Itinerary Details

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  Day 1: Arrival in Lhasa (3650m)

  Attractions: No
  Meals: No
  Hotel: 3★/4★ hotel in Lhasa

  Welcome to Lhasa! Upon your arrival at Gonggar airport or Lhasa Railway Station, your professional Tibetan guide will meet you right in the hall on time, with your name sign. Then a comfortable private car and experienced driver will take you to Lhasa hotel safely. It is about 65km from the airport to Lhasa city and takes less than an hour through the Airport Expressway. It is only 25km from the railway station and takes about half an hour.

  After arriving at hotel, tour guide will help you check in. You can take a rest and get acclimatized to high altitude.

  Tips:
  1. To adapt to the high altitude ( over 3,600m ), you are recommended to have a good rest in the hotel, no running and intense activity, no smoking and no alcohol, no shower.
  2. Please drink sufficient water and eat more vegetable, fruits, meat and eggs for more energy.
  3. For the first-time visitors, it is common to have different degrees of high altitude sickness symptom.

  

  Lhasa Gonggar Airport Pick-up

  

  Lhasa Train Station Pick-up
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  Day 2: Lhasa tour

  Attractions: Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery
  Meals: Breakfast
  Hotel: 3★/4★ hotel in Lhasa

  After breakfast at your hotel, driven to visit Drepung Monastery. Drepung Monastery was ever the largest monastery with more than 10 thousand monks, and now is one of three great monasteries in Lhasa. Seen from the distant, its grand, white construction gives the appearance of a heap of rice.

  In the afternoon, driven to visit Sera Monastery, which is famous for the unique “Daily Scriptures Debating” activity held from 3:30pm to 5pm in the central courtyard. Then transfer back to the hotel.

  Tips:
  1. The road condition to Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery is good.
  2. Pack plenty of drinking water, sun glasses, suncream and some food.

  

  Drepung Monastery

  

  Sera Monastery
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  Day 3: Lhasa tour

  Attractions: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street
  Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
  Hotel: 3★/4★ hotel in Lhasa

  After breakfast, your tour guide & driver will pick you and drive to visit the splendid Potala Palace, which is Lhasa’s cardinal landmarks. You will have a whole morning to explore this world-level architectural works: White Palace, Red Palace, corridors and stairs and countless lama’s dormitory. Others include: Buddha statues, red-robed lamas and devoted, murals, etc.

  In the afternoon, you will walk to visit the age-old Jokhang Temple, as the spiritual center of Tibet, which will deeply impress you with its magnificence and sincere pilgrims. You will see pilgrims donating butter oil to keep the lights burning for the Buddha; learning Tibetan Buddhism; hearing the red-robed Lamas praying; taking photos of the gold roof and enjoying the beautiful sunshine of Lhasa.

  Finally, you will have a relaxing walk around Jokhang Temple at Barkhor Street, which is the oldest street in Lhasa, and full of religious atmosphere, showcasing Tibetan culture, economy, religion and arts assemble. Then transfer back to the hotel.

  Tips:
  1. In Potala Palace, your visiting time is limited on 1 hour. Climb up there, you might experience slight shortness of breath, please take your time and rest when needed.
  2. Don’t disturb pilgrims and Lama. Don’t take photos of them without permission.
  3. In Barkhor Street, remember to bargain and compare the price in different shops for the souvenirs if you are purchasing.

  

  Potala Palace

  

  Tibetan Welcome Dinner at Local Restaurant
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  Day 4: Lhasa - Gyantse (3900m) – Shigatse (3800m) (350km, 7-8hrs)

  Attractions: Yamdrok lake, Karuola Glacier, Pelkhor Chode monastery
  Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
  Hotel: 3★/4★ hotel in Shigatse

  On leaving the Tibetan capital, we will first drive southwest towards the beauty of Lake Yamdrok taking the winding road up to the crest of the Gampa La pass at 4794 meters. From the pass you get the first glimpse of the beauty of Lake Yamdrok below ringed by snowy mountain peaks and stretching out across the whole landscape before you. In the distance the holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar stands tall in the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountain Range. We will drop down to the lake shore for a closer look before continuing on to Nagartse for a delicious local lunch.

  On the way to Gyantse, after lunch, we cross over the pass at Karo La (5159m) where we can view the beautiful glacier that falls from the slopes of Mount Nyenchen Khangsar. In Gyantse we will stop at the Pelkor Chode Monastery to explore both the monastery and the outstanding 32-meter stupa that is the highlight of the day. Known as the Kumbum Stupa this one-of-a-kind stupa has nine floors and 108 chapels which contain thousands of images and statues throughout. Then we will continue on in the late afternoon to reach Shigatse before nightfall.

  

  Yamdrok Lake

  

  Karola Glacier
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  Day 5: Shigatse - EBC (5200m) (350km, 7-8hrs)

  Attractions: Rongbuk Monastery, Mt. Everest Base Camp
  Meals: Breakfast
  Hotel: guestroom bed at EBC

  In the morning, we’ll leave Shigatse after getting your Alien’s travel permit, and then drive direct to the base Camp of Mount Everest near the Rongbuk Monastery. The route takes us over several high passes and the first outstanding view you will see is from the Gyatso La pass at 5400 meters. From the viewpoint at the crest of the pass you can see Mount Everest standing tall in the distance.

