• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Accomplishments / What Palace Is Two Miles High?

What Palace Is Two Miles High?

February 15, 2020 by Karen Hill

Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, which is now a part of China. Like much of Tibet, Lhasa is in the Himalaya Mountains, the highest mountains on earth, and the city is over 12,000 feet above sea level!

The largest building in Lhasa, and one of the largest religious structures in the world, is called the Potala, the “Palace of the Gods.” The Potala has served as the government headquarters of Tibet, as a Buddhist monastery, and as the home of the Dalai Lama, the head of all Tibetan Buddhists.

It was begun in the year 700, on a steep hill outside the city, and can be reached only by long zig-zagging stairways that climb the hill. Altogether, the nine-story Potala has about 500 rooms and more than 1,400 windows, and can house about 1,000 monks!

In earlier times, Lhasa was known as the “Forbidden City,” since only Tibetans were allowed to enter the sacred city!

The roof and the towers of the Potala are covered with glittering gold!

Related Facts

  • Why Is The Potala In Tibet Called The Palace of the Gods?
  • What Is a Googol?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Where does the word “palace” come from and What does palace mean in French?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • Who Were the First Explorers of Ancient Civilization?

Filed Under: Accomplishments

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Is the Alhambra?
Next Post: How Is Coffee Made? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy