Potala Palace

Former winter palace of the Dalai Lamas (founded 7th century, current structure 17th century). 1,000+ rooms, 13-storey palace on a 130m hill in central Lhasa. UNESCO-listed.

The Potala Palace, the former winter residence of the Dalai Lamas until the 14th's exile in 1959, is one of the most identifiable structures in Asia. The current 13-storey complex, with around 1,000 rooms, was begun in 1645 by the Fifth Dalai Lama on the foundations of an earlier 7th-century palace. The Red Palace (the upper, central, religious section) holds reliquary stupas of the past Dalai Lamas. The White Palace (lower, secular) was the administrative seat. UNESCO-listed since 1994.

Visits are tightly managed: the daily visitor cap is around 4,000, and time inside is limited to one hour — enough to walk a fixed route through the major halls. The Tibet Travel Permit is required to be in Lhasa at all; a separate Potala ticket is required to enter, and ticket allocation runs through the agency you arrange your trip with.