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light, while the steel-blue sky vies with the turquoise reservoir. A winding road leads through a yellowgreen grassland plain, dominated by the 7,200-metre Noijinkangsang. Its glacier ends at 5,200 metres, just above the Karo La pass, offering the best views from a dedicated rest area. An impressive high-altitude valley brings us through a lunar landscape to Yamdrok Yumtso, one of Tibet’ s three sacred lakes, at 4,440 metres. For over fifty kilometres, we drive along the lakeshore, watching peacefully grazing yaks. White clouds drift across the sky, veiling the view of Noijinkangsang as we climb the 4,800-metre Khampa La pass – the last before Lhasa. Tibet’ s capital translates as either“ Seat of Kings” or“ Seat of the Gods,” or simply“ Goat Pasture.”
Besides its natural wonders, Tibet is home to thousand-year-old monasteries, few of which survived Mao’ s Cultural Revolution unscathed. Among these cultural highlights is the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the reincarnation of the Buddha of Infinite Light, and the burial site of many of its past holders. One of the Panchen Lama’ s primary tasks is identifying the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and vice versa. The 14th Dalai Lama’ s chosen Panchen Lama vanished within days, replaced by a government-appointed successor, suggesting a long-term strategic plan.
For devout Buddhists, the Jokhang Temple in the heart of Lhasa’ s old town is the most important pilgrimage site for seeking spiritual enlightenment. Built in the seventh century and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its life-sized Jobo Shakyamuni statue is Tibet’ s holiest Buddha figure. As in many temples, its murals are blackened with soot from the butter lamps
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