Lhasa

Introduction

Lhasa is the inner urban district of Lhasa City, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of southwestern China. It is officially known as Chengguan District, and it forms the historic urban core of the wider city.

Before you go

Lhasa sits at high altitude, so altitude sickness is a real risk and can ruin a trip or worse. Read up on its symptoms, precautions and treatments before you travel. The danger is greatest if you fly in from much lower ground and give your body no time to acclimatize; flying via an intermediate stop such as Zhongdian, Xining or Kunming and spending several days there first is a sensible way to adjust before continuing to Lhasa.

Be mindful of local religious sensitivities: never give or show pictures of the Dalai Lama to monks or local people, as this can cause serious trouble for you and for the recipient, and bear in mind that some monks may report to the authorities or may not be monks at all. Around the Barkhor and the Jokhang Temple circumambulation route, take ordinary precautions against petty theft — leave large backpacks at your hotel and keep your wallet guarded. Do not give to children begging, and be cautious about giving to any beggars in this area, since giving to one may attract a crowd.

Getting there

Non-Chinese nationals need a special permit and a tour guide to visit Tibet, so arrange these before you travel. Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) lies 61 km southwest of the city, with flights from Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Kunming, Qamdo, Shanghai, Xi'an, Xining and Zhongdian (Shangri-La), plus international flights to Kathmandu, Nepal. The airport is 40–60 minutes from Lhasa on a four-lane highway that cuts directly through nearby hills. Non-Chinese nationals must be met at the airport by their tour guide; for everyone else, taxis wait outside and an official shuttle bus runs into the city.

The Qinghai-Tibet (Qingzang) railway links Lhasa with Golmud, continuing to Xining, Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing, and some trains also run to Shigatse. On arrival you are led to a checkpoint outside the station where your passport and permit are checked, after which your tour guide should meet you just outside. If they don't, a taxi between the station and the urban area should cost a flat ¥30, and no drivers use the meter—fix the price in advance, as many will try to charge ¥100. Non-Chinese nationals are not allowed to ride the intercity buses in Tibet; for Chinese nationals, frequent and cheap bus service connects Lhasa with nearly all parts of Tibet.

Getting around

The historic core is compact and best covered on foot: the Potala, Jokhang, Barkhor and Ramoche all sit within easy walking distance of one another, so you can string together a full day of sightseeing without any vehicle. Lhasa sits at high altitude, so pace yourself in your first days and treat your transport choices as part of that adjustment. Non-Chinese nationals need a special permit and must travel with a tour guide, which means your movements are often arranged for you and your guide is your best source of current advice on which modes you can use.

• Taxis and ride-hailing: Hail taxis from the side of the street; the fare is standard anywhere in the city. Expect the driver to pull over for additional passengers heading the same way, with each paying separately. Didi and other Chinese ride-hailing apps also work.
• Buses and minibuses: Public buses are numerous and cheap, and non-Chinese nationals are permitted to ride them within the city, though you will make yourself an attraction by doing so. Bus numbers are recognisable but destinations are written in Chinese, so know your line in advance. Minibuses serve Norbulingka, Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery and other nearby sites, mostly overlapping with public bus lines.
• Pilgrim buses: These leave from in front of Jokhang Temple or the parking lot near it, early in the morning, for destinations outside Lhasa such as Tsurphu Gompa, Ganden Gompa, Nyemo (Dazi), Phenpo Lhundrub (Linzhou), Meldro Gungkar (Mozhugongka), Chushul (Qushui), Taktse (Dazi) and Gongkar (Gongga). Tickets are sold at the ticket office at the parking lot or on board. Whether non-Chinese nationals may use them is a grey area, so ask your guide to enquire; tour rules require advance planning, so you probably won't arrange this on the spot.
• Two wheels: Bicycle hire is available from some hotels and cycle shops, a good option if you have half a day free. Pollution is not as bad as in many Chinese cities, but driving habits are, so stick close to a local cyclist or cycle rickshaw when negotiating busy junctions. Cycle rickshaws are less frequent than before and hard to find; app-based rental bicycles are uncommon, but electric scooters are very common and scattered around the city.
• Arriving by train: Expect a passport and permit check outside the station, after which your guide should meet you. A taxi between the station and the urban area should be a flat fare, and no drivers use the meter, so fix the price in advance.
• Arriving by air: Gonggar Airport lies southwest of the city, reached by a four-lane highway that burrows through nearby hills. Non-Chinese nationals must be met at the airport by their guide; otherwise taxis wait outside the terminal and there is an official shuttle bus.

