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| Potala Palace - Lhasa City |
Lhasa, literally meaning
"Place of the Gods", in its earliest form it was likely a place
surrounded by a wall or enclosure suggesting that it may have been a hunting
preserve within the royal residence on Marpori Hill.
It is the Capital
city of TAR, an acronym for Tibet Autonomous
Region, part of the People's
Republic of China, our “Friendly” neighbor to the north and also in the
same region as the revered Mt. Kailash-Mansarovar.
Situated at a
height of 3490 meters between the co-ordinates 29°39′N 91°07′E, it is one
of the highest cities in the world with a cool, semi-arid climate with frosty
winters and mild summers. Being in a valley helps protect from the elements
such as intense cold, heat and strong winds. It is also called the “sunlit
city” which enjoys nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight annually! almost the same as
most Indian cities, minus the killing heat and moisture! The coldest month is
January with an average temperature of −1.6 °C (29.1 °F) and the
warmest month is June with a daily average of 16.0 °C (60.8 °F). It rains mainly from July to
September with most of the rains coming at night leaving Lhasa beautiful, clean
and sunny during the daytime. The best time to visit Lhasa is thus between March
to October.
This then is the
perfect setting for the one activity enjoyed by most- sightseeing!! and Lhasa
offers a lot – though of a different kind. One has to have a strong spiritual
leaning to enjoy it. Despite its
strife-torn, chequered past, the Chinese dispensation has seen to it that its spiritual
essence best displayed in its temples, relics and life on the streets is not
lost to commercialization. Given the complexity involved, one would be advised
to go through seasoned tour operators. In Pune, Raghukul Holidays is one such
entity.
Some of the more
known tourist landmarks are:
Ø The Nietang Buddha: In downtown Lhasa on the way
to the Gongkar Airport, this is one place meant for the snapshots and
shutterbugs what with the Buddha being up close!
Ø Potala Palace: You could not miss this, even when
you are not in TAR. Synonymous with Tibet, the Potala Palace features in every
article mentioning Tibet. Situated on the
Red Hill of central Lhasa, the Potala Palace is the world’s highest ancient
palace reaching 3,767.19m (12,359.55ft) at the highest point. Part of the Qing
Dynasty’s accomplishmen(1644B.C. - 1911B.C.) and the continuous expanding work
since the 17th century, it is composed of 2 parts, the Red Palace as the center
and the White Palace as two wings.
Ø Jokang Temple: Included in UNESCO's World
Heritage list in 2000 as part of the Potala Palace complex, the Jokhang Temple located in Central
Lhasa covers an area of approximately 25,000 square meters ie. about six acres. Legend has it that King Songtsem Gampo,
the 33rd king of Tibet successively married Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and
Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty. The two wives arrived here with a statue
of Jowo Sakyamuni each. To house the Buddha brought by Princess Wen Cheng, the
King constructed the Little Jokhang. Jealous of her, Princess Burikuti asked
Gampo to build a Jokhang for her as well. Therefore, in 647 the giant complex
was built. The original complex included only eight
shrines. After multiple renovations, over centuries, the complex grew to the
scale seen today.
Ø Barkhor Street: It is the present form of the area
surrounding the Jokhang Temple. It houses shops selling things like prayer wheels, long-sleeve
'chuba' (the Tibetan people's traditional clothes), Tibetan knives and
religious artifacts. Some even sell the 'Thangka',
the Tibetan scroll painting which in itself is a unique art form with varied
themes like religion, history, and customs. A must-visit for die-hard pilgrims who throng it from dawn to
dusk either walking or moving prone to the ground, in a clockwise direction, it
still retains the intense spirituality of the original Lhasa.
The three main monasteries in Lhasa are also not to be missed. They are
Sera Monastery, Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. So, take some time out of your busy schedule and visit this wonder of nature. Happy Holidaying !!!
SOURCES :-
1) Wikipedia
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About Author : Amit Kulkarni is the founder of Raghukul Holidays
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