Day 01 : Departure Kathmandu
Drive
to Kodari, the Nepal/Tibet border crossing point situated 114 km from
Kathmandu. After going through customs and immigration formalities, trek for
approximately two hours (8 km) to Zhangmu. After completion of immigration
formalities, check in at Hotel Zhangmu for overnight stay.
Zhangmu (7,000 ft/2,134 m), better known by its Tibetan name of Khasa is a
small settlement clinging to a hillside 10 km inland from the Frindship
Bridge across the Bhote Kosi. After the closure of the Indo-Chinese route
from Gangtok, Zhangmu has become the major trading route between Tibet and
Nepal. The climate is quite different from the hinderland. The hills around
Zhangmu are heavily wooded with innumerable waterfaulls in the summer and
frozen icicles in the winter. Zhangmu has a bank, a post office, a
government store and is presently undergoing a construction boom to meet the
demands of increasing trade and tourism.
Day 02 : Drive 257 km from Zhangmu to Xegar
Shegar Dzong, literally the White Crystal Castle was traditionally the
provincial capital for the wider area of Tingri. The governor lived in the
castle on the summit of the steep hill that rises above the old Tibetan part
of town. It has now become the Chinese administrative centre for this part
of Tibet and is sometimes referred to as New Tingri. This is a new Chinese
commune built at the foot of the ruins of Xegar Dzong and is 7 km from the
main road. With a population of 3,000, its importance lies in the fact that
it is the centre of this large and remote country and is also the base from
where expditions to Mt Everest and other peaks are launched. Shegar Chode or
monastery which lies at the base of a hill was founded in 1266 by a Sakya
lama called Sindeu Rinchen. It was completely destroyed during the cultural
revolution and only recently has construction work begun. Overnight Hotel
Shegar.
Day 03 : Drive 245 km from Xegar to Xigatse
The route is over the Thong La (5220 mts) and the Cho La. Shigatse has long
been the commercial and political centre of Tsang province. It stands near
the confluence of the Yarlong Tsangpo and Nyangchu rivers and is one of
Tibet's richest farming areas. Famous for the Tashihunpo monastery, this is
the seat of the Panchen Lama, who is regarded as the reincarnation of the
Buddha of Endless Enlightenment. Built in 1447 by the First Dalai Lama, the
monastery houses the relics of Sakyamuni, the great Hall of Maitreya and a
vast collection of thankas, frescoes and statues. There is a bustling 'free'
market at the foot of the ruins of the Xigatse fortress where one can buy
local handicrafts embedded with coral and turquoise, Tibetan daggers,
Chinese porcelain and yak butter. Overnight Hotel Shigatse.
Day 04 : Drive 93 km from Xigatse to Gyantse
Gyantse is a small agricultural town on the eastern side of the province of
Tsang, famous for its wool carpets. It is situated on the northern bank of
the Nyang River which flows into the Brahmaputra at Shigatse. The Palkhor
Chiode and the famous Kumbum monastery is situated amongst the ruins of the
lamasery and the fort, this unique structure, built in 1414, consists of
five storeys representing the five steps to enlightenment. It is topped by
thirteen rings which symbolise the stages of advancement towards Buddhahood.
There are 108 halls inside, each with frescoes and Buddha shrines, the
frescoes showing a strong Indian influence. Before 1959, traders coming from
Kalimpong and Gangtok in India used to enter Tibet through Yadong and then
from Gyantse to Lhasa. Overnight at Hotel Gyantse.
Day 05 : Drive 359 km from Gyangtse to Lhasa.
The
route is over the Karo La (5200 mts) 75 kms from Gyangtse. Continue along
the barren windswept terrain to the beautiful Yumdrok Tso (Turquoise Lake).
It is about 240 kms in circumference and is more like an inland sea. There
are yak - herders around, and the lake itself supports a population of
scaleless fish in its non saline waters. Cross the Khamba La (4900 mts) and
drive to Lhasa. Situated at an altitude of 11,850 feet (3,613 m), Lhasa lies
on the north bank of the Kyichu river in the province of U (Central Tibet).
It was and still is the religious, cultural and economic centre of Tibet. It
became a centre of national power when King Songtsen Gampo moved his capital
there from the Yarlung Valley during the 6th century AD. After the
assissination of King Langdarma in 842, Lhasa lost its political influence
but later became the religious centre of Tibet. From the 17th century
onwards it again became the seat of government until the Chinese occupation
in 1951 which was followed by the final imposition of direct Chinese
administration after the uprising in 1959.
