Perched at the high altitude of about 4000 meters, Tibet – known as the Roof of the World – has always intrigued the world with its hidden mysticism and stunning natural beauty. It is located in Qinghai plateau known as the Tibetan plateau to the world and ringed by some of the world’s highest mountains including Mount Everest (known as Mount Qomolangma in the local language). The northern part is covered by "Changtang Wildlife Reserve" and the other three parts are valleys. It has Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Burma and Kashmir to the South and China on other sides.

Remained as a closed destination to the foreigners for a long term, the Tibetan people have preserved a unique Buddhist culture rich in songs and dances. Not surprisingly it is called the sea of song and dance.

With the unique cultured people living with their unique culture amid hundreds of celebrated monasteries living in the beautiful highland plateau with large rushing rivers and beautiful lakes and surrounded by snow-white mountains from all sides, Tibet stands to its name Shangrilla.

People and Culture
The culture of Tibet is highly influenced by the religion they follow; Tibetan Buddhism also known as Vajrayana Buddhism, a division of Buddhism close to Tantric practices. They have rich and unique culture well preserved from the influence of modernity inherited from generation to generation. A visitor will instantly notice the warmth and hospitality of Tibetan people when they greet with a long silk scarf known as Khada, which is considered to be a symbol of high esteem and good luck.

Traditionally, Tibetans were nomads who traveled from one village to other with their herd of sheep or highland cows or farmers who grew barley and potatoes. They wore sheepskin and clothe made out of wool. Today, with the development of highways and transport and introduction of newer technologies, they have ventured into trading their products in addition to farming and hospitality business.

Tibetans have several unique cultures unadulterated so far. One of such unique cultures is the ritual of 'sky burial'. It is a custom where the body of a demised is cut into pieces by a funeral priest and scattered all around a wide naked ground from where vultures come and take the meat. Many believe this practice is attributed to the geographical terrain. The lack of firewood makes crimination of the corpse difficult and the rocky ground makes it impossible to dig a ditch and bury. Others attribute this practice to a legend that says Buddha had fed an eagle with his body parts to save the otherwise prey dove, in his previous life. There have been critics to this custom from within the community and attempts have been made in the past to eliminate this practice in vain. One of the Qing Governors (Tsu Zang Da Chen or Amban) had tried to scrap the practice by introducing a law was not successful. Nevertheless, people have faith that these birds carry the spirits to heaven.

Religion
Tibetans follow a branch of Buddhism which is called Tibetan or Vajrayana Buddhism, the division of Buddhism emphasizes more on Tantric practices. It has five sects: the Yellow Hats, the Red Hats, the White Hats, the Flower Hats and the Black branch, of which two of them are categorized under Lamaism. The leader of the Yellow Hats sect of Lamaism is Dalai Lama, aka Chen-re-zig or Avalokitesvara or Guan-Yin in various languages, and used to rule Tibet for a long time until he was exiled in 1952.

Dalai Lama, is reincarnation of what is believed to be an emanation of the great Boddhisatwa. After the demise of each Dalai Lama the spirit of Dalai Lama goes on to dwell on the body of a Tibetan child at birth. The present Dalai Lama is 14th incarnation

Tibet has many monasteries and Buddhist temples where monks and nuns live and others go to worship and meditate. According to Senchen Losangtsengzang, former abbot of Tashilhunpo Monastery, Tibet today has 1400 monasteries and 34000 monks and nuns living in these monasteries.