Eight Days in Tibet

This concise introduction to Tibet and its brave culture concentrates on  the country’s heartland: an introductory night in Tsedang and the Valley of the (old Tibetan) Kings and a few active days in Lhasa, where the Potala Palace, a giant testimonial to the Buddhism that—even with the country’s vicissitudes—still enriches Tibetan life. After exploring the Jokhang Temple, Tibet’s spiritual center, and strolling in the city’s old quarter, the Barkhor, we slip over the 15,700-foot Khampa La and whirl past the famously blue Yamdrok Tso (a natural masterpiece higher than Mount Whitney) to Gyantse. Here we behold the magnificent giant chorten, the Kumbum, which the great traveler-writer Fosco Maraini called “a sanctuary not only for the faithful but for the whole of humanity, for the men of all times and all countries who believe in beauty and bow before the mystery of inspiration.” En route back to Lhasa, we visit Shigatse’s town-sized Tashilunpo Monastery, seat of the Panchen lamas. Heinrich Harrer—his classic book is more than ever a rewarding read—spent seven years in Tibet, but in this modern era it’s possible and fruitful to visit many of Tibet’s great sights and sites in a mere eight days.