Mount Kailash
Asia's most sacred mountain, Kailash is central
to the Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Bon faiths. To
travel here and make the 53km kora (circumambulation)
is the most important pilgrimage most will ever
make. |
Guge Kingdom
In an incredible canyoned
landscape on the banks of the Sutlej River, Guge
was established in the 9th century. The
surviving 15th & 16th century temples and murals
are amongst the most outstanding examples of
Buddhist art. |
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Potala Palace
The symbol of Tibet, this
awesome palace containing over 1000 rooms
and 200,000 images dominates the city. The
7th century building was replaced by the
current 130,000square meter structure in the
17th century.
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Jokhang Temple
This 1300-year-old, golden-roofed building is
the spiritual heart ofLhasa and of the Tibetan
world. The courtyard in front of the entrance is
almost constantly filled with prostrating
pilgrims – inside the labyrinth of shrines,
halls and galleries are dimly lit by butter
lamps and filled with pilgrims and incense and
house some of the finest treasures of Tibetan
art.
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Gyantse
Built at the center of the trade routes from
Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, by 1440 Gyantse’s
most impressive architectural achievements
had been completed – the Kumbum, the dzong
and Pelkor Chode monastery.
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Tashilumpo
Founded in 1447 the original building was
built above a sacred sky-burial site, the
stone slab of which can still be seen on the
floor. At its peak it housed 4700 monks and
is still the largest functioning monastic
community in Tibet. The most amazing image
is the 26m Maitreya, covered with 279 kg of
gold.
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Lake Manasarovar
The ‘Lake Conceived from the Mind of God’ is a
brillant turquoise expanse of water, pure beyond
conventional scientific confirmation. Its sun
shape a balance and contrast to Rakshal Tal.
Chiu Gompa, spectacularly perched on a rocky
pinnacle, is the site of the cave where
Padmasambhava lived for the last 7 years of his
life.
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Tithapuri
An important pilgrimage site
associated with both Mount Kailash and
Padmasambhava. Dramatically situated in a ravine
of red and white earth, rock formations and hot
springs on the banks of the Sutlej River. |
Khyunlungg
Pristine limestone hot springs, a
cave city, incredible rock-carvingsand a Bon
monastery along the Sutlej River - the remains
of Tibet's earliest civilization. |
Sakya
Once the political center of
Tibet, the walls of Sakya's great fortified
monastery are painted the dark gray typical to
buildings in the area. |
Rombuk & Everest
Base Camp
The view from the world's highest
monastery is incredible, and from EBC at 5200m,
even more stunning. |
Kathmandu
Busy streets, temples and shrines
and shopping to keep you busy for days. |
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Sacred spaces and stunning
landscapes! Magnificent temples, mountain passes,
snow-capped peaks, nomad camps, pilgrims – this is truly
a journey to stir the senses and nourish the soul - of
all the destinations in Asia, the most sacred and
sublime. The days of travel are long, the roads are
dusty and bumpy - and it is a world that will take your
breath away.
Explore the heart of central Tibet, the great temples,
monasteries and palaces of Lhasa, Gyantse, Shigatse &
Sakya before traveling west, back in time and history
through dramatic landscapes to Tibet's most sacred
pilgrimage sites - Mount Kailash, Lake Manasarovar,
Tithapuri - and to the region that was once the
heartland of Tibet, the ancient kingdom of Guge.
After the raising of the new flag-pole at Tarboche join
pilgrims on the 3-day circumambulation of Mount Kailash.
It is challenging due to altitude, but within the
capabilities of any healthy person - and timed to
coincide with the full moon, it is an incredible time.
Stunning views of Qomolangma (Mt Everest) and a day trip
up to base camp are a fitting finale to this incredible
journey before we leave the Tibetan Plateau behind,
plunging into a lush green world as we descend almost
2000 meters in just 30kms to the border town of Zhangmu.
Of incredible geomantic power Kailash (Sanskrit) or Kang
Rinpoche (Tibetan) marks the center of the Earth for
Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Bon. To Buddhists it is the
abode of Demchok, the wrathful manifestation of Buddha
Sakyamuni. To Hindus it is the dwelling of Shiva, the
destroyer and according to the Sanskrit tradition of
Vishnu Purana it is a representation of Mount Meru, the
cosmic mountain at the center of the universe. It is the
place where the founder of Bon descended to Earth and
where the founder of the Jain faith was spiritually
awakened.
Kailash is also the geographical watershed of South
Asia, here its great rivers are born - the Indus, the
Sutlej, the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) and the
Karnali / Ganges. At its foot lies the most venerated of
Tibet's lakes, Manasarovar, believed by Hindu's to have
been formed in the mind of Brahma.
Once the heartland of Tibet, the remains of Zhangzhung
date back over 3,000 years. Later the kingdom of Guge
flourished from the 9th to the 15th centuries, with its
strong links to Ladakh and Kashmir it is extremely
important in terms of Buddhist art history. The remains
of this kingdom stand in a landscape so overwhelming as
to defy description. |
Kailash Kora and Kingdom of Guge
