Trekking in Lhasa city is one of the minor focus areas in the Tibet tourism market. But recently, due to an increase in the cost of travelling in Tibet outside the Lhasa city, we need to refocus our attention on more activities in Lhasa rather than trying to send off everyone outside the Lhasa city.
Another reason for the shift in focus in trekking inside the Lhasa city is that many of our revisiting clients would want special activities for their second and third visit. We can limit the activities in Lhasa to visit historical places and the monastery. Sometimes our clients would meet us to make changes in the itinerary, saying they didn’t want any more monasteries to see.
There are many reasons why people would come to visit Tibet. Many like to see the temples and monasteries. Others love to visit Tibetan villages and may want to spend a night in the local family home. Finally, there are others how to love to enjoy the beautiful scenic spot of Tibet.
Here are the top three trekking in Lhasa city.
1) Sera to Sera Utse hiking
Sera is one of the three most significant monasteries in Lhasa. It is located about 6 kilometres from the Jokhang temple in Lhasa. The monastery is very popular for the monks debating sessions in the afternoon during the weekdays.
Sera Utse is the three storeys yellow building above the main sera monastery. This is where the Je-Tsongkhapa is said to have meditated. You can still visit the meditation cave if you visit during the weekdays.
Behind the monastery, if you would take the Sera Lingkhor circumambulation. There is a path walking up the hill. There is a small chapel dedicated to the protector deity behind this chapel. You can take a right turn towards the east to continue. After reaching a certain point, you will have clear visibility of the monastery below. There is a milestone mark towards the Sera Utse.
The walk from Sera monastery to the top would take about an hour for locals and take about an hour and a half to two hours for travellers. As you walk upwards, you will have a wider panoramic view of Lhasa city. You can see the Potala Palace and the Jokhang temple from the top of the hill.
Once when you arrive at the top, you can visit the meditation cave of Tsongkhapa and the temple surrounding it. Then, you can ask the monk for permission to go to the rooftop to view the city below.
After reaching the Utse
After the visit to the temple in Sera Utse, you can either go back to the monastery or continue going east to the Dodhe Valley. As you proceed eastward on the corner of the hill, you will find two paths. First, take the upper path to visit other hermits.
As you proceed further the first hermit, you will reach a small temple. It was built by the mother of the fifth Dalai Lama. From this hermitage, you will have a very beautiful view of the valley below.
Below this hermit, you will find a yellow house, Rakhadrak hermitage. It is said to house the meditation cave of Je-Tsongkhapa himself and his two soul students. It is once said the emperor of China invites Lama Tsongkhapa to Bejing, during the time he is said to be in retreat and has sent his student to go to Beijing instead of himself. How later found the sera monastery.
Inside the Rakhadrak Hermitage, you will find the separate cave of Tsokhangpa and his two students.
After the Rakhadrak, as you walk further below, you will reach the Keutsang Hermitage. the Keutsang Hermitage is divided into two sections east on the edge of the hill and western. Keutsang Hermitage also has the meditation cave of the Tsongkhapa, but it was washed away by Rain.
After Kuetsang, you will find your way back to Lhasa city. You can either take a bus or Taxi to Lhasa.
The journey would take about five hours or more. The Maximum ascend in this hiking is about 600 Metres.
Tips:
1) Bring lunch and drinking water
2) Where non-slippery shoes, the last few kilometres in the valley is very slippery.
3) Bring sunscreen and sunglass.
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