Top things to Do and See in Lhasa and Surroundings
Lhasa, the capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, is renowned for its rich Tibetan culture, spiritual significance, and breathtaking landscapes. Situated at an elevation of approximately 3,650 meters (11,975 feet), Lhasa offers a captivating blend of ancient traditions, stunning architectural wonders, and a serene atmosphere. The city boasts iconic landmarks such as the awe-inspiring Potala Palace and the revered Jokhang Temple, both serving as important spiritual hubs for Tibetan Buddhism. Barkhor Street, with its bustling markets, provides a vibrant glimpse into the local culture and offers opportunities to interact with pilgrims and skilled artisans. Lhasa also serves as a gateway to explore the awe-inspiring natural beauty of the region, including pristine lakes like Namtso and Yamdrok, as well as ancient monasteries like Ganden and Drak Yerpa. Lhasa enjoys a pleasant climate with abundant sunshine, known as the "Sunshine City", making it an ideal destination to visit throughout the year. Discover the top things to do and see in Lhasa and surroundings as below with our expertise.
There are many historic sites in Lhasa. Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Norbulingka are listed as World Cultural Heritage. The main tourist attractions and commercial areas include Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Barkhor Street, etc. There are some geothermal hot springs with medical effects around Lhasa. You can also spend a day or two exploring the holy Namtso Lake or Yamdrok Tso Lake. Certainly, there are many routes around Lhasa available for hiking, and we will introduce them one by one below.
Table of contents:
Top things to do and see in Lhasa
1. Potala Palace
The Potala Palace was built in the 7th century AD of the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo Period which has a history of 1,300 years. It is a magnificent building with the highest altitude of integrating palaces, castles, and temples in the world. It is also the largest and most complete ancient palace complex in Tibet. It is a sacred place for Tibetan Buddhism (Gelugpa), with countless pilgrims and tourists every year.
2. Jokhang Temple
Located in the center of the old city of Lhasa, Jokhang Temple is the most splendid Tubo-era building in Tibet with a history of more than 1,300 years. It has the supreme status in Tibetan Buddhism. There's a saying "the Jokhang Temple first, then the Lhasa City". It has a central position in Lhasa, not only in terms of geographical location but also in the level of social life. You can see pilgrims kowtowing in front of Jokhang Temple every day, and many people who hold the prayer wheels to turn scripture outside the Jokhang Temple.
3. Pilgrimage circuit and shopping at Barkhor Street
In Lhasa, Tibetans like to call the area of Barkhor Street dominated by Jokhang Temple “Lhasa”, which means Buddha in Tibetan. In Tibetan, "Barkhor" means "transit meridian". Barkhor Street is located in the old city of Lhasa, it is a famous ritual walk path and commercial center of Lhasa. It has preserved the traditional and living style of the ancient city more completely. The original street of Barkhor Street is just a single meridian around Jokhang Temple, which is called "Holy Road" by Tibetans. Barkhor Street was built for the construction of the Jokhang Temple and developed with the development of the Jokhang Temple. It is now also a place for tourists to go shopping and relaxing.
4. Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery is a Gelugpa monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in China. Together with Gandan Monastery and Sera Monastery, it is called the three major monasteries in Lhasa. It is the largest temple in Lhasa and even Tibet, and the number of its precious collections is also quite amazing. Drepung monastery is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with towering clusters of buildings, well-arranged levels, and a large scale. In the early morning of the Shoton Festival every year, after the Biggest Thangka Display at Drepung Monastery, it is announced that one of the most important festivals in Tibet officially begins.
5. Monks debates in Sera monastery
Sera Monastery is one of the six main monasteries of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Since ancient times, it has been the place where eminent monks and living Buddhas preach. As one of the three major temples in Lhasa, Sera Monastery’s debate activities are definitely very distinctive. Debates are a discussion of Buddhist knowledge, which can also be said to be a way of learning for monks. The monks at Sera Monastery have a daily Buddhist activity - debating (except Sunday).
6. Drink yak butter tea/sweet tea at local tea houses
Most people who come to Tibet for tourism are not used to drinking crisp tea, but they like to drink yak butter tea/sweet tea, especially the sweet tea in Lhasa, which is very famous in Tibet. Sweet tea is cooked with black tea plus sugar and milk, but now sweet tea is basically cooked directly with black tea and sweet milk powder. Sweet tea has a history of hundreds of years in Lhasa. There is a proverb in Lhasa: "People can go without food for three days, but without tea for one day". Half of the life of the Lhasa people is spent in the teahouse, chatting, making friends, talking about business, and basking in the sun.
