Barkhor means the middle ring. It is the circular route that pilgrims walk around the Jokhang Temple, the most sacred shrine in Tibet, housing the Jowo Shakyamuni, an image believed to have been brought to Tibet in the seventh century. Walking the circuit is itself a religious act, and the street is a place of worship before it is a market.
The circuit
Pilgrims walk clockwise, many counting malas or turning prayer wheels, some making full-length prostrations along sections of the route. The full circuit is about a kilometer and takes twenty minutes at a brisk pace; most pilgrims walk it several times, and the most devout walk for hours. Visitors are welcome to walk it in the same clockwise direction, which is both correct etiquette and the only way to move with the crowd.
Shopping
The lanes around the circuit sell prayer flags, hand-turned mala beads in wood and bone, butter lamps, juniper incense, Tibetan carpets, hand-woven aprons and brass objects. Many shops describe themselves as antique dealers; some of what is sold is genuinely old and much of it is not. Buy what you like on its merits rather than on a claim of age, and be aware that export rules restrict the sale and movement of genuine religious antiquities.
Etiquette
Walk clockwise around the circuit and around the temple. Do not step over prostrating pilgrims or photograph them from close range. Ask before photographing people. Inside the Jokhang, hats come off and photography is restricted or prohibited in the main halls.
Practical notes
Barkhor is in the old town of Lhasa, a ten-minute walk from the Potala Palace viewpoint at the north end. It is liveliest in the early morning and again at dusk, when the lamps are lit. The circuit is paved and level, though crowded. Drink water, walk slowly, and remember that Lhasa is at 3,650 meters.
