Tibet (Xizang), the Roof of the World, remained unknown to the world until the very beginning of the 20th century. Locked away in its Himalayan fortress, Tibet has long exercised a unique hold on the imagination of the West. The massive, snowy land has exerted an awesome draw to travelers and adventurers ever since. Its majestic and grand scenery, mysterious and exotic religious culture, and wonderful people reward every tourist with an indelible life long memory! Adventure on the road is never short on the beautiful Trans Himalayan drive, through mountain, passes, promising a panorama of a cultural and scenic diversity unsurpassable anywhere. It culminates on an arid plateau - a veritable treasure trove of architectural masterpieces. Its name the 'Roof of the World' is no idle statement.
The valley bottoms of Tibet are higher than the highest mountains elsewhere. Its snow-covered plateaus are the highest in the world. And apart from the Everest, which Tibetans see from 'the other side', many a mountain ranges are over 15000 feet.

Tibet its natural beauty, local people consisting mostly of the Tibetans, Monbans and Lhobans have cultivated very unique ethnic traditions, folklore and ways of life. Visiting Tibet at least once in a lifetime is a dream of most travelers.

In the past, it was very difficult to travel to Tibet, making this mysterious land almost closed to the outside world. People knew little about what really happened there. Now with better transportation, accommodation, medical facilities and less restrictions, travel to Tibet is no longer a dream only. All you need is a special permit which you can get very easily from us. As an experienced local travel agency based in Lhasa.

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People in Tibet
The majority of Tibet's population of 1,890,000 are Tibetans. Tibet is so thinly populated that it averages out 1.6 8 persons per square kilometers. About 90% of the people live on farming and husbandry. Farmers live in the valleys of Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra) and its major tributaries Kyichu and Nuuang-chu. this area produces barely, wheat, peas and rape-seed, the great northern grassland which occupies a good half of Tibet is the home of nomads, yaks and sheep. Nomads have no fixed abodes, and keep roaming along fine pasture together with all their belongings-tents and Livestock. The remaining population, approximately 10%, live in towns earning their living mainly On business and handicraft, and many are factory workers and government officials.

Ideology of people in this land differs greatly from any other nationality both at home in china and in the world. Religion seems almost everything. Many live for the next life, rather than for the present. They accumulate deeds of virtue and pray for the final liberation-enlightenment. Lips and hands of the elders are never at still, either busied in murmuring of the six syllable mantric prayer OM Ma Ni Pad Me Hum (Hail the Jewel in the Lotus) or in rotation of hand prayer wheels, or counting of the prayer beads. Pious pilgrims from every corner of Tibet day to day gather at jokhang Temple and bharkor Street offering donations and praying heart and soul for their own Selves, for their friends, and for their friends' friends.

Frequent visitors to Tibet can make out folks from different regions judging by costumes and dalects. Floks from agricultural regions dress in woolen home-woven gowns, and those from the grassland clad in sheepskin. men folk from chamdo wear huge tassels of black or red silk which were used in old days for protection in fight, while the Lhasa residents are more stylish and modrn. Dialects in tibetan are in variety, but mainly can be categorized into four: Lhasa., Tsang (Shigatse and Gyantse), Chamdo and Amdo.

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Religion in Tibet
Religion is very important to the Tibetans with everything being centered around it, along with education cultural was based on religious beliefs.

Article 7 of the 17-Article Agreement signed on May 23, 1951, includes the clause " the policy of freedom of religious belief laid down in the common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference shall be carried out. The religious beliefs, customs and habits of the Tibetan people shall be respected, and lama monasteries shall be protected.

Bon : The Tibetan people are very self respected and we can easily faith on him. Generally they known as very faithful people. The oldest religion is Bon, after that the Buddhism has been spread. This religion is a blend of the Bon and the Buddhism. Bon is the ancient religion of Tibet. It is difficult to distinguish between Tibetans who follow the tradition of Bon and those who adhere to Buddhism. Both share a common heritage, as well as popular religious practice such as chanting mantras, making offerings, and spinning prayer wheels. Monks receive training in astrology, medicine, poetry, and the making 0f religious objects. Bon monks are often called to laypersons homes to perform rituals on holy days, when there is illness, and when someone dies.

Buddhism : Probably Buddhism was first introduced to Tibet in 173 CE during the region of the 28th Yarlung King Thothori, but had apparently no impact. The first official historic introduction of a Buddhist scripture into Tibet happened during reign of a King Hlato. Buddhism revived, with the help of King Yeshe O. A real revival occurred after 1042, when Atisha-di-Pankhara pur Tibetans "Back on the right Track". He presented the Buddhist philosophy in a very clear and condensed manner, which became the basis for philosophical teachings in most Tibetans traditions. Buddhism is still prevent in Tibet and the temples and monasteries that were destroyed are rebuilt. The Chinese government still has a strong hold on religious practices, including placing a limit on the number of religious buildings.

Lama's : They are the teachers of Buddhism. Lama's play an important role in Tibetan Buddhism. Lama teach all the monks. The Lama is the one that takes care that the system of Buddhism will continue to work. In 1578 the Lama Sonam received the title of Ta-Le (Dalai) from the Mongolian ruler Atlan khan. Because he wad the third reincarnation found in a row he became the third Dalai Lama.

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History in Tibet
Tibetan history can be traced thousands of years back. However, the written history only dates back to the 7th century when Songtsan Gampo, the 33rd Tibetan king, sent his minister Sambhota to India to study Sanskrit who on his return invented the present Tibetan script based on Sanskrit.
Tibet's history can be divided into four period:

1. The Tsanpo's Period
This period starts from Nyatri Tsanpo, the first of the Tsanpos, in 127 B.C (historians differ in view of the date, but this date is taken from the White Annales, a reliable book on Tibetan history) and ends in 842 A.D. at the death of Lang Dharma, the last of the Tsanpos, who was assassinated by a Buddhist monk owing to Lang Dharma's ruthless persecution of Buddhism. During this period some 42 Tsanpos had ruled over Tibet among which Songtsan Gampo's rule was considered as the zenith. Songtsan Gamoi was an outstanding ruler, he unified Tibet, changed his capital to Lhasa, sent Sambhota to India to study Sanskrit and promulaged a script for the Tibetan on the latter's arrival to Tibet, married Princess Wencheng of the tang Court and Pricess Bhrikuti Debi of Nepal, built the Potala and the temple and the temple of Jokhang

2. The period of Decentrailzation
This period began in 842 A.D. the year of Lang Dharma's assassination, and ended in about 1260 A.D, when Pagpa, the Abbot of Sakya monastery, became a vassal of Kublai Khan, the first Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. During this period a little is known in history except that Tibet became decentralized into a number of petty principalities.

3. The period of Sakya, Pagdu, and Karmapa's Rule
This period began with Sakya's rule over Tibet, followed first by Pagdu's rule in Lhaoka and then by Karmara's rule in the Tsang region (Shigatse). The sakya period was the time whten tbiet officially became an inseparable part of China.

This period lasted from 1260 A.D to 1642 A.D during which political powers centered in the three regions of Sakya, Pagdu, and tsang successively ruled over Tibet.

4. The period of the Gandan Podrang's Administration
This period is the period in which the Dalai Lama ruled Tibet. It started in 1642 A.D. when the 5th Dalai Lama overtook the ruling power from the Tsang ruler. It basically ended in 1951 when Tibet was liberated and came to a complete end in 1959 when rebellion led by the Dalai Lama was pacified and the People's Government of the Tibet, Autonomous Region was set up.