Tibet is now open to anyone wishing to explore its ancient culture. This book, based on a nineteenth century guide for Tibetan pilgrims by the renowned Lama Jamyang Kyentse Wangpo, describes the location, site, relics and background to places of major religious and historic significance. To compile the guide, the author followed in Jamyang Kyentse's footsteps, visiting 150 temples, monasteries, sacred caves, lakes and mountains. Some of these are easily accessible to tourist groups; others have to be reached on foot or have never previously been visited by a foreigner. There is full information about Lhasa and the route west from Lhasa to the Nepal border- both popular destinations for the tourist- and descriptions of seventeen pilgrimages within a 150 km radius of Lhasa. Photographs, maps and drawings help the visitor to locate and identify what is to be seen.
The Pilgrim's Guide will inform the tourist in his organized perambulation of major monasteries; provide geographical and historical information for the specialist; supply the trekker with route maps and destinations.; and also give the armchair traveler and student of Tibetan Buddhism the first detailed guide to central Tibet ever published. It will be an invaluable companion to the package tourist and pilgrim trekker alike.


Power Places of Central Tibet, Keith Dowman, Timeless Books, Paperback, 345 pages, $16.00

Keith Dowman has spent the last twenty years in India and Nepal. He has been educated in the theory and practice of Tibetan Buddhism by eminent Lamas of Several Tibetan schools, and has translated several major Tibetan texts into English. He now lives with his family in Kathmandu, where he continues to explore the Tibetan tradition and to interpret it for people in the West.

	Contents: THE POWER-PLACES OF CENTRAL TIBET - The Pilgrim's Guide
	Preface	ix
	Introduction	1
	Notes on Pronunciation and Tibetan Names	33
	Note on Cartography	34
	Glossary of Geographical Terms and Key to Maps	34
1.	The Holy City of Lhasa	38
2.	The Caves of Drak Yerpa	73
3.	North of Lhasa to Reteng	80
4.	To Ganden and Beyond	96
5.	The Drigung Mandala	106
6.	Tolung: The Karmapa's Domain	122
7.	The Highway from Lhasa to Chaksam Bridge	132
8.	Below Lhasa to Simpo Ri	139
9.	The South Bank of the Tsangpo	147
10.	The Upper Dranang and Drachi Valleys	164
11.	Yarlung: The Heart of Tibet	171
12.	Chongye and the Royal Tombs	196
13.	Dorje Drak and the Caves of Drakyul	205
14.	Samye Chokor	216
15.	The Valley of Yon	236
16.	Sangri and the Woka Valley	245
17.	Across Tsang to the Nepal Border	264
18.	Western Tsang	267
	Appendices
I	The Supine Demoness	284
II	Guru Rinpoche's Cave Power-places	288
III	Power-places with Treasure Troves	290
IV	The Lume Temples	295
V	Some Principal Kadampa Gompas	295
VI	The Original Kagyu Gompas	286
	Notes to the Text	297
	Glossary of Tibetan Terms	304
	Visual Glossary of Buddhas	309
	Selected Bibliography	325
	I Index of Place-Names	327
	II Index of Lamas and Schools	336
	III Index of Deities with Tibetan Transliteration	343