Two high hills stand up in isolation from the valley floor. One, Red Hill,
is topped by the Potala Palace and the other, Chokpori or Iron Hill, is
crowned by a tall antenna. Lhasa consists of two distinct parts consisting
of different architecture, population and lifestyle. Old Lhasa, the Tibeten
section, centres around the Jokahnag Temple. Its streets are narrow, between
whitewashed stone houses whose walls slope inwards as they rise. Windows are
framed in black trapezoids with protruding fan shaped eaves above. Many
houses have brightly painted woodwork. New Lhasa, the Chinese section, was
built in the last 30 years aound the base of the Potala Palace. It is
characterized by straight, broad streets and utilitarian buildings that
house Chinese style department stores and all kinds of government houses.
Places of interest include the Potala, the 13-storey palace of the Dalai
Lama with over 1,000 rooms; the legendary monasteries of Drepung and Sera;
Norbulingka the summer palace of the Dalai Lama and the Jokhang, the holiest
shrine of Tibet. The circular Barkhor Street with its innumerable shops and
wayside peddlars intermingling with the devotees walking clockwise around
the Jokhang enfuses the magic and experience of Tibet. Overnight Hotel
Holiday Inn.
Day 06 : In Lhasa
The
Jokhang is without doubt the most sacred temple in Tibet. It was established
in the 7th century by King Songtsen Gampo in order to house the image of
Akshobhya Buddha offered to him by his Nepalese wife, Trisun (Bhrkuti). At
this time it was called the Truinnang temple. Only later, when the Jowo
Sakyamuni statue given to the king by Wen Cheng, his Chinese wife, was moved
here from the Ramoche Temple, was it given its present name Jokhang, the
shrine of the Jowo. The Akshobhya statue changed places with the Jowo and
was installed in the Ramoche.
Legend says that Songtsen Gampo threw his ring into the air, promising to
build a temple wherever it landed. The ring fell into a lake and struck a
rock where a white stupa miraculously appeared under the Jokhang's main
courtyard. From morning to night an astounding display of chanting,
prostrating pilgrims revolve around the Barkhor Bazaar and the Jokhang.
Hundreds of faces, dialects, ornaments, clothes and colours swirl round in a
gigantic whirlpool of religious fervour. Since its founding, the Jokhang has
been considerably enlarged and embellished, in particular during the reign
of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Some of the worn wooden carving around the doorways
to the chapels, on the capitals of several pillars and on the ends of some
beams may date back to the 7th century, but apart from the Jowo itself, very
few statues are that old. Most of the images are modern, remade to replace
those destroyed during the cultural revolution.
In the afternoon visit Drepung which lies 8 kms west of Lhasa on a main
road, then three kms north on a steep, unpaved road at the foot of a
mountain with fine views across the Lhasa valley. It literally means
rice-heap, a name that well describes the first visual impression one
receives of the monastery when approaching it from the main road below. But
this aptly descriptive name is the Tibetan translation of Dhanyakataka, the
Sanskrit name of the magnificent stupa in South India where the Buddha is
said to have taught the Kalachakra tantra. This Gelukpa monastery, was
founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choje Tashi Pelden, a disciple of Tsong Khapa. It
housed over 7000 monks and could well claim to have been the largest
monastery in the world. It soon became a major centre of Gelukpa religious
power, as evidenced by the fact that the Second, Third and Fourth Dalai
Lamas lived and were entombed here. The Fifth Dalai Lama ruled from here
until the Potala was finished. The monastery was particularly renowned for
its scholastic learning. It produced many great lamas including Jamyang
Zhepa, the founder of Labrang monastery in Amdo. The Gomang College of
Drepung was the main place to which monks coming from Mongolia to Tibet to
be trained would go. Of all the Gelukpa monasteries around Lhasa, Drepung
suffered least during the cultural revolution. Although several buildings at
the rear of the complex were destroyed, the main colleges and assembly hall
were left fairly intact. Since 1982 over 400 monks have joined the
monastery, most of them young men, and an attempt is now being made to begin
the courses of study again.
Visit the Ganden Palace built by the Second Dalai Lama, Gendun Gyatso. It
was the home of the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dalai Lamas, and was where the
sunsequent Dalai Lamas and their entourage of monks would stay when they
visited Drepung. Various paths lead up from the road past store rooms and
monk's quarters. Above these quarters are large Dukhang (assembly halls)
with courtyards in front. I the Great Sutra Chanting Hall is a white conch
with a counter-clockwise spiral, believed to have been discovered by Tsong
Khapa, and agold statue of Buddha. A Vajra statue in the Ngabazhacang temple
has the remains of the great translator Duojita. Overnight Hotel Holiday
Inn.
