Lhasa City Overview

The meaning of Lhasa city in the Tibetan language means \"holy city\". Dating back to the 7^th   century, the capital of Tibet was transferred from Yarlung to Lhasa by king Songtsen. And this city remains the capital city of Tibet to the date. Located at the south central part of the Tibet Autonomous region Lhasa is at the altitude of 3500 m above the sea level. This place is the centre of political, cultural and religious activities in Tibet. Lhasa also has the few of the marvelous architectural piece to boast of, like Potala palace and Jokhang Temple. Home to 31 different communities, Lhasa can be both exciting as well as exhausting place at once with its calm corners to the bustling and busy market. Reaching Lhasa is quite a challenging trip with its bizarre terrain and extreme altitude location but once you set your foot in this place you will feel all the challenge was worth it.
Lhasa is a tremendously beautiful place but one who is visiting to this place must be able and ready to meet its challenges. Most challenging factor of this city is its climate and temperature. You will be amazed how much the temperature varies in this place. Due to its altitude the air is very thin here, and the thin air neither can block the hot solar radiation nor can hold the warmth of the sun. As a result the day temperature is very high and nights get very cold. It is advices to the tourist visiting Lhasa to bring along layered cloths with them so you can put them on when you are cold and take the off when it’s hot. This city has everything a visitor intends to find and can keep you busy all day long. This place is gifted with natural beauty and Tibetan people have built a lot of temples, monasteries and other amazing places in the past so you can go for sightseeing, go for shopping in the street shop and can get involved in many other activities.
There are numerous was to get in to Lhasa. One is to fly in to Lhasa. Lhasa Gonggar Airport is about 97 Km away from the Lhasa city and minibuses can take you in to the city from the airport. Another way to get in to Lhasa is by train. Tibet railways have started from 1st of July, 2006 and it gives travelers to explore many fantasies yet unseen in Tibetan land. From the airport the road linkage to city is very good regular bus services are available. You can get a bus to every city of Tibet from the junction of Minzu road. Within the city getting around in a minibus is the best option. Or you can go for a taxi or a manually powered tricycle commonly found in Lhasa.
One of the best features of Lhasa is that it has to offer something to everyone. While the kids can go for the toys and colorful items found in the market, thoughtful elder people can go through the book stores and enchanting monumental sites. Potala palace situated at the hill top is in everybody’s wish list to visit. A semi hike to the palace is an unforgettable experience. Though climate here is fit to travel all year around but Lhasa will be its best from June to August, when the average temperature will be around 80 degree F.