Maps

Upper Tibet pre-Buddhist archaeological sites documented by the author, 1992 – 2010.
Click map image to download high-resolution PDF (16.2 MB)

Author’s routes in Upper & Central Tibet, 1986 – 2012.
Vehicular, on foot and on horseback.
Click map image to download high-resolution PDF (24.6 MB)

Author’s routes in the Western Himalaya, 1983 – 2001.
Black line = vehicular route. Red line = on foot route.
Click map image to download high-resolution PDF (17.1 MB)

Author’s routes in Upper & Central Tibet, 1986 – 2001.
Black line = vehicular route. Red line = on foot route.
Click map image to download high-resolution PDF (25.1 MB)

Scholar, explorer, writer and pilgrim John Vincent Bellezza is widely recognized as one of the foremost specialists in the archaeology and ancient cultural history of Tibet. He has lived in the high Himalaya for over a quarter of a century. Explore these pages for information about his work.

A senior research fellow at the Tibet Center, University of Virginia, Dr. Bellezza has written extensively on the nomads, history and culture of Upper Tibet. A pioneer in his field, he is credited with the discovery of hundreds of pre-Buddhist archaeological sites, describing the monuments and the people that built them in great detail. The Iron Age civilization he has charted is associated with Zhang Zhung, Tibet’s fabled ancient kingdom and source of much of her culture.