How do you define the perfect Tibetan tour? Most travelers focus on the experience when choosing tour packages. But you should also consider where you’ll stay during your trip. The last thing you need is substandard accommodations to undermine your tour experience. Tourist lodges lay the foundation for the perfect tour. They play a critical role in the overall experience. The ideal tourist lodge should allow you to indulge in Tibetan splendors in utter luxury. It should provide easy access to tourist sites, cultural experiences, scenic landscapes, and outdoor adventures without compromising your comfort. Songtsam lodges meet all these requirements and more.

What makes Songtsam unique? Songtsam has several boutique lodges in different locations across Tibet. From Lhasa city, Shangri-La, to the remote Dalin village, each Songtsam lodge is an architectural marvel. Each property promotes traditional architectural designs while protecting the environment and locals' heritage. Songtsam lodges are cultural hubs and tourist destinations in their own right. Don’t be surprised if your boutique lodge overshadows other tourist experiences in your itinerary.  

Tibetan Architectures on Tibet plateau

The building with the soul of the Potala Palace: Songtsam Lhasa Linka

Songtsam Lhasa Linka is an architectural marvel with the soul of Potala Palace, it combines the features of famous Tibetan buildings. Perched atop the Red Hill, Potala Palace is a UNESCO Heritage Site and an architectural marvel. This treasure trove of Tibetan culture dominates over Lhasa and attracts millions of tourists. At 12,139 feet, Potala Palace is the highest palace in the world. Emperor Songtsen Gambo commissioned the construction of the 1,300-year-old palace to commemorate his marriage to Princess Wencheng. It contains thousands of religious and traditional artifacts. Songtsam Lhasa Linka features the architectural elements of Potala Palace to promote the essence of Tibetan architecture and culture.

Songtsam Lhasa Linka

Songtsam Lhasa Linka combines palace fortress-style, monastery, and noble house architecture with a garden. The building’s exterior design is similar to the Minshulin Monastery in Shannan. This lodge has a wall that blends the features of traditional Tibetan architecture, including block stone masonry. This unique stone-stacking process preserves the stones’ original shapes. The builder uses the stones without cutting, resizing, or smoothening them. Traditionally, Tibetans build village cottages with stone slices. They fill the gaps between the slices with a mixture of clay and crushed stone pieces. Songtsam’s architects used traditional Tibetan wall construction technique and "Yangbajing" stones. The walls of modern homes are plastered with cement to attain a smooth finish. But traditional Tibetan stone walls are not plastered to ensure the building blends with nature.

Exterior design of Songtsam Lhasa Linka

Songtsam Lhasa Linka features uniquely designed doors, windows, and an external staircase, mimicking the architectural style of Norbulingka. Located about 1.2 miles from Potala Palace, Norbulingka is a World Cultural Heritage Site built in the 1740s. Norbulingka is also known as "Plateau Botanic Garden" or "Summer Palace in Lhasa" because it features more than 100 rare plant species. It blends nature and architecture to create a timeless masterpiece.  

First-time visitors to Lhasa city are intrigued by Potala Palace due to its attention-grabbing white facade. Ancient architects achieved this fete using the lime splashing process. First, white ash is mixed with water to attain a slurry blend. Then, the mixture is splashed on the wall. The architects of Songtsam Lhasa Linka used this traditional facade construction and lime splashing process similar to Potala Palace. But interior walls along walking passages for guests are painted. Paint delivers a smoother finish than lime white ash, reducing the risk of scuffing the guests' clothes. Songtsam Lhasa Linka promotes and preserves several elements of traditional Tibetan architecture and culture.

The white facade of Potala Palace

Tibetan architectural materials

Songtsam Lhasa Linka was built with locally-sourced wood and stone, like traditional Tibetan-style architecture. These materials are environmentally-friendly and safer for human health than steel and concrete. The lodge's window eaves are built with Yangbajing stone from Shannan, giving the building a more traditional architectural flavor.

Stones from this region are resistant to erosion, protecting wooden structures on the windows from rain and other elements. Guests are intrigued by the carvings on the window frames, a combination of Shangri-La and Lhasa carving styles. The white ash splashed on the exterior wall comes from a mine in Yangbajing, around 50 miles from Lhasa.

Exterior wall made of Yangbajing stone

Tibetan ancient architecture experts

Songtsam hired skilled architects experienced in ancient Tibetan architecture to ensure the lodge pays tribute to the Potala Palace. Renowned experts in Tibetan ancient architecture who worked on Songtsam Lhasa Linka include Solang, director of carpentry, and Awang, director of stonework. Solang is a carpentry specialist at Potala Palace, while Awang is a stonework specialist for the Potala Palace maintenance project. Both are experts in ancient Tibetan architecture, tasked with implementing and restoring the essence of traditional Tibetan architecture at the lodge as much as possible.  