7. Join the Shoton festival
Shoton Festival is one of the major traditional festivals in Tibet, this festival will start on 30th June in Tibetan calendar every year and last for a week. The activities involve the Biggest Thangka Display at Drepung Monastery firstly, pilgrims will go to monasteries to offer their homemade Yogurt, singing and dancing in front of Potala Palace, the Tibetan Opera performed at Summer Palace Norbulingka, the fire parties at night, Barley beer show, some expos, etc. During the festival, Norbulingka and the surrounding woods will emerge a brightly colored tent city overnight, and also form a few bustling festival streets, almost all people of Lhasa moved into this green world. People live in wild singing and dancing, this is the most energetic day of the Lhasa people.
8. Taste Tibetan cuisine
Tibet is located in the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau, which is not conducive to the normal growth of general plants. The main crop is only highland barley, most foods are meat and dairy. Among them, beef, mutton, ghee, rice cakes, and tea are the most common foods and are called the "four treasures" of the Tibetan diet. Tibetan food has a light taste. Many dishes do not include any spicy seasonings except salt and scallion garlic. Specially introduced here is the Zanba, because it can only be eaten in Tibet. Zanba (roasted Qingke barley flour) is one of the traditional staple foods of Tibetan herdsmen. It is fried and ground by high-quality barley powder, then add some ghee, milk, and sugar to make small pieces. It is simple and delicious, which is a must-eat food for Tibetans every day.
Top things to do and see in the surroundings of Lhasa
1. Excursion to Namtso Lake
Namtso Lake is one of Tibet's "three sacred lakes" and is located in the central part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, 250 kilometers from Lhasa. It is the highest saltwater lake in the world, with an elevation of 4718m and an area of 1920km². It is the largest lake in Tibet and a holy place in the minds of pilgrims. It is a product of the extrusion and uplift of the Eurasian and Indian plates during the orogeny that began about 70 million years ago. It‘s better to catch the rainy season from June to September every year to visit here. From late October to early April, Namtso will be inaccessible due to the heavy snowfalls.
2. Take the medical hot-spring near Tidrum Nunnery
Tidrum nunnery is located 130 kilometers northeast of Lhasa with an altitude of 4,500m. It is a Tibetan Buddhist nun monastery with 1,150-year-old. The nunnery has countless precious cultural relics and many scriptures and other holy goods, and the fame of the sacred spring also comes from this. The spring water contains a variety of minerals that are beneficial to the human body. It is believed by the Tibetan people that chanting Buddhist sutras and bathing in the hot spring will bring good luck and health.
3. Ganden monastery and Kora
Ganden Monastery is one of the “three major monasteries” in Lhasa, 60 kilometers away from Lhasa, which ranks the first among the six largest monasteries of Gelugpa. In addition to its magnificent architecture and religious importance, there is an extremely fabulous view on top of the Ganden Wangpo Hill. Kichu valley is behind the monastery, it is strongly suggested to hike around the monastery (kora) and take a bird's-eye view of the valley. In addition, it's the start point for the famous trek to Samye, to see lakes, beautiful alpine forests, and meadows, as well as two centers of Tibetan religious culture. The best time is from May to end-Sep.
4. Yamdrok Tso Lake
Yamdrok-Tso Lake lies at Nangartse County, located about 100 kilometers to the southwest of Lhasa. It has an area of 675km² and an elevation of 4,441 meters above sea level. Yamdrok-Tso Lake is one of the three sacred lakes in Tibet, Tibetan means "Turquoise Lake". It also looks like a coral branch, hence called "Upper Coral Lake" in Tibetan. It is the closest holy lake from the capital city Lhasa, many travelers would make a day trip here if they have limited travel days. During the day excursion to Yamdrok Tso lake, travelers can choose either visit a local family at the lakeside which becomes a very popular program or visit Samding Monastery with nice hikes and stunning views of Lake Dumo-Tso.
5. Make a day hike to Drak Yerpa caves
Drak Yerpa cave is one of Tibet's four hidden retreats. It was built in the 7th century and has a history of 1500 years. The biggest characteristic is the cave temple, the cave temple unity. It is said that there are 108 practice caves. Drak Yerpa is full of the spirit of nature, the pine and cypress on the mountain are tall and dense green, the springs under the mountain are trickling, and the brook is flowing. Drak Yerpa caves are hidden in the cliff, which is a landscape in itself. It is 30 kilometers from downtown Lhasa and only takes 1 hour by driving. Nowadays you can still find monks and nuns meditating there. At Drak Yerpa you can do some hiking around.
