The Tibetan Plateau –four times larger than France– extends to 4.500 m altitude. In that immensity lives a nomadic people that fascinates the world with their curious customs., his strength and his fight
by Sergi Ramis
10 of January of 2019
See the spectacular photos and the original article in the web of National Geographic Spain
Tibet, great trip to the himalayas
For centuries, Tibet fascinates Westerners. In the highest country in the world, hidden behind the most formidable mountain range, monks exude wisdom and peace sheltered in temples that look like gems.
The north face of Everest. An almost flat path leads from Rongbuk Monastery to Everest Base Camp, a 5.150 metros. For centuries, Tibet fascinates Westerners. In the highest country in the world, hidden behind the most formidable mountain range, monks exude wisdom and peace sheltered in temples that look like gems. Ratnakorn Piyasirisorost / AGE photostock
When the traveler arrives in Lhasa, He stretches his neck out the car window trying to locate the Potala as soon as possible., the undisputed symbol of Tibet. The moment the vision occurs, a wave of emotion runs through his body. the palace, white as snow and red as clay, It looks like an organic entity that had a rock sprouted at its feet., instead of a building that is built on a hill. Shines like a lighthouse, what it really is. The light that guides the thousands of pilgrims who come every year to make circles around it and cry for the exile of its inhabitant., the Dalai Lama.
THE POTALA PALACE UNDER THE TWILIGHT SKY
Before entering the labyrinth of rooms and chapels, To have the best view of the Potala it is worth puffing for fifteen minutes and climbing what is only a mound in front of the south façade, but the map shows us as the top of a mountain called Chigpo Ri. You are 3756 m altitude, what in Lhasa means, only, one hundred meters above the rest of the Tibetan capital. It is best to go first thing in the morning, when the sun shines full on the palace and gilts it, reinforcing his medal image. Thence, forming a triangle on the urban plan, you can see the other two jewels of Lhasa: el Jokhang, to the right, and the Norbulingka, to the left.
The Potala is a maze of small rooms, chapels and stairs, hallways that form closed angles and quite a bit of darkness. The building is divided into two distinct parts.: The White Palace contains the chambers where the Dalai Lama lived, the throne room, rooms for receptions of foreign envoys, the meditation space…
At the top is the Red Palace, for religious purposes. It houses a multitude of chapels full of Buddha statuettes, thangkas painted on silk, mandalas drawn on wooden boards, auspicious symbols on curtains, deities, dragons and mythical animals populating the walls. The smell of smoke and yak butter from the lamps that burned for centuries has not completely disappeared., but the potential fire danger has eradicated the candles.
The Red Palace houses many chapels full of Buddha statuettes, thankas painted on silk and wooden boards with mandalas.
When leaving the visit, The traveler stumbles upon a bedraggled army of pilgrims from all over the Buddhist universe.. They perform the kora or circular pilgrimage around the palace to close their devout journey. And in front of the main façade, ignoring traffic and modern life, The most moved perform countless prostrations before the wonderful mansion.
Jokang Temple and Barkhor Market
To the most sacred temple in all of Tibet, el Jokhang, It is reached by walking east along the dull avenues designed by the Chinese government., with the mountains always closing the northern horizon and the Lhasa River (o Kiu Chu) accompanying through the south. First you have to cross the hubbub of the Barkhor market, an open-air souk where jewelry, religious and mountaineering objects, clothes, shoes and material for offerings are sold to anyone who wants to divert a few yuan from their wallet.
Here the oil lamps burn by the thousands, creating a suffocating and foggy atmosphere. The smell of butter, one of the aromas that distinguish Tibetan prayer centers, fills the air. The devotion of those who come is concentrated, Visitors are practically absorbed by communion with that oratory that already functioned as such at the beginning of the 7th century.. On the terrace you can meet one of the best-known symbols of Lhasa: two golden fawns escort the Wheel of Life.
The Chinese impact
Although it is paradoxical, Tibetans live in a clear minority in this neighborhood and represent less than 4% of the city's current population. The political vicissitudes of recent decades and the isolation broken by the arrival of the train from Beijing have left an overwhelming demographic imbalance.. To see Tibetans going about their daily business in the capital of Tibet, you have to walk through the alleys located between Tromsikhang Market and Lingkhor Shar Lam Avenue..
Retracing one's own steps and entering the Norbulingka allows one to close the triangle of architectural jewels of Lhasa. The former summer residence of the Dalai Lama, wrapped in gardens, worth the visit, despite the reluctance with which the Chinese authorities preserve it.
Lhasa is abandoned with inexpressible sorrow, The traveler knows he is privileged to have been to one of the most enchanting places on the planet and does not know when he will return.. But the wonders that will come your way will make the affliction fleeting..
