Climb to monastic heights at Lhasa's Potala Palace

CHINA // Potala Palace is the largest monastery in the Buddhist world and one of the most recognisable buildings on the planet. Spread over 13 floors, with whitewashed walls cascading down the face of Marpo Ri (Red Hill), the palace was Lhasa's spiritual heart. Inside, the intricate, colorful murals and golden statues convey a sense of a vanished era but today more visitors than monks wander its passageways and painted chapels and the palace has the air of a memorial.