Where to stay

Lhasa's sleeping options range from youth hostels to international luxury chains, and your choice will shape your stay as much as the altitude does. Budget travellers head to the cluster of hostels and guesthouses around Beijing East Road, where you'll find shared rooms and bathrooms, bars, lounges and gardens, and the occasional pool or ping pong table. A few places sit down alleys near the Yak Hotel, and one offers a rooftop terrace where you'll want your coat. Tibetan-style boutique hotels provide a more polished budget-to-midrange experience, with sun terraces, breakfast and wifi. Wherever you book, check that your room isn't above one of the KTV (Chinese karaoke) branches attached to some hotels, or you may struggle to sleep.

Mid-range hotels include international-standard rooms with humidifiers and English-speaking staff, and several well-regarded places near the main tourist sights with helpful staff and quality restaurants. One heavily decorated hotel of stone and wood, close to the Jokhang Temple, can be tricky to locate, so contact the staff in advance for directions. At the top end, a stunningly designed resort on Jiangsu Road pairs striking architecture with impeccable service, while the government-owned former Holiday Inn has a poor reputation locally and most people recommend staying elsewhere. Note that a luxury Intercontinental property has drawn controversy and boycotts from pro-Tibet groups.

Food & drink

Most of the comfortable restaurants cluster around the Jokhang Temple, along Beijing Zhong Lu and its side street Zang Yiyuan Lu, where you'll find Western, Nepali and Indian cooking alongside Tibetan places. The smaller Tibetan restaurants and teahouses tend to be plainer in decor but cheaper and tastier than the tourist-oriented spots, while most Chinese restaurants serve Sichuan's spicy cuisine. If you're wary of the greasy boiled yak meat typical of Tibetan menus, the Chinese food may seem more varied; you may also want to skip the traditional Tibetan tea, which is black tea with yak butter kept warm in insulated containers. You can stock up on food and snacks at the main supermarkets around Beijing Zhong Lu. Come armed with a few basic food words, since many restaurants speak only Chinese, and be ready to use chopsticks, as some places have no forks, spoons or knives.

• Mayke Ame (Maji A'mi), on the corner of Barkhor Street, is a popular bar-restaurant with backpackers, with an internet bar and a second-floor view over the Barkhor's clockwise flow of pilgrims, especially at sunset; the location is unbeatable but the food is nothing special.
• Lhasa Kitchen draws tourists with its extensive menu and central location.
• Snowland Restaurant on Tenjieling Road, near Jokhang Square, has a large menu mixing Western, Nepali, Indian and Tibetan food, with good service.
• New Mandala Restaurant, in front of the Jokhang Temple, serves Indian, Nepali, Tibetan and some Western dishes, and its rooftop garden has good city views; try the yak sizzler.
• Tengyelink Cafe is known for great yak steak and a great atmosphere, with cheap breakfast options.
• Oxygen, in the Four Points Sheraton on Lin Kuo East, is a good choice for homesick travellers after weeks of Chinese food, with good steak.
• The Tibetan Steak House, east of the Jokhang Temple and hard to miss from its big sign, serves Tibetan, Indian, Western and Chinese food at reasonable prices, a good alternative when the popular places are crowded.

