Templo Ramoche

Ramoche Temple is the smaller companion to the Jokhang in the old city of Lhasa, and together the two temples define the sacred geography of the historic center. Located a short walk north of the Jokhang through the narrow lanes of the Tibetan quarter, Ramoche is associated with the same seventh-century founding period that produced the Jokhang, and the two temples share a closely linked history rooted in the introduction of Buddhism to the Tibetan court.

According to tradition, Ramoche was originally built to house the celebrated Jowo Shakyamuni statue that is now enshrined in the Jokhang, while a companion image brought by the Chinese princess Wencheng was initially placed in the Jokhang itself. The two images were exchanged at a later date, and the temple has since served as a center of religious life in its own right, with a particular set of historical associations that distinguish it from the larger temple to the south.

The present building combines restored Tibetan and Chinese architectural elements, with a Tibetan-style facade and a Chinese-influenced gilded roof that reflects the layered cultural history of the site. The interior chapels hold images, murals, and devotional objects of considerable antiquity, and the temple is a working place of worship where resident monks maintain the daily rituals of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The atmosphere is intimate and concentrated, with the smaller scale of the building giving visitors a closer view of the artwork and ritual than is possible at the Jokhang.

For travelers, Ramoche is easily combined with a morning at the Jokhang and a walk through Barkhor Street. The temple offers a quieter and more local experience than the great pilgrimage destination a few minutes to the south, and the surrounding lanes of the old city are among the most atmospheric in Lhasa. A short visit here rounds out the picture of the seventh-century sacred core of the city and deepens any walking tour of the old quarter.