Mountains Of Travel Photos
Home | Tibet Main | Tibet References | Contact 

Tibet Photo Gallery - Best Photos, including Lhasa, Gyantse, Shigatse, Zhangmu, Nyalam, Tong La, and Tingri

I traveled to Tibet in 1993, 1998 and 2005.

Tibet Lhasa 02 04 Jokhang Outside Full View The Jokhang Temple is the spiritual centre of Tibet and destination of millions of Tibetan pilgrims. The Jokhang (or Jowokhang meaning 'chapel of the Jowo') Temple was founded sometime between 639 and 647 by King Songtsen Gampo. Pilgrims pass the front of the Jokhang Temple as they continue their Barkhor kora.

Tibet Lhasa 02 04 Jokhang Outside Full View

Tibet Lhasa 02 12 Jokhang Inside Jowo Shakyamuni The Chapel of Jowo Shakyamuni is the most important shrine in Tibet, housing a 1.5m sitting image of Shakyamuni at the age of 12. It is supposedly one of only three made during his lifetime. It was a gift from the Chinese Princess Wencheng to her husband King Songtsen Gampo. The Jowo sits on a majestic massive three-tiered stone platform. Two silver-plated dragons presented by the Chinese emperor entwine the ornate pillars that support an intricate double canopy over the Jowo. An ornate crown of coral, turquoise, diamonds, rubies, and other precious gems, sits on the Jowo’s head. Although there’s no photography allowed, here’s a photo from my 1993 trip. Note the photo of the current Dalai Lama, allowed in 1993 in a period of religious tolerance.

Tibet Lhasa 02 12 Jokhang Inside Jowo Shakyamuni

Tibet Lhasa 02 13 Charlotte Ryan, Dangles, Peter Ryan, Jerome Ryan On Jokhang Roof with Potala Behind Charlotte Ryan, Dangles, Peter Ryan, and Jerome Ryan on Jokhang roof with the Potala Palace behind.

Tibet Lhasa 02 13 Charlotte Ryan, Dangles, Peter Ryan, Jerome Ryan On Jokhang Roof with Potala Behind

Tibet Lhasa 03 02 Potala Palace 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. The name Potala derives from the Sanskrit ‘Potalaa’, the abode of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Unlike most Tibetan monasteries, the Red Guards did not sack the Potala during the Cultural Revolution, and, as a result, all the chapels and their artifacts are remarkably well preserved.

Tibet Lhasa 03 02 Potala Palace

Tibet 05 01 Yamdrok Tso Kamba La The road from Lhasa to Gyantse (260km) took us over two mountain passes. From the Kamba La (4794m), we had a fantastic view of the beautiful Yamdrok Tso (Turquoise lake) with Nojin Kangtsang (7191m) behind, hidden in the clouds. In the foreground is the new paved road just opened in June 2005, in preparation for the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Tibet 05 01 Yamdrok Tso Kamba La

Tibet 06 07 Gyantse Kumbum Outside Commissioned by a Gyantse prince in 1270, the Kumbum chorten was built in the style of a 108-sided mandala by craftsman from the Kathmandu Valley, and houses many excellent unique frescoes of Newari influence, a painting style originating in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. It rises in eight stages to over 52m and has lots of images (Kumbum means '100,000 images') and 70 chapels. It is topped in typical Nepalese Buddhist style with the all-seeing eyes, the spire, umbrella and the pinnacle. The first five floors are four-sided, while the upper floors are circular, forming a huge three-dimensional mandala.

Tibet 06 07 Gyantse Kumbum Outside

Tibet 06 10 Gyantse Kumbum Chandamaharoshana In the Gyantse Kumbum, standing on a lotus platform against a fiery halo of flames, there are three statues of the Buddhist guardian deity Chandamaharoshana (Tib. Achala). His name may be translated as

Tibet 06 10 Gyantse Kumbum Chandamaharoshana

Tibet 07 01 Shigatse Tashilhunpo Entrance Tashilhunpo, in Shigatse, is one of the six great Gelugpa institutions and is the largest functioning monastic institution in Tibet, with 800 monks. It was founded in 1447 by Gendun Drub, who retroactively was named the First Dalai Lama. The Fifth Dalai Lama declared his teacher, then abbot of Tashilhunpo, to be a manifestation of Amitabha, founding the Panchen Lama lineage. Tashilhunpo is one of the few monasteries that weathered the stormy seas of the Cultural Revolution relatively unscathed.

Tibet 07 01 Shigatse Tashilhunpo Entrance

Tibet 07 02 Shigatse Tashilhunpo 26.2m Maitreya The most impressive Tashilhunpo sight is the Maitreya Chapel, a tall red building with a gold roof at the complex’s northwestern corner, built in 1914 by the ninth Panchen Lama. It houses a 26.2m image of Maitreya, the Future Buddha, whose ears are 2.6m long and each finger 1.2m. The statue contains 279kg of gold and 150,000kg of copper and brass molded on a wooden frame.

Tibet 07 02 Shigatse Tashilhunpo 26.2m Maitreya

01 Kathmandu To Nyalam 07 Zhangmu Zhangmu (Tib. Dram, Nep. Khasa, 2300m) is the Tibet border town just across from Kodari and is a major trading post between Tibet and Nepal. Zhangmu is built on a steep uphill street that twists through town in a series of tight switchbacks, lined with private homes, shops, restaurants and government buildings.

01 Kathmandu To Nyalam 07 Zhangmu

02 Nyalam 01 Wide View of Nyalam Nyalam (3750m) is a small Tibetan town near the Nepal border, and the normal first night’s stay in Tibet. The clouds billow up from Zhangmu in this view is from a small pass festooned with prayer flags to the east of Nyalam.

02 Nyalam 01 Wide View of Nyalam

03 Milarepa Cave 04 Peter Ryan At Milarepa Cave Near Nyalam Peter Ryan does his best Milarepa imitation at the low-ceilinged Milarepa Cave, just before Nyalam. The cave is formed by a large overhang supported by a smaller rock. Milarepa supposedly used his magic feats by raising the ceiling of the cave with his bare hands while Rechungpa slid in the other piece. You can still see his handprints in the roof.

03 Milarepa Cave 04 Peter Ryan At Milarepa Cave Near Nyalam

05 Tong La 02 Labuche Kang massif From Tong La The Labuche Kang massif is part of a beautiful mountain panorama viewed from the Tong La (also called Yarle Shang La). The Labuche Kang massif is part of the Himalayan range in Tibet, located North-West of Cho Oyu, and half-way between Cho Oyu and Shishapangma. This massif has several summits over 7000m, including the highest Labuche Kang at 7367m (also called Lobuche Kang I or Choksiam) and Labuche Kang II (7072m), both behind the mountain to the left. The broad mountain to the left is 6718m while the mountain partially poking out from behind is 6952m. Note that several websites and Michael Palin’s book Himalaya mistakenly call these mountains Cho Oyu, Menlungtse and Gauri Shankar – they’re not.

05 Tong La 02 Labuche Kang massif From Tong La

Tibet Tingri 10 Cho Oyu At Sunset Towering Above Tingri Cho Oyu towers above the Tingri plain and the Tingri village at sunset.

Tibet Tingri 10 Cho Oyu At Sunset Towering Above Tingri


This album has 14 items in total    |    Album was updated 2009-05-03 09:28    |    Generated by Jalbum 8.0, custom skin ExhibitPlus 1.5