6. Join the Tsurphu Monastery festival
Tsurphu Monastery is about 70 kilometers away from the western suburb of Lhasa, with an altitude of 4,300 meters. It was founded in 1189 and the world-renowned Reincarnation of Tibetan Living Buddhas was pioneered here. Every year on the 9th to 11th April in the Tibetan calendar, there is a large-scale Buddha exhibition ceremony, and a three-day dance activity will be held. This is a traditional religious dance called the Cham Dance and performed by Tibetan Buddhist monks. According to the specific content of the dance, monks will wear masks, robes, ribbons, and sword shields. Accompaniment instruments include cowhide drums, French horns, Suona horns, etc. The Cham Dance Ceremony has a history of nearly 1,000 years in Tsurphu Monastery, and it is worth a visit.
7. Yangpachen hot spring
Yangpachen (also called Yangbajain) is located in Damxung County, 90 kilometers northwest of Lhasa. It's world-famous for its spectacular phenomenon of hot springs boiling on the cold plateau, which features all kinds of hot springs including highest-temperature hot springs, boiling springs, and geysers as well as common hot springs, the total area is more than 7,000 square meters. It is suitable for enjoying hot springs here all year round, especially in winter. It is located on the way to Namtso Lake, which can be a good combination for the 2-day excursion to Namtso Lake.
8. Nyingchi Basum lake and Lulang forest
Basum-Tso Lake is about 4-5 hours’ drive from Lhasa and 2-2.5 hours’ drive from Nyingchi. It is 3,480 meters above sea level and one of the largest lakes in eastern Tibet. It is a sacred lake and holy land of the Red Sect (Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism). What is more special is that the tiny Tashi island in the center of the lake is a floating island. Lulang forest is located in the Nyingchi region of eastern Tibet, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dense forest in the ditch. Many residential houses are built in the heavenly forest surrounded by mountains and rivers. The surrounding streams meander and there are thousands of wildflowers competing to bloom.
9. Shugsheb Nunnery
The largest nunnery in Tibet is the Shugsheb Nunnery which is on the half-hill slope of Shugsheb Village, lies on the southern bank of the Lhasa River. It is more than 4,100 meters above sea level and 43 kilometers away from Lhasa. It was built in 1181 AD, restored and opened in 1984, and the building is well preserved. It has great influence in Tibet and abroad, reflecting the social conditions and women’s status at that time. The best time to visit Shugsheb Nunnery is from April to October, as it has gorgeous natural scenery along the way, magnificent mountains, clear rivers, beautiful flowers, goshawks soaring between the blue sky and white clouds.
Recommend Lhasa tours
Here we have listed 3 popular tours in Lhasa and surroundings, from 4 days up to 6 days. For more information, please check our Lhasa tours.
4 days Holy city Lhasa tour
An ideal route for travelers who have limited time, it contains the must-see sites and landmarks of Lhasa: see the Potala Palace, walk along Barkhor Street, and enjoy daily golden sunshine.
- Day 01: Arrival at Lhasa, free explore and have a good rest to acclimatize the high altitude.
- Day 02: Lhasa City sightseeing, visit Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor street
- Day 03: Lhasa City sightseeing, visit Drepung monastery and Sera monastery
- Day 04: Lhasa airport/train station dropping off.
5 days Lhasa Tour with an Excursion to Yamdrok Lake
This route combines the cultural relics in Lhasa like Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple; as well as the natural landscape in the surroundings like Ganden Monastery with its behind Kyichu valley, and holy Yamdrok Tso Lake with the Tibetan family visit.
- Day 01: Arrival at Lhasa, free explore and have a good rest to acclimatize the high altitude.
- Day 02: Lhasa City sightseeing, visit Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor street
- Day 03: One day tour to Ganden Monastery and Sera monastery
- Day 04: Lhasa / Yamdrok Lake [4300m] / Tibetan local family visiting / Lhasa, 260KM , 4 hours' drive
- Day 05: Lhasa airport/train station dropping off.
6 days Lhasa Tour with Namtso Lake
This short 6-day route includes two day Lhasa city sightseeing and a 2-day excursion to the holy Lake Namtso surrounded by the snow-capped mountains in the vast grasslands, together with the famous Yampanchen hot spring. You will have a special hot spring experience here at an altitude of 4,300 meters.
- Day 01: Arrival at Lhasa, free explore and have a good rest to acclimatize the high altitude.
- Day 02: Lhasa City sightseeing, visit Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor street
- Day 03: One day tour to Ganden Monastery and Sera monastery
- Day 04: Lhasa / Namtso Lake, 250KM, 4 hours' drive
- Day 05: Namtso Lake / Yampanchen / Lhasa
- Day 06: Lhasa airport/train station dropping off.
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