PORT OF TAR GAMA, ON THE TEA AND HORSES ROUTE, TIBET
Scorpion Lake
Heading west, just 100 km from Lhasa, there is the Yamdrok Tso. It is a lake known as El Escorpión, because its silhouette draws that animal with its stinger raised and armed with the characteristic pincers.. At the top of the Kamba La mountain pass (4794 m) It can be seen that the nickname is indisputable. As is the intensely turquoise color of its waters.. For the lamas, that liquid could not be more transparent., because in its depths they see where the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is when he dies. For its divinatory qualities, It is one of the most sacred lakes in Tibet.
You must temporarily leave the trunk road that runs through the entire south of the country to detour towards Gyantse. Over there, quietly, a religious construction stands that competes in beauty with the portents of Lhasa. The Kumbum is a tower of 35 m high, the most formidable chorten in the country, maybe from the world. It reproduces the structure of a mandala and its name means «100.000 images». And by faith there are, filling every inch of its walls, marcos, doors, eaves, hallways. On the seventh level, The eyes of the Buddha search everything towards the four cardinal points. A golden parasol crowns the building.
Etapa en Shigatse
Shigatse is the most important city after Lhasa, as it was traditionally the home of the Panchen Lama, the second religious authority in the country. his palace, el Tashilunpo, It's a reason to stop and explore.. Built in the middle of the 15th century, Its staircase structure gives it capital symbolism. It is relatively modest for its importance., and has been rebuilt several times over the centuries. The last, after the heartless nonsense carried out by the Chinese Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.
La modesta kora –go around the building– One hour long, it is the perfect ending to leave behind the Tibetan architectural wonders before immersing yourself in its landscape majesties..
Nomads from the Roof of the World
In the following hundreds of kilometers of road you will understand without words why this country has been called the Roof of the World. The Tibetan lands are at an average altitude of 4900 m. To the left of the vehicle is the Himalayan mountain range, that, with its snowy peaks like troll teeth, provides a backdrop that leaves you breathless.. To the right, the rolling lion-colored mountains that make up the Tibetan plateau. Endless expanses of grass, without a single tree, land suitable for livestock and practically sterile for agriculture. As far as the eye can see, a world only populated by nomadic shepherds who live apart from the 21st century and who are little or nothing affected by the day-to-day life of their country, rooted as they are in a way of life that has changed little in recent centuries.
A WALK ON THE TIBET PLATEAU
From time to time black tents of yak wool indicate the presence of shepherds. Just get off the vehicle and exchange a few smiles to be invited to a cup of Tibetan tea. –rather a consommé in which rancid yak butter has been diluted–. In the precarious conversation due to obvious mutual language limitations, One notes that these people are not only rich spiritually but also materially.. Each head of cattle is worth about a thousand dollars and the herd consists of several hundred head. They don't seem to care. They live as always, to the rhythm of the seasons, burnished by the high sun, eating modestly, wearing leather raincoats, sleeping on rugs, changing location when grass is scarce.
Rongbuk Monastery
Tours near 700 km from Lhasa, accompanied by dust that settles enthusiastically in every crevice of the vehicle, of luggage, of the people, The Friendship Expressway has a branch that deviates towards Rongbuk. you have to go.
Rongbuk is the highest altitude monastery in the world, a 4980 m, data for which it would be worth a trip. But, besides, It is located on the northern slope of Everest. The valley is so wide that it is said that a hundred people could walk holding hands and not be able to touch the bordering walls.. The vision of the highest peak on Earth is unrepeatable. Pioneering climbers such as George Mallory set out from here., and still a thousand mountaineers try to reach the summit every year. The sunsets are so moving that the cold is almost ignored.
This trip does not end at one end of the country but at the very center of the world. Upon reaching the narrow isthmus between lakes Manasarovar and Raksas Tal (the Sun and the Moon in Tibetan cosmogony), two liquid sapphires, a mountain will make us cry for its indescribable beauty. It is the Kailas (6.638 m). On its top, never trodden by human beings, Shiva sits, which has arrived by the stairs visible in the rock in the form of horizontal stripes. The Meru of the Hindus is Kang Rinpoche for the Tibetans (Beautiful Snow Jewel). The Sutlej rivers are born in this region, Carnal, Brahmaputra and Indus, that flow in the four directions of space.
Imitating the pilgrims who came from all over Tibet, You climb the narrow stone corridors that surround the universal axis with an emotion in your chest that almost makes it impossible to breathe.. Like nowhere else on the planet, you experience the sensation of traveling through an unreal world, where the gods give you their hand to overcome the slopes. With that help you leave behind a monastery, a cemetery, a round lake and many long waterfalls, putting forward his head like a chamois about to fight, although the fight is against the wind. Just once around the holy mountain, on a route that crowns the Dolma La pass (5636 m), the wayfarer escapes hell. Although you will discover that you have already been to heaven when you experience a twilight there.
