May232023
The magnificent Potala, a World Heritage Site and the highest palace in the world, was the winter home of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959. Located in Lhasa, Tibet, today it’s a museum with more than 1,000 rooms and 10,000 painted scrolls.

By Donnie Sexton

Photography By Donnie Sexton

I was born with a wanderlust that after finishing college drew me to countries like Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. To satisfy that yearning I signed up for an epic road trip in 1999 across the Roof of the World via the Friendship Highway. This 800-mile route from Lhasa, Tibet, to Kathmandu, Nepal, had a side trip to the base camp of Mt. Everest’s north side. It was unbelievable to me that I could be standing in the shadow of the world’s tallest mountain with relatively little physical exertion on my part, save for enduring a rough road trip. At that time, China was slowly tightening its hold over Tibet. The journey left an indelible impression that came to mind repeatedly over the years.

Twenty years later, I returned, anxious to see if the otherworldly Tibet I had come to love still existed. I discovered that China had put its stamp on Tibet, making it into an autonomous region. While Lhasa’s historic center remained, the city’s outskirts were covered by endless blocks of high-rise buildings, many empty, presumably to be used as housing. The Friendship highway no longer was a rutted ribbon of gravel. It now was a well-maintained asphalt road up to the border with Nepal. Transmission lines crisscrossed the landscape. The views of Mt. Everest hadn’t changed, but where we had pitched a few small tents on my first visit, there was now a sea of oversized black shelters used for travelers spending the night. The windswept, treeless Tibetan plateau surrounded by massive mountain ranges remained as I remembered. But that simple and sheltered Tibetan life was slowly transitioning into a modern-day world devoid of uniqueness. Life marches on for better or worse.

The magnificent Potala, a World Heritage Site and the highest palace in the world, was the winter home of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959. Located in Lhasa, Tibet, today it’s a museum with more than 1,000 rooms and 10,000 painted scrolls.
When traveling across the Roof of the World, it’s best to acclimatize for 2-3 days in Lhasa, one of the highest cities in the world at 11,995 ft. There is no shortage of Buddhist sites and experiences within Lhasa to keep one busy.
The Jokhang Monastery, located in the center of Lhasa, is considered the most sacred temple in Tibet and has stood strong for 1400 years. Day and night, you can find devoted Buddhists in front of Jokhang prostrating themselves, spinning prayer wheels, chanting mantras, and counting their rosary beads.
The Canggu Nunnery, the only Buddhist nunnery in Lhasa, is tucked into a hidden area near the city’s center. Every day from 8 am to 6 pm, the nuns chant and study. Believers bring their chanting needs, such as prayers for their families’ health and prosperity.
Yamdrok Lake, roughly two hours from Lhasa on the Friendship Highway, is one of the three sacred lakes in Tibet and is regarded as the most beautiful. It is said that if its waters dry, Tibet will no longer be habitable.
Along the Friendship Highway, travelers will come across enterprising locals offering “photo stops” where you can have your photo taken with over-friendly Tibetan mastiffs for a small fee. These giant dogs are known for slobbering!
The Friendship Highway, one of the highest roads in the world, is also known as the China-Nepal Highway. The road climbs over three passes above 16,400 feet and sees the most traffic of any road in Tibet.
At Gyatso la Pass, thousands of prayer flags flutter in the ever-present wind. Guides typically carry a bundle of flags and distribute them to the group so everyone can add a flag with their prayer or blessing if they wish.
The Karola Glacier, one of Tibet's three major continental glaciers, is easily seen from the Friendship Highway. The pullout to view the glacier makes for a very scenic pit stop, especially with the stupa and prayer flags framing the glacier from the viewing stand.
In Gyantse, one of the cities on the Friendship Highway, there are historic side streets with whitewashed houses nestled into dirt roads. Towering above the city is Gyantse Dzong (fortress) built in 1390.
Across the Tibetan plateau, there is limited land suitable for growing crops, so livestock, mainly yaks, sheep, and goats, become the mainstay for survival in the rural areas of Tibet. Nomadic farmers continually move the herds as needed to greener pastures, sometimes causing traffic jams.
At various points along the Friendship Highway, travelers can catch a glimpse of Mt. Everest. A Chinese mountaineering team was the first to reach Everest from the Tibetan north ridge on May 25, 1960.
At the junction where the Friendship Highway detours to Everest Base Camp (EBC), all travelers must board one of the eco-friendly buses for the 25-minute ride up to EBC, also the site of the Rongbuk Monastery, which sits at 16,434 ft. above sea level.
The Tibetan name for the world’s tallest mountain is Chomolungma, which means “Mother Goddess of the World.” Visitors are free to wander around EBC, although the altitude can make breathing challenging along with ferocious winds.
It’s possible to spend the night at Everest’s base camp in tents furnished with plenty of heavy quilts, as the temperatures get very chilly as the sun goes down. Expect a simple dinner of rice or noodles as part of the experience.
The Friendship Highway extends into Nepal, following the Araniko highway for another 70 miles to Kathmandu. It can take up to nine hours to reach Nepal’s capital due to deplorable road conditions, a result of a 2015 earthquake.
The landscape changes dramatically from the treeless, arid Tibetan plateau as you head down into the lush green valleys in Nepal. The highway follows narrow valleys where small villages cling to the hillsides.
Swayambhunath Temple is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal and a must-see for visitors to Kathmandu. The Temple towers over the city and is often called the Monkey Temple for the abundance of monkeys, considered sacred, that live there.
Cold and remote, Mt. Everest looks down on the world from an altitude of 29,072-ft. Its increased accessibility has not reduced its majesty or power to kill in the blink of an eye.
Category: Photo Essays