We were close to the sacred city of Lhasa when finally I saw it: the legendary Potala with its golden domes and white and deep-red palaces. Here, at last, was the holy of holies; the fabled Shangri-la that was for so long off-limits to travellers from the West.
If you are seeking the old, magical Tibet, now trampled by Chinese rule and depredations, venture to this pine-green, far-flung valley guarded by snowy Himalayan peaks and peopled by lamas and pious laity.
It was a September afternoon and I was freezing in the bus as it laboriously chugged up the mountain pass. The bus was old and rickety, the windows wouldn’t close and holes in the floor allowed me to see the road.
In the very early history of Tibet the dead may have been buried in the ground, but with soil at a premium and firewood equally scarce, Tibetans have spent the last few centuries coming up with alternative ways to get rid of remains.
Among the most important ingredients seasoning Sikkim are the cultural traditions of neighbouring Tibet. Thick fog flies in fast from the East, dulling the rich colours of Tsuk La-Khang, the Royal Chapel.
Drinking yak-butter tea in the Himalayas is a natural high, writes James Elam. Yak's butter mixed with boiling water and salt. It sounds disgusting, but it's strange how tastes can change at 5000 metres above sea level.
High on the Tibetan Plateau, the city of Lhasa is threatened with submersion, but not by its neighboring river. With the large influx of Han Chinese over the past several decades, the character of this once exotic and isolated city is changing rapidly.
