The article aims to introduce into scientific discourse Tibetan travel notes made by the member of the Russian Geographic Society Ovshe M. Norzunov at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries. The notes were published in the early 20th c. in French by the famous French natural scientist and anthropologist J. Deniker never to have been published in Russian. The diary notes have been translated from French into Russian by D. K. Voronina, edited and commented by B. L. Mitruev. Between 1898 and 1901, Norzunov took three journeys to Tibet. The first journey – its route passed through Urga – took place in 1898–1899 and aimed to deliver some presents and Agvan Dorzhiev’s letter informing the Dalai Lama about the negotiations. The second attempt to reach Tibet from Darjeeling was made in early 1900 but Norzunov’s endeavor failed, and he was deported back to Russia. In late 1900, Norzunov joined a group headed by Khambo Lama Agvan Dorzhiev that on 28 February 1901 entered Lhasa. Norzunov was granted an audience with the 13th Dalai Lama and took the photographs of Lhasa to be subsequently published by J. Deniker and the Russian Geographic Society. The travel materials collected by O. Norzunov are contained in St. Petersburg archives of the Russian Geographic Society. In 1901, Ovshe M. Norzunov was awarded a Big Silver Medal to distinguish his achievements in the service of the organization. In the same year, a photograph of his picturing the Potala was published by J. Deniker in the October issue of La Géographie (magazine). So, O. Norzunov became the first to have authored a published photograph of Lhasa. In 1903, the RGO Bulletin (Rus. Izvestiya RGO) published a report by G. Ts. Tsybikov along with lists of best photographs by O. Norzunov and G. Tsybikov (45 and 32 images respectively). The lists were supplemented with 9 photographs of Lhasa by Norzunov picturing the Ganden and Tashi Lhunpo Monasteries (the latter being the Panchen Lama’s residence). Later the lists and corresponding photographs were printed additionally. In the West a number of photographs by Norzunov and Tsybikov were published in various journals in 1903–1905, including as supplements to two articles by J. Deniker. Those provided a detailed narrative about Norzunov’s three journeys, the second publication being a French translation of his travel notes. Both the articles contained photographs taken by O. Norzunov in Lhasa and on his way to Tibet. No Russian translation of Norzunov’s travel diaries have been published before. The paper provides a commented translation of O. Norzunov’s diaries, the source text being that of the French edition.