The building is of such mammoth proportions it's difficult to know where you are. Climbing the labyrinthine staircases I emerge on the roof of the White Palace, which were the private rooms of the 13th and 14th Dalai Lamas.
Across the roof is the entrance to the 3rd floor of the Red Palace. I walk through a series of dark chapels which include the jewel-encrusted tombs of the Eighth and Ninth Dalai Lamas and glass showcases of Buddha images, mandalas, thrones and statues.
Descending to the second floor leads me to more temples. The first floor is closed but then the highlight for me is the Chapel of the Dalai Lamas Tombs on the ground floor. The room is dominated by the huge 12.6 metre-high chorten of the Fifth Dalai Lama (who built the Potala Palace) gilded with 3700kg of gold. On the left and right of him are two smaller chortens containing the Tenth and Twelfth Dalai Lamas, who both died as children.
It take me an hour and a half to walk through. By the end of my visit I'm feeling nauseous from the smell of the yak butter candles in every room.
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