Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, lies at an altitude of 3,650 m at the foot of Mount Gephel and is one of the highest cities in the world. Lhasa literally means ‘place of the gods’ and being the traditional seat of the Dalai Lama is regarded as the holiest centre of Tibetan Buddhism. The city’s history stretches back to the mid 7th century when Songtsan Gampo, who by this time had conquered the whole Tibetan region, wedded Princess Wen Cheng of the Imperial Tang court and through this marriage converted to Buddhism. He built the Ramoche and Jokhang temples in Lhasa to house two Buddha statues brought to his court by Princess Wen Cheng and a Nepalese Princess.

Today the city still has an exotic feel of inaccessibility about it which is accentuated by the constant stream of pilgrims who come to circumambulate the sacred Jokhang Temple. There are three concentric paths that pilgrims walk around and the surrounding streets have many market stalls to tempt these religious travellers. The Potala Palace, home until 1959 to the Dalai Lamas, must be once of the world’s most impressive palaces, its sheer wall rising up like a fortress on one of the city’s hills. Also don’t miss the Norbulingka, the Lama’s summer residence. On the edge of town the lovely gardens contain chapels, fountains and pools.