Tibet In Depth

Lhasa

Coming from the Tibetan words lha, for sacred and sa, for earth, Lhasa is Tibet’s heart and soul. Soaring above the holy city is the Potala Palace, red and white in colour and majestic in its towering presence, like the snow-capped mountains that make up its background. This palace was once the home of the Dalai Lama and is an image that many think of when they picture Tibet.  Lhasa is also home to two of Tibet’s largest monasteries – Sera and Drepung – and the Jokhang Temple, a sacred site of pilgrimage, made up of a network of shrines.

You’ll know you’ve reached the spiritual heart of Tibet when you see the glittering gold roof of the Jokhang and the Bakhor circuit, a medieval pilgrim circuit overflowing with prostrating pilgrims and religious artefacts.  Lhasa has a population estimated at 475,000, the minority being Tibetans and the majority being Chinese and migrants.  It was once the most reclusive city on the planet and a difficult place to reach and although you can now see evidence of the encroaching Chinese influence on Lhasa, it doesn’t take away from the colourful charm of the Tibetan people and the underlying spiritualism, for which this magic city is so well-known.

Tibetan People

The Tibetans are classified as belonging to the Mongoloid family of peoples and almost a quarter of Tibetans are still nomadic. Tibetan nomads, along with the Mongols of Outer Mongolia, the Kazakhs of northwest China and the Kyrgyz nomads of Kyrgyzstan, are among the last nomads in Asia. There are three segments of Tibetan society: the community of monks and nuns (Sangha), the farmers of the valleys (Rongpa) and the nomads (Drokpa) who all share a deep faith in Buddhism.

The Drokpa nomads are pastoral nomads and they move their yak-hair tents in search of pasture for their livestock – yaks, goats, sheep and horses. Nomads sport elaborate costume and jewellery and sing folk songs, and the most true and authentic nomads are found in the grasslands of northern Tibet and at the peripherals of Amdo and Kham. Nomad women from Amdo are particularly interesting as they are recognised by their jewellery and elaborate braided hairstyles. Their hair must be braided in 108 strands as this is a sacred number, and these braids are re-done once a week and are smeared with Dri (female Yak) butter.

The variety of ethnic groups within Tibet are all differentiated by dress, culture and linguistic variations. These groups include the Topa (far-west Tibet), the Khampa (east Tibet), who are wilder than other Tibetans, generally larger too and wear red or black tassels in their long hair, the Golok (from the northeast) who wear yak-hide boots, sheep-skin cloaks and felt bowler or Stetson hats – the former a legacy of the British invasion and the latter made in Eastern China – and a number of minority groups such as the Moniba and Lhoba, who come from the extreme south-east and make up less than one percent of the population.

You will also find Hui Muslims in the southern Gansu province, most of whom are restaurant owners and traders but used to be traders and butchers – the latter a profession that is intensely disliked by Buddhists.

Shigatse and Tashilunpo Monastery

Shigatse is the traditional capital of Tsang, the second largest town in Tibet and the seat of the Panchen Lama, who is traditionally based at Tashilhunpo Monastery, Shigatse’s main attraction. Like Lhasa city and most modern Tibetan towns, Shigatse is divided into a Tibetan quarter and a Chinese quarter.

The massive monastery of Tashilunpo, dates back to the 15^thcentury and is associated with the Gelugpa order, alongside five other great Gelugpa institutions, including Drepung and Sera in Lhasa. Shigatse itself, was the base of power for the King of Tsang in the 16^thcentury, until he was defeated in battle in 1642 by Mongol leader, Gushri Khan.  Ten years later, the Fifth Dalai Lama bestowed the title of Panchen Lama on the abbot of Tashilunpo Monastery and from that time on, the authority of the Panchen Lama, outweighed that of the Lhasa-appointed governor, who was the occupant of the defeated king’s castle.

Everest

Mount Everest, known in Tibetan as Chomolungma – Goddess Mother of mountains – in Chinese as Zhumulangma Feng and in Nepalese as Sagarmatha, lies on the border between Nepal and Tibet and at 8,850 metres is the highest mountain in the world. The mighty mountain has long been revered by local people and trekkers from all over the world. The first people to successfully make it to the summit of Everest on 29th May 1953, were Edmund Hillary, a professional bee-keeper from New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing, a Nepali-Indian Sherpa who set out on his first Everest expedition at the age of nineteen and who had subsequently become determined to conquer it.

An earlier summit bid, and perhaps the most famous of all Everest expeditions, is that of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, who at the age of twenty-two, attempted to reach the summit and were last seen going strong at 7800m, before cloud cover obscured visibility. The two men were never seen again and the question of whether they got to the top or not and what happened to them, remains one of mountaineering’s great mysteries.

The lake is surrounded by snowy mountains, one of which is Gurla Mandata (7760m) and on the opposite side of the lake, you will be able to see Mt Kailash (7762m). We end the day in Darchen.

Mount Kailash

Mount Kailash is a 6,714m peak and is sacred to Tibetan Buddhist and Bon adherents and also to the Hindus and Jains of India. The mountain is known among Tibetans as ‘Kang Rinpoche’, meaning ‘Precious Jewel of Snows’ and is thought to be an earthly manifestation of Mount Meru, which according to Tibetan beliefs is the abode of the gods and lies at the cosmic axis of the universe.

Mount Kailash is the site for a sacred pilgrimage circuit known as the Kailash Kora. Tibetans start this circuit before dawn and complete it in one day, finishing after nightfall. This can be very difficult for westerners due to the altitude and the norm is to allow three to four days, but it can be done in two.

The source of four of Asia’s mightiest rivers, the Indus, the Yarlung Tsangpo (which emerges in India as the Brahmaputra), the Karnali (a major tributary of the Ganges) and the Sutlej, all lay within 100km of this highly revered mountain.

Guge

The ancient Guge Kingdom, encompassing the sites of Toling Gompa Monastery and the once-powerful 10th century capital, Tsaparang, was an important stop on the trading route between India and Tibet. Tsaparang, now in ruins, was once home to thousands of people who lived in cave dwellings and every part of the main building has been fashioned from clay, including escape exits and secret tunnels.

Around the 11th century, King Yeshi Obegan built Toling Gompa monastery, whilst nurturing and exchanging religious and cultural ideas with India. He sent a local monk named Rinchen Zangpo, to India to study Sanskrit. Zangpo is one of the greatest translators of Sanskrit texts and a key figure in the revival of Buddhism across Tibet.

The ancient Guge Kingdom is set among the barren and eroded landscape that surrounds modern Zanda. Zanda is home to an ‘earth forest’, an odd landscape of diversely shaped, craggy rock, reminiscent of all sorts of buildings, such as castles, towers and pagodas.

On the way we pass multi-hued mountains and keep an eye out for gazelles and wild goats. Crossing the 5000 metre Nor Gwa Pass we reach Tsochen and visit the Medong monastery, then continue to Nyima with its grasslands. This is an epic journey and will at times be tiring, but gives a real sense of exploration and adventure.