Jokhang Temple

Located on Barkhor Square this 1300-year old golden roofed building at the center of the Barkhor market area is the spiritual heart of both the city and of the Tibetan world.

The Jokhang temple is a four-story construction with an area of 25,100 square meters (about six acres). It is the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Pilgrims and it the most sacred and active of Tibetan temples. It was founded by Queen Bhrikuti, King Songtsen Gampo’s Nepalese wife and is built on a site chosen by his other wife Wen Cheng - a Tang dynasty Chinese princess. The outer courtyard and porch of the temple are usually filled with pilgrims making full-length prostration towards the holy sanctum. Inside there is a labyrinth of shrines, halls and galleries which are dimly lit by butter lamps and bustling with pilgrims and incense smoke. This temple houses some of the finest treasures of Tibetan art including a pure gold statue of Shakyamuni – the Jowo Buddha which was brought by Queen Wen Cheng and is the single most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism.