The first palace on this hill was built in the seventh century under King Songtsen Gampo, and the structure visible today was largely built in the seventeenth century under the Fifth Dalai Lama, with later additions. It served as the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas and the seat of the Tibetan government until 1959. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1994.
The building
The palace is divided into the White Palace, which held the living quarters and administrative rooms, and the Red Palace at the center, which contains the assembly halls and the stupas of past Dalai Lamas. The walls are built of stone and rammed earth, sloping inward for stability, and the white and red surfaces are maintained with a lime and milk-based wash. The whole complex has more than a thousand rooms and rises 117 meters above the valley floor.
What to see inside
The route passes through assembly halls with painted pillars and murals, chapels with gilded statues, and the tombs of several Dalai Lamas, which are massive reliquaries covered in gold and turquoise. The Fifth Dalai Lama's stupa is the largest. The interior is dark, the passages are narrow and the staircases steep; the atmosphere is closer to a fortress than a museum.
Visiting rules
Entry is tightly controlled. Tickets are issued for a specific time slot, they must usually be booked in advance through an agency or with a passport, and the number of visitors per day is capped. You must keep to the marked route and the total visit inside the palace is limited to about one hour, with a further time outside. Photography and video are prohibited inside the buildings; bags must be left at the deposit. There is no lift and the climb from the entrance to the top is demanding at 3,700 meters, so take it slowly and rest on the landings.