  At Old Tingri we will turn off the Friendship Highway and take the Zhufeng Road over the Gawu La Pass (5250m) from which you get an amazing view of the Himalayan panorama. The view of the peaks includes several mountains above 8000 meters including Mount Everest (8848m) Mt. Lhotse (8516m) Mt. Makalu (8463m) Mt. Shishapangma (8020m) and Mt. Cho Oyu (8201m).

  On our arrival at the Rongbuk Monastery we will first check into the tent guesthouse or Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse depending on the time of year. The tent guesthouses are not available in the winter months from November to March and are sometimes full in the peak months of summer. After a light lunch we will get time to explore the famous Rongbuk Monastery the official highest Buddhist monastery in the world. Housing both monks and nuns the monastery was a regular stopping point for explorers heading for Mount Everest in the early days after it was first discovered.
  
  Tips:
  1. The road condition from Shigatse to EBC is a mixture of paved and rough road around mountains.
  2. Staying overnight near the Rongbuk Monastery will be quite cold, please pack warm clothes.
  3. Remember to get up early in the morning to see the sunrise over Mt. Everest.

  

  Gawula Pass

  

  Rongbuk Monastery
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  Day 6: EBC – Shigatse (350km, 7-8hrs)

  Attractions: Mt. Everest base camp
  Meals: No
  Hotel: 3★/4★ hotel in Shigatse

  After a pleasant night at the base camp or monastery guesthouse, we can rise early to get the best view of the sunrise on the eastern sloped of Mount Everest. The hill behind the monastery is the best spot for good early-morning photos of the mountain. Then it is time to say goodbye to the world’s highest mountain as we pack up and prepare to drive back to Shigatse.

  

  Made it to Everest Base Camp

  

  Enough oxygen, water, and blanket for free
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  Day 7: Shigatse to Lhasa (280km, 6-7hrs)

  Attractions: Tashilunpo Monastery and Yalong Valley
  Meals: Breakfast
  Hotel: 3★/4★ hotel in Lhasa

  After breakfast we will spend the first part of the morning touring around the famous Tashilhunpo Monastery the seat of the Panchen Lama before heading off along the Friendship Highway towards Lhasa. Built in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama, the monastery is now the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama Tibet’s second highest religious incarnation. There you will be able to see the tombs of 7 Panchen Lamas explore the twisting cobbled streets and get a peek into monastic life.

  On the rout drive back to Lhasa by following Yalong Valley, you can stand on the viewing platform and view the vast Yalong River bed. Finally the guide will transfer you back to your hotels in Lhasa.

  

  Panoramic view of Tashilhunpo Monastery

  

  Yarlung Zangbo River
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  Day 8: Lhasa - Namtso Lake - Damxiong (350km, 9-10hrs)

  Attractions: Namtso Lake
  Meals: Breakfast
  Hotel: 3★ hotel at Damxiong

  After breakfast, we drive from Lhasa to Lake Namtso, one of the three holy lakes of Tibet and also the highest saline lake in the world. On the way, you can see snow-capped Nyenchen Thanglha Mountain Ranges and lots of nomads and their tent with grazing yak and sheep densely-populated on the flourishing grassland in summer. Besides, you can enjoy the view of Sky-Road Railway with snow mountain background; while standing at the famous Nagenla Pass(5190m), you can view the stunning overlooking of sacred Namtso Lake.

  Then we can enjoy our time to do a leisurely trek along the lakeshore. Drive back to hotel at Dumxung.

  

  Namtso Lake

  

  Namtso Lake
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  Day 9: Damxung to Lhasa (220km, 4hrs)

  Attractions: Chimelong Nunnery,Tsurphu Monastery.
  Meals: Breakfast
  Hotel: 3★/4★ hotel at Lhasa

  After concluding our journey to Namtso Lake, we will return to Lhasa. On the way back to Lhasa, we will visit two more cultural landmarks nestled in the valleys.

  Chimelong Monastery is the closest large nunnery to Lhasa and the only residence of female practitioners you can visit on this trip. Here, you'll not only encounter numerous practicing nuns but also enjoy the picturesque valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

  Tsurphu Monastery is the founding temple of the widely recognized living Buddha system in Tibet. Situated in the elongated Chupu Valley, surrounded by lush green pastures, this distinctive Kagyu sect monastery stands out in Tibet. Here, you might be fortunate enough to witness precious and rare artifacts, including the silver statue of the 8th Karmapa and the relic of the 16th Karmapa's leg bone.Around noon, we will have a farmhouse lunch on the nearby grasslands (or in the monastery's restaurant). Afterwards, we'll return to Lhasa.

  

  Northern Tibetan Grassland

  

  Tsurphu Monastery
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  Day 10: Depart from Lhasa

  Activity: See off to Lhasa Airport or Railway Station
  Meals: Breakfast
  Hotel: No

  Today is free for you until you are escorted to the airport or railway station for departure and the guide will help you get on board.

  

  Send off to the Train Station / Airport / Gyirong

  

  Leave Tibet for next destination