You are so high up, that landing almost seems a contradiction. You struggle to find your breath, and activities that back home are easy to do, take a bit more effort. It is not that you cannot do them, you simple have to approach them with more reverence. You feel in your body, that you have entered a sacred land, where everything appears to have more weight to it. You get a free day to acclimatise, and you intend to make the most out of it. The pilgrim’s road of Barkhor is your first glimpse of the deep spiritual life of Tibet. You walk along the pilgrims where the sight of the prayer wheels turning, and the sound of the sutras move you to profound thoughts. In truth, no one comes to Tibet, who is not searching for something.
Potala Palace is imposing, with its white, towering walls, and its sacred prayer halls. It is a place full of history and as you walk through its hallways, you are confronted with the rich and unique Tibetan architecture. How to reconcile the spiritual with the many lovely and colourful things they have built? The key seems to be harmony. Jokhang temple is the most sacred in Tibet. As you see the people in deep prayer and worship, you are shaken with the power of the place. It is true that there is a spiritual force at work in Lhasa.
There are many smaller temples and monasteries in the vicinity of Lhasa. Sera Monastery, for example, also acts as a university, where Tibetan culture, language and history are taught and preserved. Here, you learn about the Tibetan art of Thangka, and the beautiful designs entrance you with their beauty. Pabongka Monastery stands on top of a rock, and it is filled with a mystical magnetism that you fail to describe with words.
In Tibet, the mountains and the lakes are just as sacred as the temples and monasteries. As you travel to the city of Gyantse, you experience the unapologetic hugeness of the landscape. The turquoise waters of Yamdrok Lake are surrounded by snow covered peaks. These are all giants. But you do not feel diminished, on the contrary, the overall feeling is one of connection.
In and near Gyantse, you visit historical and sacred monasteries, where you deepen your understanding of Tibetan culture and many of the aspects of Mahayana Buddhism. This is no simple tour of the temples. You spend time with the monks and share in their culture. The adornments in the temples, the richness of the artwork, the colourful prayer flags are there for a reason. It comes to you as an epiphany: they are there to help the mind focus.
The feeling of connectedness with the land becomes stronger as you near the Base Camp of Mount Everest. Hiking at this altitude is no mean feat. But by now, you are acclimatised and there is a deeper purpose that guides you. The road to the camp is full of the scars of history and time. Ancient trade routes, abandoned forts and monasteries. Finally, in the shadow of the giants, you comprehend the immensity of the World. In this high place, you realise that your journey has just begun.
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