The Potala Palace, perched high above Lhasa on the Marpori (red mountain), is a place of spiritual pilgrimage and a mammoth tribute to Tibetan architectural skills. The name Potala derives from the Sanskrit ‘Potalaa’, the abode of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Unlike most Tibetan monasteries, the Red Guards did not sack the Potala during the Cultural Revolution, and, as a result, all the chapels and their artifacts are remarkably well preserved.