For drinking, Ganglamedo Café & Bar on Beijing East Road is known for its pastry and coffee and hangs elaborate canvases and watercolour paintings. Travelers Bar on East Beijing Road is a backpackers' favourite, while Low House Music Bar features Indian, Nepali and traditional Tibetan music in the house of the family of the 11th Dalai Lama. Dunya Restaurant, Bar and Balcony has a pleasant atmosphere, Guge Tavern and Bar has stone stools and simple tables, Gu Xiu Na Book Bar is a place to read books on religion, and Shambhala on Jiri 2 Lane is styled like a Tibetan home.

What to see and do

Start in the old section around the Jokhang Temple, a seventh-century building facing west beneath a gilded rooftop and home to the Jowo Sakyamuni Buddha statue brought from Chang'an by Princess Wen Cheng. The temple sits on Barkhor Square, and the circular Barkhor Street around it is where you can bargain with vendors for local handicrafts while pilgrims walk clockwise turning prayer wheels, some progressing by body-lengths late into the night. A short distance north along Barkhor North Street, the restored Former Site of the Amban's Yamen houses a small museum on the Qing government's relations with Tibetan authorities. Kora, the meditative circumambulation around a sacred site, is practised by many Tibetans and is something you can join respectfully.

The Potala Palace, the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas with its living quarters and golden tombs, is 14 stories tall and any visit involves climbing a great many stairs, so make sure you are fully acclimated first; guided tours generally include an hour inside. About a kilometre south, Norbulingka Summer Palace was begun by the Seventh Dalai Lama and added to by each successive ruler, and its complex contains a small zoo, botanical gardens and a mansion from the 14th Dalai Lama. Among the monasteries, Drepung was founded in 1416 and was once Tibet's biggest and richest, while Sera, founded in 1419, became famous for its tantric teachings; Ganden lies on Wangbur Mountain outside the city. The Tibet Museum in Chengguan District holds artifacts reflecting the entire history of Tibet and offers a free audio tour in your language at the entrance, and the Tibet Museum of Natural Science is devoted to the region's natural history. For an evening, the Princess Wencheng Live Action Drama is a large-scale musical based on the life of Princess Wen Cheng, and Langma Opera offers a traditional Tibetan singing and dancing show.

When to go

Lhasa sits high enough that its weather splits into two broad moods: a frosty, sunlit winter and a mild summer that carries most of the year's rain. Winter is the coldest stretch, with January temperatures hovering just above freezing and frost common, so pack for cold, especially at night. December is also the driest month, which means clear, sunny days rather than snow or rain. Summer is gentler, with June and July the warmest months and July nights staying comparatively warm. Rain falls mainly from July through September and peaks in August, but much of it comes at night, leaving daytime sunny. Summer is widely regarded as the best time to visit.

If you want bright, clear days without the summer rains, aim for late autumn. November has the highest possible sunshine of the year, so days tend to be clear, and it sits between the dry winter and the wet season, making it a bright, relatively dry time to be outside.

Three days in Lhasa

Day one: Settle into Lhasa and acclimatise before doing anything strenuous. Start gently around the Barkhor, the circuit of streets and stalls that rings the Jokhang Temple, and join the pilgrims walking clockwise around it. The Jokhang Temple itself is the spiritual heart of the city and worth a slow visit. Keep the rest of the day light, since Lhasa sits high and the altitude takes some getting used to.

Day two: Give the day to the Potala, the vast palace that rises above Lhasa City and the former home of the Dalai Lama. Take your time over the climb and the halls, then spend the afternoon back in Chengguan District, wandering the Barkhor again at an easier pace and watching the crowds of pilgrims and traders.

Day three: Use your last day to look beyond the city. If time allows, head out towards Shigatse, or simply enjoy a final unhurried morning around the Jokhang Temple before leaving. Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) handles departures, with flights to Chinese cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xining, as well as to Kathmandu in Nepal.