Lhasa Tour

All year round is the best time to visit Lhasa. Lhasa is called "The City of Sunlight", so even if you travel to Lhasa in Winter, you will feel warm during the daytime under the shining sun. Please kindly note: From Feb to March, Tibet usually keeps closed to foreign tourists because of Tibetan New Year Losar.

Lhasa's old city is built around Jokhang Temple as the core, and Barkhor Street is the circle line. Lhasa is famous for its Buddhist culture and its long history. Unlike the busy lives in the metropolis, the pace of life in Lhasa is very slow, and you will enjoy inner peace and leisure. You can enjoy the sunshine with a cup of sweet tea, witness how pilgrims pray in front of Jokhang Temple, follow people to turn prayer wheel for praying, try Tibetan food, or buy some local souvenirs, etc. Here're recommended highlights for your Lhasa trip,

Potala Palace -- the highest palace in the world and the winter palace of the Dalai Lama.
Jokhang Temple -- the spiritual center of Tibetan Buddhism.
Barkhor Street -- an old block filled with Tibetan atmosphere and the most popular street among travelers.
Norbulingka -- the Summer Palace of Dalai Lama and the only royal park.
Drepung Monastery -- one of the top 3 monasteries of Gelug and the largest monastery in Tibet.
Sera Monastery -- the most beautiful Tibetan monastery and you can see "Monks Debate" in the afternoon.

Tibetan food includes Tibetan noodles, Tsampa(Zanba), momo, dumplings, sweet tea, yak meat, sweet peanuts, etc. Besides Tibetan food, you still have multiple choices among Sichuan cuisine, Nepalese food, Indian food, and western food in Lhasa. Here are the recommended restaurants and cafes in Lhasa.

Lhasa Kitchen -- located near Jokhang Temple and the dish is mainly about Tibetan food and Nepali cuisine. The staffs are hospitable and most of them can speak fluent English. Nepalese and Indian cuisine are recommended here.

Tibetan Family Kitchen -- the restaurant is warm and cozy. Staff speak English. The food here is tasty and vegetarian-friendly. The most popular dish is the Yak Momo. You can find it at the right side of Jokhang Square.

Makye Ame restaurant -- located in Barkhor Street and has a great reputation in Lhasa. It’s also a date place with taste and style. You can see Potala Palace in the distance when you sit on the terrace of the third floor there.  

Snowland Restaurant----it serves traditional Tibetan meals, Nepal and Indian food, with typical Tibetan- style decoration. Many foreign tourists would choose to have a meal here because of its various kinds of food. You can easily find it in Barkhor street.

Guangming Kamqung Sweet Tea House -- sweet tea plays an important role in Tibetan daily life and they would like to start a new day with a cup of sweet tea. You could not miss this sweet tea houses if you like to try the local flavor, as well as delicious Tibetan noodles. 

Lhasa is worth of visit for a couple of days. If you have a tight schedule, you can tour around Lhasa city in 2 or 3 days.

D1: Drepung - Sera Monastery
D2: Potala Palace - Jokhang Temple - Barkhor Street
D3: Dark Yerpa - Ganden Monastery - Norbulingka

If you have more time, you can extend your Lhasa trip to Namtso Lake, Samye Monastery, Yamdrotso Lake, Nyingchi, or Everest Base Camp, therefore you should plan at least a 10-day holiday.