The House of Shambhala has opened its doors. The hotel is a ten-room boutique cultural heritage site located in the heart of the Barkhor section of Lhasa.

Shambhala Foundation and over 40 Tibetan craftsmen and women carried out the restoration project. A portion of the proceeds from the House of Shambhala hotel and restaurant goes directly into supporting Shambhala Foundation's administrative expenses and our initiatives.

The woodcarving masters chosen for this project had previously undertaken restoration of the Norbulingka Summer Palace in Lhasa. The stone carving master at the Nechung Oracle was invited to carve sutras and sets of deities. A senior Buddhist image clay master in Lhasa was invited to make a White Tara for the central courtyard garden of House of Shambhala. Many of the slate workers were employed from the Nyechung Monastery and a stone sutra carving master has been engaged by the hotel to do stone carving on mani-stones, creatively incorporating Tibetan designs into his work. All the materials used in the building are local, apart from wires.

A second building was acquired next door, this facility will include a Tibetan Spa using all organic and locally produced products and oils and two retail shops space dedicated to local crafts, jewelery and fashion produced under Shambhala Foundation's culturally sustainable micro-ventures.

Shambhala Foundation supports projects for ethnic diversity and culturally sustainable development which uphold or advance alternative models to those espoused by mainstream institutions.