八廓街

Barkhor Street is a circular pilgrim's path — roughly 800 metres in circumference — that rings Jokhang Temple in the heart of old Lhasa. For more than 1,300 years Tibetan Buddhists have walked its cobblestones in a clockwise direction as an act of devotion, and on auspicious festival days the circuit is so crowded that progress slows to a shuffle. The street is lined with stone-flagged stalls selling thangka paintings, turquoise jewellery, yak-wool blankets, prayer flags, butter lamps, and traditional Tibetan herbs. Traditional courtyard houses and tea shops with low-slung benches complete the medieval atmosphere. It is equally one of Lhasa's best people-watching spots and a working sacred route — visitors are expected to walk clockwise and be respectful of worshippers.