Tibet: Roof of the World

Tibet is a rich and beautiful land with an average altitude over 4,000m (13,120ft) above sea level. Possessing more than fifty peaks above 7,000m (22,960ft), Tibet is home to eleven Himalayan mountains over 8,000m (26,240ft). China, India, Nepal , Sikkim, Bhutan , Burma and Kashmir border the Tibet.

People and Culture: Over two million people inhabit this land of rich natural resources and ancient cultures. Spiritual traditions, temples and monasteries, lakes and rivers, and mighty snow clad peaks are just a few of the intoxicating wonders to be experienced by adventurous travelers destined to visit this place.

Buddhism , with a history of some 1,300 years is shaped into a unique form of "Lamasm". Tibetan history, culture and religion are mixed together and infiltrate every aspect of social life. Tibetan religious arts have a distinctive style with adoption of Indian and Chinese Buddhist influence, thus forming a pearl of Oriental Buddhist art.

People living on the Tibetan plateau, such as Tibetans, Monpas, Lhopas and Moslems, have their own ways of living, marriage, burial and other ceremonies. Festivals in Tibet are in big variety. The Tibetan New Year, the largest festival, is followed by others such as the Wangkor Festival and horse races. For the dead, sky burials, water burials, cremations and stupa burials are practiced, but the sky burial is the most common.

Science and culture in Tibet include technology, medicine, grammar, logic, Buddhist philosophy, rhetoric, words and expressions, syntax, drama and astrology. Tibet is known as the Sea of Songs and Dances; folk songs and dances are diverse, especially during the "Shoton Festival" in August .