama’s self-exile in 1959.
Norbulingka
In 2001, Norbulingka is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.It is a unique showcase of Tibetan palace architecture. Norbulingka park is regarded the first and best park in Tibet. Summer and autumn are at its best, becoming hubs of entertainment with dancing, singing, music and festivities.
Top #4: Barkhor Street
Barkhor Street is a historical and religious street surrounding Jokhang Temple and located in the downtown area of Lhasa. Barkhor Street is the most important and popular devotional kora(circuit), actually a pilgrim circumambulation.
Barkhor Street
Everyday local Tibetans coming all part of Tibet to pray and walk around the Jokhang Temple.Most of them come from the remote villages or mountainous areas. They come here once a year.
Top #5: Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery is one of the three most important Gelukpa temple. It is located 2km north of Lhasa. The other two Gelupa temples are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery.”Sera” literally means wild rose in bloom, telling the fact that the temple was built on the hill covered with wild roses.Now there are over 3,000 monks living in Sera.
Sera Monastery
Sera is most well known for the lamas in the temple engaged in debating activity each afternoon starting from 3:000pm. The Sera Monastery is subject to the Gelugpa or Yellow Hat Sect, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism, established by Tsong Khapa.
Top #6: Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Gephel, 5km northwest of Lhasa. It is one of the three Gelukpa temples in Lhasa with the other two being Ganden Monastery and the Sera Monastery. Drepung Temple is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries.
Drepung Monastery
At its peak, Drepung Temple was the largest temple in the world with over 10,000 monks. The tombs of the Dalai Lamas from second to fifth are buried in Drepung Monastery.
From 1645, when the Fifth Dalai Lama founded the Potala Palace as Tibet’s political and spiritual center, the bodies of later Dalai Lamas were entombed here instead.
Top #7: Tibet Museum
Tibet Museum is the provincial museum of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is located in the west of the city of Lhasa, not far from Norbulingka and Lhasa Hotel.Its construction was completed on October 5, 1999. Tibet Museum is the first modern museum in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It has a huge collection relative to the cultural history of Tibet.
Tibet Museum
With an area of more than 53,959 square meters, Tibet Museum is mainly in Tibet style such as Tibetan doors, beam-decoration, patterns and so on, aimed at creating the atmosphere of authentic Tibetan art.
Top #8: Namtso Lake
Namtso Lake is located at the sea level of over 4000 meters with a surface area of 1,920 square kilometres.
Namtso Lake
The salt lake is the kargest lake in Tibet.Namtso Lake boasts of fice islands of different sizes. The weather at Namtso Lake is prone to abrupt sudden change. Snowstorms are very common in this region.
Top #09: Yangbajing
Yangbajing is a town about 90km north-west of Lhasa city. The town is located in a green valley just south of the Nyainqêntanglha Mountains.This area is famous for the Yangbajing hot springs, which have been used to generate much of the electricity for the city of Lhasa. There is a thermoelectric power plant on the edge of the Yangbajing hot springs area.
The thermoelectric power plant was founded in 1977. It is the first plant for development of geothermal power not only in Tibet but in the whole China.The Yangbajing hot springs field is at the sea level of 4290–4500 meters. It is the highest altitude plant of hot springs in China. The water feels at 30 degrees, which is above the boiling point at that sea-level.
Yangbajing
Ramoche Temple is a buddhist monastery, regarded as an important temple just after Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. It is located to east of the Potala Palace and north of the Jokhang Temple.
It is often called “Minor Jokhang Temple”.As the sister temple to the Jokhang Temple, Ramoche temple was completed about the same time as Jokhang Temple.
Ramoche Temple
Tip : Hassle-free Lhasa Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Lhasa guided tours:
4 Days Lhasa City Tour Starting RMB 2500
5 Days Lhasa Namtso Lake Tour Starting RMB 3390 p/p
6 Days Lhasa Gyantse Shigatse Tour Starting RMB 3950 p/p
8 Days Lhasa Mt.Everest Kathmandu Tour Starting RMB 5540 p/p
9 Days Lhasa Gyantse Shigatse Everest Namtso Group Tour Starting RMB 6110 p/p
8 Days Lhasa Gyantse Shigatse Mt.Everest Tour Starting RMB 5230 p/p
Further Readings
Best time to Visit Lhasa
Where to Stay in Lhasa
Lhasa Trip
Lhasa Gonggar Airport
Lhasa Railway Station
Potala Palace Lhasa
Xian Lhasa Flight
Sera Monastery
Lhasa Beijing Road
Drak Yerpa Monastery
Lhasa Pilgrim Circuits
Any questions, just drop a line.
