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Tibet - Top of the World, the most mystical
and fascinating Destination
Tibet is a most unusual and beautiful land. The
majority of this land rests above 4000 meters
(13,000 feet) and is partially surrounded by
mountain ranges. The awe-inspiring Himalayas are
the highest in the world, as is the never ending
Tibetan plateau. Tibet is a place for the rugged
adventurer as well as the spiritual wanderer. A
land that is held back in time and houses many
secrets. Nomads remain much the same as they did
one hundred years ago. Then, there are the
monasteries which are striving to find a place
in a country that's crashing into the twentieth
century.
The Tibetan people and their religion have been
inseparable. Even in their earliest myths one
finds references to the Tibetan's religious
beliefs. Originally, the Bon religion dominated
Tibet. After the introduction of Buddhist
statues and later sanskrit documents from India,
Buddhism crept increasingly into the Tibetan
culture. Tibetan Buddhism is the culmination of
some early Bon beliefs, Indian Buddhist texts
and several great lamas. Buddhism and politics
had been interwoven since King Songsten Gampo
married a Chinese and a Nepali princess, who
were both intergral in the emergence of
Buddhism. It was the Fifth Dalai Lama who
actually built the Potala Palace as the
government seat and a religious center. A
theocracy had prevailed until 1951.
After centuries of virtual isolation Tibet is
cautiously opening up to the western world.
Officially, China has only opened the doors for
travelers these past few years. A visit to Tibet
is a marvelous experience, although it is not
for the faint-hearted. The traveling is
difficult, adventurous, and unpredictable. The
infrastructure is poor to non-existent, making a
simple road trip a complete adventure. Traveling
in Tibet is not a simple trip but an experience
of a lifetime which we invite you to take with
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