Potala Palace, Tibet
We still have a few spots on our Tibet Looking Glass trip in May!
This 18-day tour takes you from Kathmandu to Lhasa and then to fascinating remote villages of the Tibetan plateau. This is a unique opportunity to experience Tibetan Buddhism and culture up close and personal!
$3885/person
John Vincent Bellezza is a scholar and author specializing in the pre-Buddhist phase of Tibetan civilization. He has spent 25 years exploring the most remote parts of the Great Western Himalaya and Tibet. No ordinary academic, John is a great story teller and entertainer, skills he developed during his long years of wandering around the Himalaya.
“I was really very impressed with him as a guide. John is totally professional, but fun and flexible. He knows everyone in Nepal and Tibet and showed us things we would have never seen on most trips. He always watched out for every person, coming up the rear of treks, negotiating for people, and giving frequent informational talks. I’ve been on many pilgrimages and treks and John’s pilgrimages still stand out as the most special.”
Dr. Lynne Heckert, Founder, Philadelphia Meditation Center
Samye Monastery, Lhasa
This is an unique opportunity to see Tibetan civilization in all its splendor with John Vincent Bellezza, one of the world’s leading authorities. From Buddhist monasteries to Eurasian animal art, this journey reveals Tibet in all her depth. John, an affable, sensitive and highly experienced expeditionary and tour leader, will guide a select group of people to Tibet’s rarest cultural treasures. John, who has spent a quarter of a century intensively exploring the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau, will share some of his most brilliant discoveries with us for the very first time.
This is an unparalleled view of Tibet, providing extraordinary insights into the culture and people of this charmed land. In addition, to visiting the great heritage sites, there will be plenty of time to get to know the Tibetans and enjoy their fun-loving spirit. John, who is fluent in various Tibetan dialects, encourages his fellow travelers to intensively interact with the Tibetans and ask those questions one has stored up for years. And what better way to get answers than to ask the people themselves.
The journey begins in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal and the heart of the Himalaya. With John, we will spend two days exploring special cultural sites in the Kathmandu valley. At Changu Narayan, Swoyambhunath and the old city state of Bhaktapur, witness how Himalayan civilization took root and grew layer by layer into its present form. In addition to visiting well known Hindu and Buddhist places, John will lead us to hardly-known Iron Age sites, where we can appreciate the links between the Newar and Tibetan cultures before the rise of Sanskrit influences. We will have plenty of time to chat with the experts and ordinary people of all persuasions.
After three days we fly to Lhasa, Tibet’s famous capital. We will visit a rich array of cultural and archaeological treasures throughout the area. John will lead us to spectacular places such as the Potala and Jokhang, revealing their most ancient aspects. There will also be time to explore fascinating pilgrimage sites on the edge of the Lhasa valley. En route to Shigatse, Tibet’s second city, we will stop at the most important monasteries of the Bon religion. While there are many superficial similarities, through art, design and literature, John will show us how Bon and Buddhism differ from one another.
In Shigatse we will have time to see the city’s greatest spectacles, gaining a deeper appreciation of the depth and breadth of Tibetan civilization. From Shigatse we will head north through the majestic Transhimalaya range. In the Shang valley we will pass a string of Buddhist centers and natural power sites. At Sokpo see one of the region’s greatest cave hermitages and have a chance to talk to the inhabitants.
Above Sokpo, we traverse the Transhimalaya and enter the vast plains of the Changthang, Tibet’s empty northern quarter. Yet, it is not as empty as it first seems. Hidden away in sheltered valleys and on escarpments are the remnants of the early inhabitants of the region. At places such as Mutig and Shawa Drag, these ancient hermitages have devolved to the Buddhists. Here is a great opportunity to peel back the strata of Tibetan civilization and come to better understand its march over the millennia.
On the Changthang, John will introduce us to the drokpa nomads, some of whom he has known for over 20 years. We will get to know their way of life, interests and aspirations as can be shown only by someone who has long lived among them. We will move in an eastern direction, stopping at key archaeological and cultural sites along the way. Our Changthang adventure will culminate in Nam Tsho, the Celestial Lake (an object of study in John’s first book, Divine Dyads). Not only is Nam Tsho very beautiful (she is envisioned as a young goddess), she is home to a stunning series of sacred headlands and islands dating back 3000 years and more. It is an easy return drive to Lhasa via the southeast corner of Nam Tsho. From Lhasa we return to Kathmandu so that the participants can catch their outbound flights.