We have selected some pretty nice pieces of music from the Himalayan Region for you. There will be frequent update, hope you enjoy.
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Over 130 m high above the vallay floor as a land mark could be seen miles around. A stronghold existed on R. Hill as easrly as 7th C. AD. The present Potala was built in Fifth Dalai lama reign between 1645-1693, being winter palace in 1755 when the 7th Dalai made Norbulingka summer one, with 1000 rooms. Today the Potala is a state museum with 35 momks. One small yellow portion is between white and Red palace. The first white Palace was built in the lifetime of the 5th Dalai lama, then extended to the present size by 13th Dalai lama in early 20th century. The fifth Dalai moved to it from Drepung in 1650.
The red palace's function was religious and the white palace was for secular uses. 13 storey's high (117m) 400m east-west 350 m north-south. Potala palace was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
2. Drepung Monastery
It means "Rice Heap" or "Results Heap", located on the mountain side of Gyengbkuwudze Mt. where also housed Nechung Monastery, the state oracle. As one of "Three Great Monasteries' in Lhasa, Drepond Monastery,is known as the most important monastery of Gelugpa in Tibetan Lamaism. The most important event of Shoton Festival of Giant Buddha Show is held here every early August. Drepung was founded in 1416 by a disciple of Tsong Khapa the founder of Gelugpa lamaism. The fifth Dalai enlarged it. At its height Drepung had over 10,000 monks. It governed 700 subsidiary monasteries. In 1959, it had 6,000 monks there now has 400 monks.
3. Norbulungka
Jewel park so called and summer palace of Dalai lama now is People's Park, palaces, pavilions, a zoo, gardens and woods covering 40 hectares. The 7th Dalai lama put up the first summer palace in 1755 and each successive ruler added his own buildings.Since the time of the Eighth Dalai lama, it has been used as a summer residence retreat and recreation area for the successive Dalai lamas. 14th Dalai built a new palace in the 1954. Old summer palace, Kasong Temple-contains one of the finest collections of thangkas, 70 hanging thangkas depict mandalas, Buddha life series, a herbal pharmacopolia a bestiary, etc. One wall displays 98 jewelled brocaded Bodhisattvas and Taras in glass cases and the Dalai lama's throne.
4. Sera Monastery
There are 300 monks there. It's built in 1419 by Shakya yeshe, disciple of Tsong Khapa,(1352-1435) started building in 1419. It's also one of "Three Great Monasteries" in Lhasa as a center of learning and monastic training to which monks from all corners of Tibet would come to spend as long as 15 to 20 years methedically studing and debating the meaning of the Buddhist Scriptures.
5. Jokhang lamasery
Built in 647, it has more than 1,300 years history. Jokhang,
also called the Qokang,[citation needed] Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Tsuklakang (gTsug lag khang) , is the first Buddhist temple in Tibet, located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. It was built during the reign of king Songsten Gampo (605?-650 CE) to celebrate his marriage with Chinese Tang Dynasty princess Wencheng, who was a Buddhist. The temple was called the Tsulag Khang or "House of Wisdom", but it is now known as the Jokhang which means the "House of the Buddha" For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pansectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelugpa school.
Along with the Potala Palace, it is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Lhasa. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace" and a spiritual centre of Lhasa.
6. Tashilhunpo Monastery
"Heap of Glory" was the seat of the Panchen lama. It sprawls on the slope of Mt. Niser, 4 & 5 KM south west of Shigatse and founded in 1447, by Tsong khapa's youngest disciple-Gendunzhuba(1st Dalai lama), who was his nephew and the main organiser of the yellow hat sect. It had over 4,000 monks. Now there are 610 monks there.
7. Mt. Kailash
Mt. Kailash, located in Burang county Nagri area Tibet, the main peak of Gangdise mountains reaches only 6656 m. But it has the special holy position among the so many mountains in Tibetan plateau. This peak and the lake Manasarover are worshiped by pilgrims from Buddhism, Ben religion, Hinduism and Jainism. So there are lot of worshipers from China, India, Nepal and other parts of the world coming for cycle hiking around the Holy mountain and lake.
8. Holy Lake Namtso
Namtso (Heavenly Lake/Namucuo), is the highest salt water lake in the world, situated at an elevation of 4,718 meters (15,479 ft.) above sea level. The clear, sapphire blue waters, encircled by snow-capped mountains make the scenery even more breathtaking than the altitude. Covering a total area of 1,900 km2, the Nam-tso Lake is one of Tibet's holy four lakes, making it a necessary destination for pilgrims and tourists alike. Prayer flags and Muni rock carvings abound, evidence of the lake's importance in Tibetan culture. The lakeshore has several peninsulas which provide an excellent opportunity for exploration. In particular, the Zhaxi Peninsula features some unusual rock formations, pinnacles, grottoes and caverns. Some interesting cave paintings can be seen in various grottoes and if you're lucky you might bump into a Tibetan lama who has taken up temporary residence in one. There are also resident monks at Tashi Dor Monastery, located on one of the peninsulas.
9. Mt. Everest base camp
Mount Everest – also called Sagarmatha (Nepali), Chomolungma or Qomolangma (Tibetan) or Zhumulangma (Chinese ) – is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height above sea level of its summit, 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China.
In 1856, the Great Trigonometric Survey of India established the first published height of Everest, then known as Peak XV, at 29,002 ft (8,840 m). In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India at the time. Chomolungma had been in common use by Tibetans for centuries, but Waugh was unable to propose an established local name because Nepal and Tibet were closed to foreigners.
The highest mountain in the world attracts climbers of all levels, from well experienced mountaineers to novice climbers willing to pay substantial sums to professional mountain guides to complete a successful climb. The mountain, while not posing substantial technical climbing difficulty on the standard route (other eight-thousanders such as K2 or Nanga Parbat are much more difficult), still has many inherent dangers such as altitude sickness, weather and wind. By the end of the 2008 climbing season, there had been 4,102 ascents to the summit by about 2,700 individuals.Climbers are a significant source of tourist revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to US$25,000 per person.Everest has claimed 210 lives, including eight who perished during a 1996 storm high on the mountain. Conditions are so difficult in the death zone that most corpses have been left where they fell. Some of them are visible from standard climbing routes.
10. Samye Monastery
The first monastery in Tibet is located north of the Yarlong Tsongpo river about 30 KM from Tsedong(Lukha area) as the crow flie. It was founded in 779 by Trisong Detsen, Tibet's second Religious King after he had invited prominent Buddhists to Tibet from India, the most famous of whom were Padmasambhava, the magician - saint.
