Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet

The Potala Palace was the shining jewel of the Tibet trip and a major reason that Tibet is included in the bucket list category. It was quite an emotional experience to be on the palace grounds for many of us.

Potala is the former winter residence of the Dalai Lama before 1959 and the former seat of the Tibetan government (both now located in exile in Dharamsala, India). Palace construction started in 1645 when the 5th Dalai Lama consolidated the power and position of the Tibetan king and religious leader into one. The palace was built atop of a previous site marking the meditation cave of Songstan Gampo, the person who united the Tibetan kingdoms and introduced Buddhism to the country.

The palace is divided into multiple different areas including the White Palace (living area of Dalai Lama), Red Palace (Buddhist libraries and shrines) and the former government areas .

The number of daily visitors is controlled to decrease wear and tear on the palace grounds and to allow the still active (though massively reduced) religious activities of the monks to take place in the evenings.