Lhasa: the Potala Palace on the roof of the world

At over 3,600 meters elevation, Lhasa houses the Potala Palace, the former winter residence of the Dalai Lamas, a UNESCO site among the highest buildings ever constructed on traditional foundations.

Altitude requires gradual acclimatization during the first days of visit.

Built starting in 1645, the Potala Palace contains over a thousand rooms distributed across thirteen floors and was the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas until 1959.

Coming down toward the center, you reach the Jokhang Temple, founded in the seventh century and considered the holiest place in Tibetan Buddhism.

Around the temple you walk along the Barkhor, a circular pilgrimage circuit crowded with the faithful traversing it clockwise amid stalls and shops.

Toward evening, the Norbulingka Gardens, former summer residence of the Dalai Lamas, offer a more intimate setting among pavilions, small lakes, and centuries-old trees.

The walls of the Potala were built by filling the interior with stones and rammed earth, a technique that allowed the building to withstand centuries of earthquakes typical of the Himalayan region.

At the Jokhang, some pilgrims complete the final stretch of the pilgrimage by repeatedly prostrating themselves on the ground along the entire route, a gesture of devotion that can take hours or even days.