Although a part of China, Tibet has a unique and mysterious culture of its own. Tibets population of 2.3 million people comes from a variety of ethnic groups including Tibetan, Han, Monba and Lhota.

 

Northwest Tibet, mainly Qing Hai plateau, is home to a variety of unusual and unique animals. Across the northern expanse of Tibet, you can see vast grasslands where horses, yak and sheep roam freely. The world's lowest valley, the Grand Yarlun-tzanpo River Valley lies in east Tibet.

Nearly all Tibetans follow Tibetan Buddhism, known as Lamaism, with the exception of approximately 2,000 followers of Islam and 600 of Catholicism. Tibetan Buddhism was greatly influenced by Indian Buddhism in its early time, but after years of evolution, Tibetan Buddhism has developed its own distinctive qualities and practices. A well-known example is the belief that there is a Living Buddha, who is the reincarnation of the first, a belief alien to Chinese Buddhism.

 

The capital city of Lhasa, literally meaning “Holy-Land”, is the heart and soul of Tibet, with a history of more than 1,300 years.  It rose to prominence as an important centre of administrative power in the 7th century AD, when Songtsen Gampo, a local ruler in the Yarlung Valley, continued the task of unifying Tibet.  Songtsen Gampo moved his capital to Lhasa and built a palace on the site that is now occupied by the Potala.  The fifth Dalai Lama also made Lhasa his capital.  He built his palace, the Potala, on the site of ruins of Songtsen Gampo’s 7th century palace.

Lhasa has remained Tibet’s capital since 1642, and most of the city’s historical sights date from this second stage of the city’s development. 

 

Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet, is another political, economic and religious centre.  Shigatse has been the seat of the Panchen Lama, who is traditionally based in Tashilhunpo Monastery.  Tashilhunpo is one of Tibet’s highlights and is Shigatse’s foremost attraction.

The Tibetan name for Mt. Everest is “Quomolangma” which literally means “The Third Goddess”. Towering 8848.13 meters in the middle section of the Himalaya in Tingri County, Shigatse, Quomolangma teems with snow-capped peaks and glaciers. The Everest region has four peaks above 8000 meters and 38 peaks above 7000 meters, thus is reputed as the Third Pole on the Earth. Glaciers of the modern era are located at the foot of the mountains, deep caves and snaking ice rivers present a magnificent view around the Quomolangma.

 

The three great towns of the Kathmandu Valley – Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur – still bear witness to their days as fiercely competitive medieval mini-kingdoms. Indeed, in Nepal it’s possible to mentally turn back the clock to the medieval era, such is the evocative power of the country.

The Himalayan Range has different faces; on the north side are the ever-stretching snow capped mountains, while the south side of the Himalayas embraces luxurious shades of green, with waterfalls and cascades flushing almost everywhere. You can do nothing but marvel at this masterpiece of Mother Nature.