Give Lhasa four or five days and start slowly. Spend the first afternoon on the flat: the Tibet Museum and an evening Barkhor kora. Book the Potala for day two or three, give the Jokhang a morning, and catch the afternoon debates at Sera. Drepung and Ramoche fill another day. With time left, drive out to Yamdrok Tso or Ganden. Foreign visitors travel on a Tibet Travel Permit with a licensed guide, so plan the route with your agency before you book flights.
Lhasa sits at about 3,656 metres in the Kyichu valley, and the altitude sets the pace of every trip. The Potala, the Jokhang and the great Gelug monasteries are all within a short drive, but foreign visitors need a Tibet Travel Permit and a licensed guide to see them.
The Dalai Lamas' winter palace climbs the Red Hill in white and red walls, and the Red Palace holds the tombs of eight Dalai Lamas. Entry is real-name and timed, and peak-season slots go fast, so have your agency book it as soon as your permit clears.
Tibet's holiest temple, founded in the 7th century, holds the Jowo Rinpoche, the statue pilgrims cross the plateau to see. Worshippers usually have the morning and visitors come later, so finish on the gilded roof above Barkhor Square.
The Barkhor is the clockwise loop of about a kilometre around the Jokhang, walked by pilgrims with prayer wheels and by everyone else in the old town. Join it at dusk, when the circuit is at its busiest and the incense burners are smoking.
Sera, founded in 1419 below the hills north of town, is where monks debate in a shaded courtyard with claps and stamps to land each point. Sessions usually start around 3pm and pause on Sundays, so tour the colleges first and finish there.
Founded in 1416, Drepung was home to the Dalai Lamas before the Potala and once held thousands of monks in its white hillside colleges. Give it a morning and stop at Nechung, the State Oracle's monastery, on the way down.
The Dalai Lamas' summer palace, begun in 1755, is a park of about 36 hectares with willows and small palaces, part of the Potala's UNESCO listing. Come for Shoton in August, when opera troupes and family picnics take over the lawns.
The regional museum covers the plateau from prehistory to thangkas, manuscripts and ritual objects, in one modern building beside the Norbulingka. It is the best first afternoon in Lhasa: flat, indoors and calm while your body adjusts.
Ramoche, the Jokhang's 7th-century sister temple, keeps the Jowo Mikyo Dorje, a statue said to have come from Nepal with Queen Bhrikuti. It is a short walk north of the Barkhor and draws pilgrims without the Jokhang's crowds.
Yamdrok Tso, one of Tibet's three sacred lakes, opens below the Kamba La pass as a turquoise ribbon among bare hills. It is a full day by road, so leave early, and make it the first leg if your route continues to Gyantse and Shigatse.
Ganden, founded by Tsongkhapa in 1409 and rebuilt after its destruction, spreads over a ridge about 40 km east of Lhasa. Its kora rounds the ridge with long views over the Kyichu valley, at about 4,300 metres.
The State Oracle's former seat below Drepung, known for its fierce protector murals.
A hermitage on a granite boulder above Sera, linked by tradition to Songtsen Gampo.
A small, old monastery between the Jokhang and the Barkhor, once the State Oracle's Lhasa seat.
A historic mansion on the Barkhor's north side, now the market for butter, cheese and yak meat.
Lhasa's big, plain sweet-tea hall, open since 1965 and full of locals.
A long-running Tibetan and Nepali kitchen on Mentsikhang Road, by the Jokhang.
Tibetan New Year, on the lunar calendar. Families visit the Jokhang and the Barkhor fills with pilgrims.
The 15th day of the first month. Butter sculptures and lamps line the Barkhor after dark.
The holiest month, peaking on its full moon. Pilgrims crowd the Lingkhor and the Barkhor.
World Incense Day. Juniper smoke rises from hillsides and rooftops across the city.
A giant thangka is unveiled at Drepung at dawn, then opera and picnics fill the Norbulingka.
A week when Lhasa bathes in the Kyichu, timed to a star in the autumn sky.
The protector goddess is carried around the Barkhor from the Jokhang.
Tsongkhapa's anniversary. Butter lamps burn on monastery roofs and windows across Lhasa.
About 62 km southwest of the city in Gonggar County, linked by the airport expressway. Your guide meets you on arrival, permit in hand.
Trains from Xining and beyond have reached Lhasa since 2006, crossing the plateau above 5,000 m. Foreigners need the permit to board.
The electrified line east to Nyingchi opened in 2021 and runs through the Yarlung Tsangpo valley. Your permit has to name Nyingchi.
The old town is best on foot. Taxis are cheap for Sera, Drepung and the museum; out-of-town sights go in your agency's car.
Roasted barley flour kneaded with butter tea, the staple of the plateau.
Po cha: tea churned with yak butter and salt, refilled as soon as you sip.
Milky, sugared tea poured by the glass in Lhasa's teahouses.
Steamed or fried dumplings, usually filled with yak meat.
Hand-pulled noodle soup with yak meat and vegetables.
Fried pastry pockets of minced yak meat and cabbage.
Sha kampo: wind-dried strips, sold by weight in the markets.
Barley beer, mildly sour and served at festivals and homes.
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