Day 07 : In Lhasa
In the morning visit the The Potala Palace, perched high above Lhasa on the
Marpori (red mountain), is a place of spiritual pilgrimage and a mammoth
tribute to Tibetan architectural skills. It is named afetr Mt.Potala in
South India, dervived from the Sanskrit Boadala meaning Buddha's Mountain.
It is one of the holy mountains of the Hindu god Shiva. The Buddhists,
however, dedicated this mountain to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattava of
compassion, and gave the name Potala. Built of wood, earth and stone, the
Potala has 13 storeys rising over 117 metres high. The whole structure is a
maze of rooms, over 1000 of them, with 10,000 shrines and some 200,000
statues. The storeys are not continuous and access to particular halls may
be hidden behind pillars. The walls, varying in thickness between two and
five metres were strenghtened against earthquakes by pouring in molten
copper. No steel frame was used, and no nails were used in the woodwork. In
the 7th century King Songtsen Gampo first built a small meditation pavilion
on this site, followed later by a palace. During the 9th century these
buildings were destroyed after lightning set them on fire. On the orders of
the 5th Dalai Lama construction was started in 1645, but he died before the
Red Palace was started. Seen from the front, the Poatla consists of the Red
Palace in the centre, flanked on both sides by the White palace which was
completed in 1653, and construction on the Red Palace started in 1690 and
was completed in 1694.
The Potala has served as the home of successive Dalai Lamas and their
monastic staff from the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama to that of the present
Dalai Lama, the Fourteenth. The Dalai Lamas lived and worked in the Red
Palace, the central structure that rises out of the mass of the surrounding
White Palace. In the Dalai Lama's Quarters, the Official Reception Hall is
the only room on the roof level that is permanently open. A set of the Dalai
Lama's private quarters are also open to tourists.
On the way back to the hotel visit the Norbulingka, the "jewel park",
a large open area about four kilometres to the west of Lhasa. It is
sometimes referred to as the Summer Palace of the Dalai Lama because since
the time of the Eighth Dalai Lama, the park has been used as a summer
residence, retreat and recreation area for the successive Dalai Lamas. Most
of the main buildings were constructed during this century by the Thirteenth
and Fourteenth Dalai Lamas. It was from here that the present Dalai Lama
escaped from Tibet in March 1959. The palaces suffered considerable damage
from Chinese artillery fire during the popular uprising that followed his
departure.
The New Summer Palace (Tagtu Migyur Potrang) was built as the official
summer residence of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. It was completed in 1956. An
ornate and opulent building, it contains examples of exquisite Tibetan
craftsmanship, several very ols images, and a number of incongruous
twentieth century objects imported from the west. All the rooms on the first
floor are open to the public. These include the main throne hall, an
audience hall, the Dalai Lama's private apartment and his mother's
apartment.
In the afternoon visit Sera monastery. Sera monastery lies about 5 kms to
the north of Lhasa along the base of the mountains at the edge of the
valley. It is one of the three great Gelukpa monasteries near Lhasa, the
other two being Drepung and Ganden. Sera monastery was built by a leading
disciple of Tsong Khapa, Shakya Yeshe in 1419, the year of his teacher's
death. It was built below a small hermitage where Tsong Khapa had spent
several years in retreat both meditating on and writing commentaries on the
Buddhist scriptures.
Sera means "hail" - a name said to derive from the fact that Sera
was in continual competition with Drepung (which means "rice-heap").
The hail of Sera scattered the rice of Drepung. At one time it was fmous for
its fighting monks who spent years prefecting the martial arts. Until the
Chinese occupation it served, like its two sister monasteries, as a centre
of learning and monastic training to which monks from all corners of Tibet
would come to spend as long as fifteen to twenty years methodically studying
and debating the meaning of the Buddhist scriptures. Thus for centuries it
existed as a small monastic township housing over five thousand fully
ordained monks, novices, workers and other functionaries. Like all other
Tibetan monasteries of similar size Sera is divided into colleges dratsang
and houses khangtsen. The colleges are the main units of the monastery,
distinguished from each other by the kind of studies the monks follow there.
There are four main temples with numerous chapels dedicated to Tsong Khapa,
Sakyamuni, Dharmapada, Amitabha, Yamantaka and other deities. One of the
temples, constructed with 108 pillars has an imposing statue of the Maitreya
Buddha. Overnight Hotel Holiday Inn.
Day 08 : Departure Lhasa
Transfer to the Gonggar airport situated 96 kms away from Lhasa. It is a
spectacular one and a half hour drive along the banks of the Brahmaputra,
past a large rock - sculpture of Buddha and through Tibetan villages. Boad
the China Southwest Airlines flight to Kathmandu.
