Home to the holy

Travelers discover Xizang's capital is divine in every sense, Erik Nilsson reports in Lhasa.

There's good reason Lhasa translates as "place of the gods". Enthroned at an elevation of over 3,600 meters on the crown of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the ancient city beckons pilgrims and seekers from every corner of our planet who come questing for the world beyond ours.

In the holy heart of the Xizang autonomous region, the sky stretches so wide and the sun blazes so bright that it feels as if the heavens have been slung just low enough for us mortals to reach.

To walk through Lhasa is to float above the clouds and breathe thin air thickened with heady incense and pungent yak butter. You hear the swish of monks' crimson robes, the murmurs of chanted sutras, and the rasping grind of prayer wheels.

Divinity isn't distant — it touches every roof and floor, every footstep and bowed head.