Die-hards can track down this hard-to-find chapel with old murals in the south of the old town. It’s accessed from the south.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Potala Palace
0.99 MILES
The magnificent Potala Palace, once the seat of the Tibetan government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas, is Lhasa's cardinal landmark. Your…
Jokhang Temple
0.15 MILES
The 1300-year-old Jokhang Temple is the spiritual heart of Tibet: the continuous waves of awestruck pilgrims prostrating themselves outside are a…
Main Assembly Hall
5.37 MILES
The main assembly hall, or Tsogchen, is the principal structure in the Drepung complex and is the one chapel you must not miss. The hall is reached…
Sera Monastery
3.24 MILES
About 5km north of Lhasa, Sera was founded in 1419 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa as one of Lhasa's two great Gelugpa monasteries. About 600 monks are now in…
Red Palace
0.98 MILES
You start the tour of the main Potala building from the top and descend through the bowels of the building to exit on the ground floor. The gilded buddhas…
Ganden Monastery
21.85 MILES
About 50km east of Lhasa, this monastery, founded in 1417 by Tsongkhapa, was the first Gelugpa monastery. Still the order's heart and soul, it's the one…
Drak Yerpa
11.33 MILES
For those with an interest in Tibetan Buddhism, Drak Yerpa hermitage, about 30km northeast of Lhasa, is one of the holiest cave retreats in Ü. Among the…
Pabonka Monastery
4.8 MILES
Built by King Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century, Pabonka Monastery is one of the most ancient Buddhist sites in the Lhasa region. Though one of the lesser…
Nearby Lhasa attractions
1. Gendun Choephel Memorial Hall
0.12 MILES
On the southern side of the Barkhor Circuit, this dull museum focuses on a fascinating character. Choephel (1903–51) was a monk, poet, translator,…
2. Rigsum Lhakhang
0.13 MILES
One of four chapels surrounding the Jokhang at cardinal points, this recently renovated small chapel southwest of Barkhor Sq is dedicated to the Rigsum…
3. Jokhang Temple
0.15 MILES
The 1300-year-old Jokhang Temple is the spiritual heart of Tibet: the continuous waves of awestruck pilgrims prostrating themselves outside are a…
4. Barkhor Square
0.16 MILES
For your first visit to the Barkhor, enter from Barkhor Sq, a large plaza that was cleared in 1985. The square has been a focus for violent political…
5. Gongkar Chöde Chapel
0.18 MILES
This small Sakyapa-school chapel is up some narrow stairs above the Zhambhala Lhakhang, just off the Barkhor Circuit.
6. Zhambhala Lhakhang
0.18 MILES
This small chapel on the western side of the Meru Nyingba Monastery has a central image of Marmedze (Dipamkara), the Past Buddha, and a small inner kora…
7. Meru Nyingba Monastery
0.19 MILES
This small but active monastery is a real delight and is invariably crowded with elderly Tibetans thumbing prayer beads or lazily swinging prayer wheels…
8. Jampa Lhakhang
0.2 MILES
On the northern Barkhor Circuit, 10m down a side alley, is the entrance to the Jampa Lhakhang, on the right. The ground floor has a huge two-storey statue…