Images
Presenting more than 80,000 images from life in Tibet and the Himalayas.
Learn About Images
Image collections group together images by collection, theme, or topic, while multilingual descriptions let you learn more about individual images. Most images are labeled with related subject, places, or terms, by which you can find linked items. You can also use the search filters to narrow your results.
Explore Images
Image collections group together images by collection, theme, or topic, while multilingual descriptions let you learn more about individual images. Most images are labeled with related subject, places, or terms, by which you can find linked items. You can also use the search filters to narrow your results.
Featured Image Collections
Antiquities Of Zhang Zhung
A millennium ago, Buddhist domination of Tibet spawned a new civilization, which slowly obscured pre-existing cultural heritage. As a result, many of the ancient achievements and the once-impressive monuments of the Upper Tibetan people were forgotten. Antiquities of Zhang Zhung, a project by John Bellezza, systematically documents the visible physical remains left by the ancient inhabitants of Upper Tibet.
Chuma Laptsé
Located in Repgong, Chuma is a largely agrarian village, but traditionally ‘chuma’ referred to the people who fetched water for monasteries and estates. Every year, community members scale the nearby mountains to erect shrines honoring the local mountain deities. The shrines, called laptsé, are composed of colorful prayer flags, arrows, and other items. Attendees burn incense, offer prayers, and shout honorific odes to the deities as they toss small paper prayer flags into the air.
Sera Monastery
Located about two miles north of Lhasa and occupying an area of about one-third of a square kilometer, Sera Monastery is one of the three great monasteries or seats of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Featured Images
A nomad cares for her herd
Domesticated animals provide nourishment to nomadic communities, though their care requires near-constant effort. Photo by Drolmatso.
Painting murals at Pabongkha
Central Tibetan artists finishing a mural depicting scenes from the life of Tsong Khapa (1357-1419). Photo by Alex Catanese.
