Lhasa - Potala Palace - K Elter photo
It is a very good idea to travel with a Chinese-speaking friend or guide. Or Tibetan, of course. You won’t get far with just English and European languages.
The bus journey is very challenging, but there is so much to see along the way, it’s worth the suffering. You need to be prepared for sickness, an upset stomach, headaches, etc., so it’s worth packing the right medications.”
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“I have spoken to many travelers in recent years who, while showing great interest in Tibet, are reluctant to visit this Chinese-occupied territory in order not to endorse Chinese rule, and to show solidarity with Tibet. I have no position on this, but the fact is that Tibet is under Chinese rule, and I would wager a fairly large sum of money so that the relationship between China and Tibet will not change in the future. So anyone who decides not to visit Tibet for political reasons and will not let go of this view will probably never get a chance. Of course, everyone has the right to decide in their own hearts how they approach this issue.” (2018)
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“Tibetans are amazing. When I think of Tibetans, it’s always the monastic village that comes to mind. I expected them to be very aloof, but on the contrary, everyone was very open and kind and kept smiling at us. Nothing like that ever happened in China, although in the big cities of China they may have become accustomed to the sight of Westerners.
They barely had anything, but they gave us lots of presents and shared their food with us. Yarchen Gar is divided into two parts. Male monks live in one half and the women live in the other, and there is no gateway between them. As a visitor, of course, we were able to move from one place to another, and on the women’s side, we went into a building where kids were studying upstairs. I went upstairs and from the reactions, I had the impression that they had never seen a Westerner in their lives.” (2017)
“What was most very stressful about traveling in Tibet was the bus ride. There are no properly built roads, so our bus kept shaking and rattling, and more than once I felt very bad, with headaches and nausea. We traveled by bus for nine hours, then drove for another three. (2018)
Tibet - landscape with a road - K Elter's photo
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Tibet - Yak steak in a restaurant - K Elter's photo
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Tibet - Prayer wheels - K Elter's photo
Tibet Travel Permit (TTP)
“Tibet is closed in early spring because it is a fairly sensitive period of the year, with a high probability of protests and conflicts, so they do not allow foreign tourists to enter during that time. Most travel agencies already make allowances for this and do not even organize trips for foreign tourists during this period. (m.a., 2019)
Tibet - Gyanse - Yak dung patches kept for the oven and the heating used in the wintertime - K Elter's photo
Population (in 2021): 3.6. million (???)
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Tibet - Glacier with a Chorten (stupa) - K Elter's photo
Tibet - Himalayan landscape - K Elter's photo
Tibet - Mount Everest - K Elter photo
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Tibet - The main square of Lhasa - K Elter photo
Tibet - monastery hallway - K Elter photo
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Tibet - Lhasa - The whirl of the Barkhor - K. Elter's photo
Tibet - street lunch - K Elter photo
Tibet - round midday - K Elter's photo
Tibet - K Elter photo
Tibet - K Elter photo
Tibet - portrait - K Elter's photo
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Tibet - The elder lady has offered me that unidentified drink and it was not appropriate to refuse it. - K Elter's photo
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Tibet - Butcher shop in the center of Lhasa. Yak meat is consumed in dried, salted, smoked, etc. form - v.n. photo
Monasteries
Tibet - Tashilhunpo Monastery Shigatse with the 10th Panchen Lama' s shrine - K. Elter's photo
Tibet - Lhasa - The chapel of the Drepung Monastery - K Elter's photo
Tibet - Tasilhumpo in Shigatse - The main building of the monastery - K Elter's photo
Tibet -The floors of the Tashilhumpo monastery in Shigatse - K Elter's photo
Monasteries
Monasteries
Lhasa - Jokhang Temple
Tibet - Lhasa - Jokhang Temple - K Elter's photo
Tibet - Lhasa -Jokhang Temple - K Elter's photo
Lhasa - Windows of the Jokhang Temple - K Elter's photo
Lhasa - Tibetans prostrating in front of the Jokhang Temple - K Elter's photo
Lhasa - Jokhang Temple - K Elter's photo
Lhasa - Jokhang Temple - K Elter's photo
Lhasa - Jokhang Temple
Lhasa - Jokhang Temple - K Elter's photo
Lhasa
Lhasa - Norbulingka Monastery, the Summer Residence of the Dalai Lama - K. Elter's photo
Tibet - Lhasa - Main square - Prayer flag pole - K Elter's photo
Lhasa - Potala Palace in the background - K Elter's photo
Potala Palace
Tibet - Stairs leading to the Potala Palace - K Elter's photo
Tibet - Potala - The highest part of the palace - K Elter's photo
Tibet - The courtyard of the Potala Palace - K Elter's photo
Gyantse Dzong
Tibet - Gyantse Dzong - A castle in Gyantse - K Elter's photo
Tibet - Giantse - A side of the Kumbum Stupa - K Elter's photo
Gyantse town
Tibet - Houses in Gyance - K Elter's photo