Tibetan society

The Tibetan society has got not much in common with the Holywood clichés conveyed by the Western media. Describing it in a few sentences is a hopeless undertaking. The articles below might give you a first introduction, but nothing can replace a stay in the region.

Women in Tibetan society

Many Western specialists and even Chinese intellectuals praise the Tibetan society for its tradition of granting equal rights to women. However, the reality on the ground is generally quite different.

Photo galleries

Tibet as seen by a monk

Novices in Tibetan monasteries

According to the tradition, each family sends one of its children to the monastery. The children live and get the whole education in the monastery, but this does not necessarily make them angels and saints...

Tibetan Yerpa monastery close to Lhasa

The Drak Yerpa Monastery with its meditation caves is one of the oldest monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism; it was founded in the 7th century.

Mountains in Tibet

Not all the Tibetan mountains are forbidding like the Himalaya summits. Most are accessible to average trekkers, but the unique environment of the Tibetan plateau give them a surreal beauty.

Tibetan high plateau

The Tibetan landscape is upside down: the higher regions are often huge plains surrounded by soft hills, whereas the lower regions are steep valleys with more rocks than grass and trees.

Tibet in the snow

In winter it gets freezing cold in the Tibetan Amdo area, but because of the dry weather, it never snows much.

Tibet in the rain

The rain reveals an aspect of the Tibetan landscape which is definitely worth spending some time on.