• Potala palace

  • Potala Palace  - Located 130 meters above the Lhasa valley, Tibet, the Potala palace is considered to be the greatest monumental structure in Tibet. The Potala Palace was the main residing place of Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama had to flee to Dharamsala,India after an unsuccessful uprising in the year 1959. Now the Potala Palace has attained the title of a famous tourist attraction and also has been included in the list of UNESCO World HeritageSite.The Potala Palace is so huge that the entire palace can be divided into various parts.

     

    White Palace
    The white palace makes up for the living place for the Dalai Lama. The first ever White palace was constructed during the lifetime of the fifth Dalai Lama and was extended to its present size during the lifetime of the thirteenth Dalai Lama. The palace was meant simply for secular uses and contained the living rooms, offices, the printing house and the seminary. The other quarter of the Potala palace is completely devoted to the religious prayers and contains the sacred gold stupas, the tombs of the eight Dalai Lamas.


    Red Palace
    The Red palace is completely devoted to the religious study and Buddhist prayers. This part of the Potala Palace contains a complete layout of halls, chapels, libraries, galleries and winding passages. The Great West Hall is the name given to the central hall of the Red Palace. It consists of four great chapels that have been attributed to honor the glory and power of the fifth Dalai Lama. The north side of this hall in the Potala Palace consists of the holiest shrine of Potala. This side of the Potala palace has been given the name of The Saints Chapel. Another part of the Red Palace called the north Chapel has a crowned Sakymuni Buddha on the left and the fifth Dalai Lama on the right seated on a fabulous gold throne. The South chapel of the Red Palace in the Potala Palace focuses on Padmasambhava, the eighth Indian magician and his wife. The East Chapel in the Red Palace consists of the five golden stupas. The central stupa contains the mummified body of the fifth Dalai Lama.

     

    Recommended Tour: Mysterious Tibet Tour (12 Days)