☰Potala Palace

The Potala Palace dominates the Lhasa skyline from its hilltop perch — thirteen storeys and over a thousand rooms rising in white and ochre tiers above the valley. It was the winter residence of the Dalai Lama from the 17th century until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959. Construction of the present structure began during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1645 and took more than fifty years to complete. The Red Palace at the centre contains the gilded funeral stupas of eight Dalai Lamas. Visitor numbers are limited and time inside is restricted, so arrive early.