Norbulingka

Background

Norbulingka stands on the Lhasa River in Chengguan District, two to three kilometres west of the Potala Palace. The gardens were begun in the mid-18th century under the 7th Dalai Lama, who built the earliest palace, the Kelsang Phodrang; later Dalai Lamas kept enlarging it, adding the Golden Phodrang in 1922 and the Takten Migyur Phodrang, known as the "New Palace", in 1954, which brought it to its present extent. The Potala was the winter palace, and Norbulingka the summer residence. Highlights include the murals on the upper floor of the Kelsang Phodrang telling the stories of Songtsen Gampo and other Tibetan emperors, the murals of the Golden Phodrang devoted mainly to the lives and portraits of religious figures, the 301 murals on the upper floor of the New Palace, and the Tsokyil Phodrang (Lake Palace), built in the middle of a lake with stone bridges on either side. In 2001 Norbulingka was inscribed on the World Heritage List as an extension of the Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa.

Local customs

Follow the tree-lined paths from palace to palace to see the murals, rest by the Lake Palace, and during the Shoton Festival watch Tibetan opera and soak up the festive mood of Lhasa families picnicking under the trees.

Travel tips

• Allow about two hours, and protect yourself from the sun in summer. Lhasa is at about 3,650 metres, so take it slowly when you first arrive. Tickets and opening hours follow the official notice.
• You can get there by city bus or taxi, or walk or cycle from the Potala area. The gardens are at their lushest from June to September
• the Shoton Festival falls in the seventh Tibetan month, roughly July or August
• winter brings fewer visitors and quiet gardens.