UNESCO-listed · LhasaPotala Palace
The winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, stacked against the Marpori hill and visible from most of Lhasa.
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Pilgrimage
Sacred to four religions and to no tourism at all: the mountain, the lake, and the three-day walk between them.
Kailash is the unclimbed, diamond-faced peak that four faiths revere, and Lake Manasarovar is the freshwater lake beside it, ringed by gompos. The 52 km kora is one circuit around the mountain — a hard, altitude-high walk most pilgrims do in a day and we do in three.
As our own 15-day yatra: overland from Kathmandu to Puhing, Lake Manasarovar, Darchen and the kora, with our own drivers, Tibetan guides, yaks for the bags and every permit in a single pack. Since 2024 the route opens with a limited quota in season — so plan a year ahead.
Before you go
Keep exploring
UNESCO-listed · LhasaThe winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, stacked against the Marpori hill and visible from most of Lhasa.
See this place →Lhasa’s spiritual centre, and the pilgrim round that has walked around it for 1,300 years.
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Sacred lakeThe sky lake — turquoise water under the Nyenchen Tanglha range, and nothing else in sight.
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5,200 m baseThe north side of Everest — monastery, flag-squares and the Rongbuk glacier with the peak behind them.
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Monastery cityThe Tsang capital, and the giant seated Buddha of Tashilhunpo behind the town walls.
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