Architectural awards

Songtsam Linka Retreat Lhasa is featured under “The Best Hotels and Resorts in the World” and “The Best Hotels and Resorts in Asia” on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2022. According to Vincent Wang, Condé Nast Contributor, Songtsam Linka Retreat Lhasa is a “sprawling complex that clings to the hillside in pockets of stone and lime slurry, feels particularly suited to its surroundings.” Wang is impressed by Songtsam’s zealous site-selection process. “The location of each property is carefully staked out before one is chosen,” Wang stated. “The brand tapped the craftsmen who helped to restore the neighboring Potala Palace, a magnificent 17th-century fortress, using the same techniques and materials,” he added.

A Museum of Tibetan Culture: Songtsam Shangri-la Lodge

Shangri-la has a rich history and unique Tibetan Buddhist culture, which has immense influence on traditional Tibetan architectural wonders. The region’s history and culture have profound imprints on the décor and architecture of buildings.

Architectural Structure

Songtsam Shangri-la Lodge sits where the house of Baima Duoji, Songtsam Group’s founder, once stood and features traditional Tibetan architecture. It was built with locally-sourced materials, including earth, wood, and stone. These materials blend with the local landscape while preserving the warm characteristics of Tibetan architecture. Songtsam Shangri-la Lodge contributes to the continuity of Tibetan culture.

Songtsam Lodge preserves centuries-old Tibetan architectural features, including column load-bearing. This load-bearing structure uses shorter wooden beams reinforced at the bottom intersection of two beams. The walls widen at the bottom to lower the center of gravity and enhance the building’s stability. Additionally, the walls of lodge are 51 inches thick. They are thicker than the walls of Tibetan residential buildings (20 inches) and monasteries at 33 inches. Songtsam’s architects also use high-quality wood with efficient insulation properties to protect guests from Tibet’s freezing cold conditions.

Songtsam Shangri-la Lodge

Architectural decoration

The use of bold and delicate colors like white, black, yellow, and red is one of the main characteristics of traditional Tibetan architecture. Each color and color arrangement has a specific religious and cultural meaning. White for good luck, black wards off evil spirits, yellow for divinity, and red protects the law. Songtsam adheres to these color arrangements and meaning in exterior and interior décor. During your stay at Songtsam Shangri-la  Lodge, you’ll notice the elaborate use of contrasting colors everywhere.

Another characteristic of Tibetan architectural décor is nature-inspired patterns, including lotus petals, animals, and curly grass. The door eaves in the Lodge feature these Tibetan folk motif patterns painted in red, blue, green, and gold. The door frame has multiple layers, decorated with different themes to enhance aesthetics. Hemp black sunshade curtains hang on the doorway to filter out bright sunlight. The curtains feature various geometric patterns with religious symbolism, commonly used in Tibetan homes to dispel evil. Songtsam's interior designers also used colored fabrics on the doors and windows for protection and decorative purposes. These fabrics protect the patterns painted on the building’s eaves.

Tibetan boxes, cabinets, and tables are aesthetically pleasing due to their simplistic designs. Most of the patterns of Tibetan furniture have religious overtones, such as The Eight Auspicious symbols and Longevity Star Figure. The cabinets in Songtsam Shangri-La Lodge feature characteristic Tibetan patterns, with red, yellow, and brown background colors. Note that traditional Tibetan cabinets are handcrafted using the mortise and tenon technique. So, these cabinets don't use nails.

Interior design of Songtsam Shangri-la Lodge

The lodge’s interior walls feature several Thangka paintings with religious themes and handmade Tibetan carpets and draperies. The décor also uses copper products and handicrafts from the Tibetan region. Room keys, door signs, statues, and the stairs, these features are wrapped in copper to boost aesthetics. No words can truly express the beauty of these exquisite crafts in this boutique lodge. You’ll have to experience these handicrafts in person to comprehend their beauty. According to Vincent Wang, Condé Nast Contributor, “wood used on the floors, walls, and ceilings inside suffuses the lodge with a warmth that tempers the dramatic landscape. And handcrafted copperware and impressive Thangka paintings and tapestries hang from the walls.”

