Tibet西藏·藏
The roof of the world — monasteries, prayer flags, and the highest plateau on Earth.
Tibet sits on the , and almost every destination in the region is above 3,500 meters. Lhasa, the spiritual capital, is dominated by the Potala Palace and the daily kora around Jokhang Temple.
Foreign travelers require a in addition to a Chinese visa, and must travel with a registered guide. Plan days carefully and consider arriving by for a gentler altitude gain.
The region's — temples, monasteries, prayer wheels, the daily kora circuits — is what most visitors come for, and it remains a living tradition.
Top Attractions
Culture & Traditions
Pilgrim Kora Circuits
Tibetan Buddhists walk clockwise around sacred sites — at the Jokhang it's the Barkhor street, at Mount Kailash a 52 km, three-day mountain circuit.
Sky Burial
A unique funerary tradition where the deceased are returned to the sky via vultures on hilltop platforms — almost always off-limits to outsiders, but a central part of Tibetan worldview.
Butter Tea & Tsampa
Yak butter tea churned with salt is the daily drink at every elevation. Tsampa — roasted barley flour kneaded into dough — is the staple carb of the plateau.
Thangka Painting
Tibetan Buddhist scroll paintings on cotton, mineral pigments ground from lapis and cinnabar. A single intricate piece can take a master a year to complete.
Tibetan New Year (Losar)
Celebrated in February with monastery dances, masked cham performances, and the white-conch and butter sculpture offerings particular to each region.
Cities
8 prefecture-level · sorted by tourist popularity- 1
Lhasa
拉萨CapitalSpiritual capital at 3,656 m on the Yarlung Tsangpo's tributary — Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor kora, and the Sera and Drepung monasteries. Where every Tibet itinerary starts.
- 2
Shigatse
日喀则Tibet's second city at 3,840 m, gateway to Everest Base Camp; home to the Tashilhunpo Monastery (seat of the Panchen Lama) and the southern crossing toward Nepal.
- 3
Nyingchi
林芝Eastern lowland at 2,900 m — pine forests, peach blossom in spring, the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (deeper than the Grand Canyon) and the Brahmaputra's "U-turn" around Namcha Barwa.
- 4
Shannan (Lhokha)
山南Cradle of Tibetan civilization — the Yumbulagang (first Tibetan palace), Samye (first monastery), the Tsedang valley and the sacred Yamdrok Lake.
- 5
Ngari (Ali)
阿里Far-western prefecture at 4,300+ m, home to the sacred Mount Kailash, the 52-km kora pilgrimage route, and the holy Manasarovar Lake.
- 6
Nagchu (Naqu)
那曲Vast northern grassland prefecture at 4,500 m — yak-herder culture, the August horse-racing festival, and the high pass between Lhasa and Namtso Lake.
- 7
Chamdo
昌都Eastern prefecture in the deep Hengduan range — Karub Neolithic ruins, the Zhuobu Glacier and the long approach road to Sichuan via Markam.
- 8
Gyantse
江孜Historic town between Lhasa and Shigatse, famous for the unique Kumbum stupa-pagoda (108 chapels stacked in nine tiers) at Palcho Monastery.
Famous Locals
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