The trip
"I have for the most happy who ever lived the days when, miserable with my pack on shoulder, wandered over hill and dale in the wonderful land of snow ". Sometimes, one sentence is enough to cross half the world in search of a dream landscapes. The traveler, while flying from Kathmandu to Lhasa, Tibet's capital, continues to spin these words Alexandra David-Neel, the first European woman who managed to enter the Forbidden City, disguised as a beggar, in the distant 1924. The plane flies over Everest, that Tibetans refer to as Qomolangma ("Mother of the Universe"), and the passage gets excited trying to capture a photograph of the imposing snow, fortunately completely clear of clouds. These tweaks in the stomach that usually anticipate tickle unforgettable experiences now more insistently than ever.
Arriving in Lhasa (3.595 meters) After skirting the mighty Tsangpo River, the huge front of Potala Palace, the former winter residence of Dalai Lama, emerges as a medieval castle worthy of nurturing the pages of Amadis of Gaul. It is these images that are never forgotten, are recorded in the retina of the visitor with the most powerful speed of hard disk. Its buildings are born white and red of the rock, dozens of small windows that appear to monitor the entire city, their glittering golden roofs, the zigzagging walls, Chorten challengers (cone-shaped gravestone)… The traveler is engrossed watching what the great Austrian explorer Heinrich Harrer described as "one of the most imposing castles in the world". The author of "Seven Years in Tibet" (immortalized in the blockbuster movie by starring Brad Pitt) aptly wrote in the Potala "all things evoke the past". What better destination, as, for a restless spirit seduced by the history and travel? "The best of the photographs could never give an idea of ??its imposing appearance", left the Parisian adventurer David-Neel. And he's right. So you have come to admire in situ.
The plane flies over Everest, that Tibetans refer to as Qomolangma ("Mother of the Universe"), and the passage gets excited trying to capture a photograph of the imposing snow
The present building was built three centuries and a half by the fifth Dalai Lama on the same site, Marpo Ri Hill, where the former King Songtsen Gampo built in the mid seventh century the palace, destroyed by the Mongols after. The visit to the Potala overwhelms the traveler, which stunned by the intense smell of yak butter, with which the faithful feed tirelessly offering lamps, admire the funerary stupas former spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The tumba of the fifth Dalai Lama, one mole of 3.700 kilos of gold and fifty feet, leaves visitors with open mouth while behind, a Buddhist monk crouching account bills of the offerings and tips for tourists.
Jokhang: Mecca of Tibetan Buddhism
But the place of Lhasa is more spirituality oozing, certainly, out of the temple of Jokhang, located opposite the busy Barkhor Square, behind the maze of streets where it is now Tibet Town a city "colonized" by Chinese of Han majority. Built in the mid-seventh century, the spiritual heart of Tibet was ransacked during the Cultural Revolution. The two golden deer guard the Wheel of the Law crowning the roof of religious building the traveler back to the past of a culture, the Tibetan, surviving, despite the onslaught of the Chinese giant, in such a hostile environment as beautiful: in the shadow of the planet's highest mountains.
By turning their prayer wheels with a string of beads on the other hand, constantly reciting the Buddhist mantra universal ("Roar seminal padme hum")
The pilgrims walk the kora, pilgrimage circuit around the main spiritual centers of Tibet, with faith in their gods snatched. By turning their prayer wheels with a string of beads on the other hand, constantly reciting the Buddhist mantra universal ("Roar seminal padme hum"), fell down on the floor every few steps the most devout, come from all parts of Tibet to fulfill their pilgrimage, as Muslims in Mecca or Catholics in the tomb of St. James. But, paradoxically, This haven of religion is, also, the commercial epicenter of Lhasa. The whole route (must always be left to right) is full, on either side, shops and souvenir stalls regentados mostly Chinese citizens who have moved to the indigenous Tibetan. But if the traveler is able to abstract from the voices of the traders and the supplications of the children, and get a peek inside, the experience is truly enriching.
La huida del Dalai Lama Norbulinka
If the Potala was the usual home of the Dalai Lama, Norbulinka Palace was, from the late eighteenth, his summer. In the foothills of winter, Tibetan spiritual leader was traveling to known as the Jewel Park, a brief tour that was it an annual event for residents of Lhasa.
Although many of its premises are closed to the public, shop around its vast gardens and the paunch lie in the shade of a tree is a very pleasant experience, if only by stepping on the spot from which he fled into exile the Dalai Lama today, Tenzin Gyatso, in March 1959 the imminent Chinese invasion. The rooms can be visited still held. They are almost like the left half a century ago. The traveler is surprised to find a toilet in the bathroom, when evacuating their countrymen still mostly squatting, a detail that explains very clearly why the theocratic monarchy that embodied the Dalai Lama in a feudal society in the twentieth century was doomed.
Fifty years later, be surprised with a photo of the Dalai Lama in Tibet can still lead to jail, or at least that's what they whisper those who manage to overcome the fear of being betrayed to the Chinese authorities. Beijing has brought roads, trains, tourism and millions of investment to Tibet, undoubtedly, but the Chinese Government should ask why despite this undeniable effort has failed to win the affection of Tibetans.
The road
The traveler flew with the Thai Tomo y luego Bangkok cubit un avion a Katmandu, Nepal's capital. From there Air China organizes daily flights to Lhasa. Another possibility is to arrive by train from Beijing. The trip takes 48 hours and ticket should be reserved well in advance.
A nap
The Yak hotel, in the main street of Lhasa (100 Dekyi Shar Lam), Located halfway between the Potala and the Barkhor, the commercial epicenter of the city. Avoid rooms near bathrooms, because the smell of urine can be quite annoying.
A table set
During the day stay in Lhasa, the traveler no better choice than Dunya, Yak next to the hotel, an establishment run by a German living in the city for years. The noodles are especially delicious and taste them on the terrace with a beer "Lhasa" cold is a real pleasure.
Highly Recommended
It is very rewarding to take a moment to enjoy the magnificent views the flat roof of the Jokhang, the Potala in the distance, surrounded by the green hills surrounding Lhasa. After flood us with spirituality, walk a few steps to the famous Makye Amye, on the same circuit of Barkhor. It is best to book a table in the upstairs, from which to contemplate the ceaseless passage of pilgrims through their windows. The lamb with potatoes Tibetan style will not disappoint the traveler. A warning: go with the beer can have a terrible night, because alcohol house badly with altitude and the headache becomes unbearable.
There are a few books to learn the history of Lhasa: "Journey to Lhasa", Alexandra David-Neel; the famous "Seven Years in Tibet", de Heinrich Harrer, and the magnificent "Mountains of the Buddha", Javier Moro.