Thangka paintings on the shangri-la lodge’s interior walls

Traditional mortise and tenon technique

Songtsam Shangri-la Lodge uses mortise and tenon classic techniques of traditional craftsmanship. It is the most popular structural method of ancient Chinese architecture. Skilled architects and carpenters use this technique to combine projected and recessed parts in buildings and wooden products, such as tables, chairs, doors, and windows. The idea is to leverage the principles of mortise and tenon to ensure wooden structures are in harmony with nature. First, the carpenter analyzes the wood visually using rulers and gauges to determine the force subjected to each wooden piece. Then, they use chisels, planes, drills, and saws to craft or carve small wooden parts, such as wedges, bamboo nails, and pins. These parts connect, fasten, and interlock larger sections, creating works of art with precise craftsmanship.

Songtsam Shangri-la Lodge guests can explore the intricate details of classical mortise-and-tenon structures. Mortise and tenon bring wood to life, from steps, tables, and chairs, to load-bearing beams, without a single nail or glue. This technique creates durable and beautiful structures that last thousands of years. Songtsam Shangri-la Lodge is the best place to experience traditional charm and ingenuity of ancient carpenters.

The mechanical, mathematical, aesthetic, and philosophical wisdom in mortise and tenon construction still plays a role in modern wooden furniture. It is admired by carpenters and architectural artists globally. But mortise and tenon offer more than functional structures. This method is eco-friendly, safe for human health, and aesthetic because it uses fewer adhesives than other techniques. Using mortise and tenon is an effective way to preserve this unique cultural inheritance and innovate further.

Mortise and tenon furniture in Songtsam Shangri-la lodge

A dwelling where nature and culture meet: Songtsam Namcha Barwa Lodge

In Dalin village, Songtsam Namcha Barwa Lodge combines three Tibetan-style buildings. This architectural marvel is located deep in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon and guards the sacred Mount Namcha Barwa day and night. It keeps just the perfect distance from the village as the last stop to the depths of the secret world. Traditionally, Yunnan stonemasons carve coarse stones to build the backbone of the house. Then, carpenters polish solid wood beams and install them to support exterior structures and bring the building to life. Songtsam Namcha Barwa Lodge was built using this method, ensuring continuity of this traditional Tibetan architectural style. The lintels and windows feature beautiful Tibetan decorations and carvings that express traditional artistry in detail.

Songtsam Namcha Barwa Lodge

Songtsam Namcha Barwa Lodge is made of natural stone and wood, allowing the building to blend with the environment. All the stones used for construction were dug at the site where Namcha Barwa Lodge stands today. After extracting the rocks, the holes were filled with soil and small rocks from around the site. This construction process cost more than quarrying the stones along the Yarlung Tsangpo River close to the lodge. But it is eco-friendly and fulfills Songtsam's commitment to the region's sustainable development. Songtsam chose a construction process that costs more to preserve this ecological wonderland.  

Exterior wall of Namcha Barwa Lodge made of natural stone

Architectural marvels blend different designs and styles, from ancient times to the 21^st-century. Namcha Barwa Lodge combines traditional Tibetan-style exterior architecture and ultra-modern interior décor. Inside, you'll find modern home furnishings, including walnut furniture and American leather sofas. Songtsam’s engineers installed advanced technologies like diffused oxygen supply equipment, floor heating, and intelligent toilets to optimize visitors’ living experience.

Tibetan decorations of Namcha Barwa Lodge

Modern décor in Namcha Barwa Lodge

At Songtsam Namcha Barwa Lodge, traditional and modern coexist in harmony with nature. The lodge has three towers, paying tribute to Mount Namcha Barwa’s snowy peaks. Guests can enjoy the perfect view from their room’s balcony. Each room has Belgian-style sliding windows that fold into the frame, connecting the room and balcony into one. Guests get an immersive experience of the beautiful scenery, with the spectacular view of Namcha Barwa mountains in front. The scent of the ancient forest behind the mountains blows into each room with the wind, enhancing the experience further. It’s like living in nature. Namcha Barwa Lodge provides 21^st-century amenities and luxuries in the middle of nowhere.

The Namcha Barwa’s snowy peaks from Namcha Barwa Lodge room’s balcony

Take an Architectural Journey by staying at Songtsam Lodges

Whether you visit Lhasa, Shangri-la, or Namcha Barwa, explore Tibetan architecture at any Songtsam lodge. Songtsam provides a unique opportunity for guests to learn the evolution of Tibetan architecture, from ancient times to the 21^st century. Book your stay at Songtsam lodge to take an architectural journey. Each Songtsam property is a tourist destination by itself. You can also stay at Songtsam Laigu Lodge, one of the most unique lodges globally. This architectural marvel hangs on a cliff and provides a breathtaking view of the ancient Laigu Glacier.