Perhaps there is no other place on the planet like Tibet Autonomous Region of western China. The extremely high altitude with cool and thin air, the religiously pious atmosphere everywhere, the hospitality of the people, magnificent scenery and tranquil places, all these things will make you feel like in another world.

To travel Tibet you may have to spend a whole year, even your lifetime. At least, in Lhasa, the Potala Palace, Peter Fleming described as “the most extraordinary building in the world”, is worth you to take a few days to explore the majestic architecture and experience Tibetan Buddhist spirit. The regional capital may also be the starting point of your Tibet tour as well as a place for you to accustom high altitude on the Tibetan Plateau. The Barn of Tibet – Shigatse has best natural environment with excellent scenery and you will see the highest mountain in the world – Everest – from afar! Ngari Region is quite harsh, but it is still great to visit if you have good enough health. Go to the Holy Mountain Kailash and roam around the Holy Lake Manasarova on foot without any modern transportation mean are very challenging. You may extremely curious about why the splendid and powerful Guge Kingdom terribly vanished within a very short time during its history. However, you will get some clues from the arid Zhada Soil Forest; the climate change is perhaps the main culprit who brutally killed the empire in western Tibetan Plateau.

To the north, the Nagqu Region is a place as hard as Ngari. Nagqu is cold all the time with big temperature between day and night as well as average elevation of more than 4,500 meters above sea level. However, the vast, beautiful plateau prairie seeing Tibetan yaks roaming around with tranquil lake and snow mountains as background will undoubtedly make you almost forget the harshness of local environment.

Back to the east, the elevation slightly descends. Some of the famous monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism are in Qamdo Region, Chambling Monastery, Grand Chajiema Temple, Zizhu Monastery and Gema Monastery, just to name a few. Lakes of Basongtso and Namtso are must for pious pilgrims. Height goes down further in Nyingchi, where the Brahmaputra River lies between 1,000 meters and 3,000 meters above sea level with deep and dangerous canyon.

What’s more, the devotional pilgrims’ progress toward their places of worship by prostrating themselves under the sky and along the roads, will make our worldly people humble and modest. Tibet, the lost paradise under the sky, is truly a place where the spirit lives!

Holidays and festivals are the most important days in Tibet. Enjoying the local food and dancing with beautiful Tibetan girls are the excellent ways to celebrate these joyful times. Buying some typical handicrafts, especially the traditional Tibetan Thangkas, in Barkhor Street of Lhasa or from other authentic vendors may add extra surprise and joy to your visit.