UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Tibet

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places listed by UNESCO for having cultural significance. As of 2016, the UNESCO Website lists 1031 sites around the world, three of which are found in Lhasa. A fourth one found in Amdo Tibet is Jiuzhaigou National Park which will be featured below soon.

To view a map of Tibet and an introduction to the three main Tibetan regions, visit our page on Tibet Travel Essentials.


Norbulingka Summer Palace

Located on the western edge of Lhasa at the bank of River Kyichu and just a kilometer from the famous Potala Palace, Norbulingka Palace (ནོར་བུ་གླིང་ག) offers the best landscapes in the region. Spread over an area of 360,000 square meters, Norbulingka features the summer palaces of the Dalai Lamas with …

Jokhang Temple

Standing four stories tall, spread over an area of about 25,000 square meters in the heart of Lhasa, the UNESCO World Heritage Jokhang Temple (ཇོ་ཁང་།) with its golden roof is an esoteric blend of local Tibetan elements with Nepalese, Chinese, and Indian influences. The spinning of prayer wheels, murmur of …

Potala Palace

Potala Palace, Lhasa.

Located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, one can find the famous Potala Palace(  ཕོ་བྲང་པོ་ཏ་ལ། ). As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this remarkable set of buildings is visited by thousands of tourists daily. “Potala” itself comes from the Hindi name of a mountain in Southern India, while in Sanskrit it …