The Palace has been the traditional winter palace of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century and is inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list. Within the complex is the Red Palace which contains the gilded burial stupas of past Dalai Lamas. The most richly adorned of these is gilded with 3.7 tonnes of gold. It is a site that truly took my breath away - metaphorically and literally. At 3,700 metres altitude, it took some adjusting to cope with the thin air.