The Lalu Wetlands are an unlikely thing to find inside a city — a 12-square-kilometre marshland in the northwest of Lhasa, fed by springs from the surrounding hills. At 3,650 metres they are among the highest urban wetlands in the world and serve as a stopover for cranes, bar-headed geese and black-necked storks on their Himalayan migrations.
A boardwalk runs through part of the reserve, allowing a flat hour's walk through reedbeds with the Potala visible in the distance. The wetlands are at their best in autumn, when migratory birds peak and the grasses turn copper. Bring binoculars if you have them. A small entrance fee is collected at the eastern gate.