Potala Palace

Save
  • Address
    Potala Sq, Shol

Let us know if these details are incorrect

Lonely Planet review

What can one say about the magnificent and justifiably world-famous Potala Palace , once the seat of the Tibetan government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas? You can't miss it - it's the one touching the sky. An architectural wonder even by modern standards, the palace rises 13 storeys from 130m-high Marpo Ri (Red Hill) and contains more than a thousand rooms.

Pilgrims murmuring prayers shuffle through the rooms to make offerings of khatak (ceremonial scarves) and liquid yak butter.The first recorded use of the site dates from the 7th century AD, when King Songtsen Gampo built a palace here. Construction of the present structure began during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1645 and took divisions of labourers and artisans more than 50 years to complete. It is impressive enough to have caused Zhou Enlai to send his own troops to protect it from the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.The layout of the Potala Palace includes the White Palace (the eastern part of the building), used for the living quarters of the Dalai Lama, and the Red Palace (the central building rising above), used for religious functions. The most stunning chapels of the Red Palace house the jewel-bedecked chörten tombs of previous Dalai Lamas. The apartments of the 13th and 14th Dalai Lamas, in the White Palace, offer a more personal insight into life in the palace. The roof - off-limits for reconstruction at the time of writing - proffers commanding views of Lhasa.Grand aesthetics and history aside, one can't help noticing that it is today but essentially an empty shell, a cavernous memorial to what once was.At the time of research foreigners had to enter via the northwest entrance, accessible by road, and exit via the southern settlement of Shöl. Pilgrims visit in the other direction, and are most numerous on Monday, Wednesday and Friday when they are admitted free of charge. Photography is not allowed inside the chapels.Tickets are limited. You must line up around the previous day with your passport (one person can take several) to register. Get a receipt, then go back the next morning. Alternatively try sweet-talking the gatekeeper!