Things to do in Lhasa
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lhasa
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Closure risk for foreign visitors; do not plan a March trip you cannot move.
One of the two best windows: warming days, clear skies, excellent Everest views, thinner crowds.
Warmest and greenest, highest oxygen, festival peak, but peak crowds, prices and booked out Potala tickets.
The other best window: clear post monsoon skies and best mountain views; avoid Golden Week in early October.
Cold, dry and sunny pilgrim season with lowest prices, but Namtso often inaccessible and high passes may close.
What's on
- Saga Dawa 4th Tibetan month, usually May/June
Holiest month, peaking on the full moon day with mass Lingkhor pilgrimage circuits.
- Shoton Festival usually August
Giant thangka unveiling at Drepung, then Tibetan opera and picnicking in Norbulingka.
- Losar Feb/March
Tibetan New Year ceremonies and butter sculptures; confirm foreign visitor access for exact dates.
- Ganden Thangka Festival August
Ganden's own thangka unveiling draws pilgrims to the monastery; pair it with the kora.
- Nagqu Horse Festival August
Great horse racing festival at Nagqu, north of Lhasa, as a regional extension.
Best things to do in Lhasa
Potala Palace
Former palace of the Dalai Lamas with the White and Red Palaces, stupas, chapels and murals above Lhasa.
Jokhang Temple
Tibet's holiest temple, home to the sacred Jowo statue, with pilgrims prostrating outside from dawn.
Barkhor Street
An 800 metre pilgrimage circuit around the Jokhang that is also Lhasa's oldest street and market.
Sera Monastery
A great Gelug monastery best known for its afternoon monk debates in the shaded courtyard.
Drepung Monastery
Once the largest monastery in the world, a quiet hillside monastic city west of the centre.
Norbulingka
The Dalai Lamas' summer palace set in Tibet's largest garden, with palaces, pavilions and lawns.
Tibet Museum
Regional museum that puts Tibetan history and art in chronological order from prehistory onward.
Ani Tsangkhung Nunnery
A small active nunnery southeast of the Jokhang with a courtyard tea house and simple vegetarian food.
Where to stay in Lhasa
Old Town / Barkhor area
first trip, best all round base
Walk into the kora flow, reach the Jokhang in minutes and eat in the best restaurant cluster.
Potala / Norbulingka Road west-centre
luxury, altitude support and families
Large hotels with oxygen rooms and lounges, concierges and easy vehicle access west of the Potala.
Jiangsu Road / east of the Potala
business comfort and touring all day
Efficient and well connected by road, but the least atmospheric area to wander in the evenings.
Think twice about
- Liuwu / train-station new district
Modern and empty feeling, south of the Lhasa River and a long taxi ride from everything worth seeing.
- Far-west and far-east highway strips
Isolated chain hotels on arterial roads where you cannot walk to dinner or the old town.
Best restaurants in Lhasa
Makye Ame
The famous yellow house on the Barkhor with Tibetan dishes, live music and a terrace over the kora.
Tibetan Family Kitchen
A tiny family run kitchen for home style momos and thenthuk, plus well loved cooking classes.
Snowland Restaurant
A long running institution for Tibetan and Nepali dishes, yak curries, hot pots and cheese cake.
Lhasa Kitchen
An upstairs mixed menu of Tibetan, Indian, Nepali and Western food overlooking Jokhang Square.
Namaste Restaurant
Lhasa's best known Nepali restaurant for curries, masala chicken with naan and dal bhat style sets.
Guangming Gangqiong Sweet Tea House
One of Lhasa's oldest sweet tea houses, packed with locals for thermos tea and Tibetan noodles.
Cuomu Liangfen
A tiny beloved stop for chilled liangfen in fiery chilli sauce and fried potato snacks.
Jixiang Shengxue Tibetan Cuisine
A premium Tibetan dining room for refined yak, lamb, mushroom and plateau ingredient dishes.
Best coffee in Lhasa
Summit Cafe
A quiet cafe for proper coffee and Western desserts, described as the afternoon version of Dunya.
