Tibet, or formerly Thibet, is a plateau region located north of the Himalayas traditionally inhabited by Tibetans and other ethnic groups (Monbas, Qiang and Lhobas) and also including a significant population of Han and Hui. Tibet is the highest inhabited plateau on the planet, with an average altitude of 4,900 m. Under the name “Historical Tibet”, this area, claimed by the Tibetan government in exile, is composed of three traditional regions: Ü-Tsang, the largest part of whose territory is included in the Tibet Autonomous Region; Amdo, split between the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan; Kham, whose territory is shared between the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan and the Tibet Autonomous Region). The area of Tibet varies from 1,221,600 km2 for the Tibet Autonomous Region to 2,500,000 km2 for “Historical Tibet” or “Greater Tibet”. The historical capital, which traditionally concentrates the religious and temporal authority of Tibet, is Lhasa.
Lhasa
Lhasa or Rasa in the pre-Buddhist period, is a prefecture-level city, capital of Tibet. Capital of the kingdom of Tibet from the 7th century, then of Ü-Tsang from the era of fragmentation, Lhasa was the seat of government of Ganden Phodrang under the reign both religious of the 5th Dalai Lama and temporal of the Mongol Güshi Khan under the Qoshot Khanate, then under the tutelage of the Qing dynasty and finally under the de facto independent Tibet of the 13th Dalai Lama in the 20th century. The city developed at the foot of Mount Gephel.
Everest Base Camp
The base camp is located at an altitude of 5,200 meters above sea level.
The Lakes
The Kora of Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash, also called Gang Rinpoche in Tibetan, is a mountain peaking at an altitude of 6,638 meters and part of the Gangdise or Transhimalaya range. It is located near Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal. The 52 km circumambulation around Mount Kailash (kora) is one of the most important pilgrimages in Asia.
The word Kailâsa means “crystal” in Sanskrit. Tibetans call it Gang Rimpoche or Kang Ripoche, which means the “precious jewel of the snows” and Jains, Ashtapada. It is also called Tise. Religious symbolism
For Hinduism the summit of Kailâsa is considered the home of Shiva and his shakti Pârvatî, literally “daughter of the mountain”, which explains its sacred character for Hindus who also see it as a lingam accompanied by the yoni symbolized by Lake Manasarovar.
Tibetan Buddhists consider this mountain as the home of Demchog and his consort Dorje Phangmo, symbolizing the union of male and female forces.
In the Jain tradition, it is on Mount Kailash that Rishabhanatha, the first master of Jainism, the first of the 24 Tirthankara, attained moksha, enlightenment.
In the Bon religion, Mount Kailash is likened to Mount Yungdrung Gutseg, the “pyramid of nine swastikas”, to the south of which the master Tonpa Shenrab was born.
Pilgrimage
Mount Kailash has been a religious sanctuary since time immemorial and one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists, Bonpos, Hindus, and Jains. The goal of pilgrims is to complete the circuit (circumambulation, kora, parikrama) of the sacred mountain. Buddhists and Hindus circle the mountain (52 kilometers) in a clockwise direction, Bonpos and Jains in the opposite direction. This pilgrimage is usually completed in three days on foot, however some Tibetan Buddhists complete it in a single day. The most pious pilgrims, who prostrate themselves with their entire body every three steps, take about a month to complete it. Some, especially Indians, make the pilgrimage on horseback. For Buddhists, one complete tour allows one to erase all the sins of a lifetime, 108 allows one to attain nirvana in this life.
The Monasteries
The Tibetans
Tibetans, or formerly Tibhetans, are one of the native peoples of Tibet. The term can also be used to refer to any inhabitant of Tibet, regardless of their origins. The total Tibetan population is approximately 8.5 million, of which 6.3 million live in China, where Tibetans are one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. Outside China, there are approximately 2 million Tibetans in native Tibetan communities in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan, as well as a population of approximately 150,000 to 200,000 refugees living mainly in neighboring countries (India, Nepal, Bhutan) as well as in Europe and North America. According to the latest census, the Tibetan ethnic minority is estimated to number 2,716,400, or 91% of the total population in the autonomous region alone. Most Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism, a branch of Vajrayana Buddhism, while a minority adhere to the indigenous Bön religion, and there are also small Muslim and Christian communities. Tibetans have the physiological particularity of being very resistant to life in high mountains. This is due to a genetic mutation that appeared about 8,000 years ago in Tibet. Today, this mutation is found in nearly 90% of Tibetans, while it is rare in the rest of the world’s population, including other ethnic groups in the Himalayas. This mutation makes them particularly resistant to altitude sickness. Bön was the traditional religion of the Tibetans, until Buddhism was introduced in the 7th century, under the reign of the founder of the Tibetan Empire, Songtsen Gampo (609~613 — 650). It is a totemistic religion.