Potala Palace

THE world’s highest palace is the Potala Palace. It is perched on the Red Hill in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

The 13-storeyed white and red palace stands magnificently at an altitude of 3700 m, in a sprawling complex of 3,60,000 sq m. It has a maze of 1000 chambers and thousands of shrines and statues. The palace abounds in wall paintings which depict the history of Tibet through the ages. It has statues of snow lions guarding the entrance.

The palace is a model of Tibetan architecture. It is said that so much earth was dug out from behind the hill for the construction that a deep crater was formed. It later turned into a lake which was named the dragon king pool.

The palace has alluring gold canopies and two turrets on either ends, called the wings of Potala. It is believed that they will lift the palace in the event of a flood.

The palace was built in the 7th century by King Songtsan Gampo for his bride Wencheng, a famous Chinese princess. It was damaged, first by lightning and then by wars, and was rebuilt in the 17th century by the fifth Dalai Lama. It is now the official winter residence of the Dalai Lama. It houses the mausoleums of the Dalai Lamas and is sacred to Tibetans.

Named after the mythical holy mountain Potala of South India, it is one of the greatest monuments of Tibet and a World Heritage site.

It has now been converted into a museum. Do You Know?

The Leh Palace in Ladakh which was built in the 17th century was modelled on the Potala Palace.