Outdoor things to do in Lhasa
Yamdrok Lake
A turquoise sacred lake seen from Kamba La pass, the most booked excursion from Lhasa.
Namtso Lake
A vast high salt lake ringed by the Nyenchen Tanglha range, best with an overnight stay.
Ganden Monastery
Tsongkhapa's monastery above the Kyichu valley, paired with one of central Tibet's finest kora walks.
Drak Yerpa Hermitage
Meditation caves and small temples in a juniper valley, quiet and uncrowded compared with big monasteries.
Ganden to Samye Trek
A supported 4 to 5 day camping trek from Ganden over Shogu La to Samye, Tibet's first monastery.
Yangpachen Hot Springs
Geothermal indoor and outdoor pools under snow peaks, usually visited on the Namtso return leg.
Karola Glacier
A great ice wall close to the road, visited with Gyantse town and its Kumbum stupa on a long day.
Everest Base Camp
The Tibetan side base camp below the North Face, reached via Gyantse, Shigatse and Rongbuk Monastery.
Best hotels in Lhasa
Songtsam Lhasa Linka
A Tibetan owned low rise retreat in Tibetan style with mountain views, art and unhurried service.
The St. Regis Lhasa Resort
Full service luxury with large rooms, butler service, a pool and Potala views plus oxygen support.
Shangri-La Lhasa
A large resort style hotel with gardens, strong food and an oxygen lounge useful at altitude.
House of Shambhala
A restored Tibetan courtyard boutique in the old town with a rooftop restaurant facing the Potala.
InterContinental Lhasa Paradise
A very large modern resort hotel in the east with flagship facilities at mid range promotional prices.
Shambhala Palace
A traditional Tibetan house conversion near the Barkhor, sister property to House of Shambhala.
Yak Hotel
A veteran traveller hotel on Beijing East Road, a 15 minute walk to the Jokhang with rooftop breakfast.
Kyichu Hotel
A smaller Tibetan run hotel with clean ensuite rooms and staff who know the monasteries well.
Is Lhasa expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥900 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥1,500 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥2,800 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Potala Palace: weeks ahead
- A Hands-On Tibetan Craft Session: weeks ahead
- Ganden to Samye Trek: months ahead
- Everest Base Camp: weeks ahead
- Cycling the Plateau: months ahead
- Songtsam Lhasa Linka: weeks ahead
- The St. Regis Lhasa Resort: weeks ahead
- Shangri-La Lhasa: weeks ahead
- Tibet Travel Permit and organised tour need 3 to 4 weeks minimum in season, longer for Shoton.
- Potala Palace timed tickets are booked by your operator and are the binding constraint in summer.
- Train soft sleepers, Chengdu flights and top hotels sell out weeks ahead in summer.
Is Lhasa safe?
- Altitude is the main risk at 3650 m; pace day one gently, hydrate, and avoid alcohol for 48 hours.
- Tell your guide early about worsening altitude symptoms; descent and medical care are the treatment.
- Use strong sun protection year round and dress in layers for large temperature swings.
- Do not drink tap water; hotels provide boiled or bottled water and tea houses serve boiled drinks.
Lhasa travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- No skip the line or VIP Potala product exists for foreign visitors; the operator timed ticket is the only door.
- Barkhor antique thangkas, coral and turquoise are usually new, dyed or synthetic; buy as art, not investment.
- Agree yak and dog photo prices at Yamdrok and passes before you take the photo.
- Do not over tour on day one; rushing is the most consistent regret and an altitude risk.
Getting around Lhasa: public transport and more
- Walk the old town; Barkhor, Jokhang and most restaurants are within a 20 minute walk of an old town base.
- Taxis are cheap and plentiful; your tour vehicle handles monasteries and all excursions.
- Lhasa Gonggar Airport is about 65 km away; your agency transfer meets you and your permit is checked.
- The Qinghai Tibet railway from Xining takes about 21 to 22 hours and gives a gentler altitude profile.
Who Lhasa suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Lhasa your trip
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