| Area |
12.284 million sq km (224,607 sq miles). |
| Population |
2.62 million (2000) |
| Capital |
Lhasa- population (2000) |
| Climate |
It is cool in summer, but extremely cold in winter. The sunlight in Lhasa is so intense that the city is called Sunlight City. The thin Tibetan air can neither radiate nor absorb heat, resulting in temperature extremes during both day and night. The period from April to October is the best time to visit Tibet, avoiding the coldest months from December to February. |
| Language |
Tibetan |
| Religion |
Buddhist |
| Time |
GMT +
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| Highlights |
Known as "the Roof of the World", Tibet has been open to tourists since 1980 but remains a place of mystery and adventure. Lhasa is Tibet's most important and most visited city, it is actually two different cities, one Chinese and one Tibetan. The main attractions of Lhasa lie in the Red Palace or Potala, which was home to successive Dalai Lamas and which dominates Lhasa and the valley. Other attractions are the Drepung Monastery which was once the largest cloister in the world and whose ancient stone buildings cling to the sharp face of a mountain.
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| Country Facts |
Most of Tibet is a huge plateau at an altitude of between 4,000 and 5,000 metres, broken only by a series of East-West mountains. To the north is the Kunlun range which separates Tibet from the Xinjiang Province and to the south are the Himalayas rising to over 7,000 metres. Most of the population live in the valleys in the south of Tibet, where agriculture is possible and the main crop is barley. On the uplands, which surround the southern valleys, the inhabitants are mainly pastors who graze sheep, yaks and horses. |