10 Days In-depth Tibet Adventure Tour: Lhasa-Gyantse-Shigatse-Mt. Everest -Lhasa -Namtso -Damxung- Lhasa

Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Lhasa Arrival ( No meal )

   Upon your arrival at Lhasa airport / train station, our local English speaking tour guide and driver will pick you up from the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name and transfer to downtown hotel for checking-in. Free and easy on your own for rest of the day to acclimate to the high altitude and weather of Lhasa.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Lhasa

2. Day 2: Lhasa
   Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street ( B )

   AM: Meet your Lhasa tour guide at hotel lobby around 9am and then start your exploration on this land from the world famous Potala Palace, the highest palace in the world. The whole architectural complex includes two parts, the White Palace and the Red Palace. The White Palace is the place where the Dalai Lamas lived and handled political affairs, while the Red Palace mainly houses the stupas of the Dalai Lamas. Your tour guide will share a wealth of information with you to help you understand its history and Tibetan Buddhism.

   Noon: Lunch on your own.

   PM: Next your tour guide will lead you to explore the holy Jokhang Temple which has a history of over 1300 years. The temple is a mixture of Tibetan, Tang, Nepalese, and Indian architectural styles and has become an example of Tibetan religious architecture. The interior is so impressive with plenty of statues, colorful murals, and rows of butter lamps. It’s not allowed to take photos at most parts, but you will have opportunity to take some at the rooftop.

   At last, you will finish the day off with the lively Barkhor Street surrounding the Jokhang Temple. You can join the pilgrims to stroll around the temple and totally immerse yourself in it. There are also many interesting shops selling various stuff including clothing, handicrafts, and jewels. You can shop for some souvenirs here.

   Finish the sightseeing, transfer back to your hotel.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Lhasa

   

3. Day 3: Lhasa
   Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery ( B )

   AM: Today you will go to explore more interesting place of Lhasa. After the same pick-up as yesterday, you will come to Drepung Monastery with tour guide firstly. It is one of the Six Great Monasteries of Gulug (Yellow Hat) in Tibet, and shares the fame of the Three Great Monasteries in Lhasa with Sera Monastery and Ganden Monastery. It is located at south side of Gebeiwoze Mountain, 10km east of west suburban of Lhasa city. The ordered architectures in white was built against the Gebeiwoze Mountain and fully occupied the hillside, seeming a huge rice dump, hence the name of “Drepung” which means collected rice in Tibetan language and represents the prosperity of Tibetan.

   Noon: Lunch on your own.

   

   PM: The second site today you will visit is the famous Sera Monastery which is the second largest monastery in Tibet. Sera Monastery was built in the Ming Dynasty by the famous Sagya Yeshes who was one of the eight disciples of Zongkapa and given the title of the Great Mercy Dharma by Emperor Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty after he had an audience with the Emperor in 1409 and 1414. The debate about Buddhism of Sera Monastery earns its fame in the Tibetan region, which is always taken a necessary activity to see for travelers from the whole world.

   After visiting the sites, you will go back to your hotel.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Lhasa

   

4. Day 4: Lhasa- Gyantse - Shigatse by Car, 360km, Approx 6hrs
   Yamdroktso Lake, Karola Glacier, Manla Reservoir, Penchor Chode Monastery, Penchor Chode Pagoda ( B )

   AM: Today’s first stop will be the charming Yamdroktso Lake, one of the three largest scared lakes in Tibet. It is famed as “the Most Beautiful Lake in the World”. When looking it from map or sky, you will be surprised to see the lake embedded in this land, glittering like an earring under the sunshine at different time.

   Noon: Lunch on your own.

   

   PM: After that, drive to the Karola Glacier with an elevation of 5400 meters above sea level. Getting off the car, the magnificent glacier jumps into your eyes with its shinning body soaked in the gentle sunshine. You are worry free from people or cars intruding into your shot and disturbing your selfies with the stunning sights as it’s usually off the beaten track.

   Stop by Manla Reservoir, which is the unique scenery line around the mountains with average elevation of 4330 meters above sea level. Embedded onto the awe-inspiring mountain, the Reservoir is glittering in its transparent green water, showing a distinct beauty with the blue water of Yambork Lake.

   Afterwords, come to the most important site in Gyantse - Penchor Chode Monastery, located in Gyangze Country, Shigatse area, surrounded by hills, this Monastery isa typical Tibetan Buddhist structure with harmonious fusion of pagodas and temples, fully representing the architecture style of monasteries in Shigatse from late of 13^th century to the middle of 15^th century. Besides, you’ll also have chance to see the notable Penchor Chode Pagoda (its official name is Bodhi Moanstery) injecting more special charm of this place. It has 9 tiers, 77 chapels and 108 doors, shrines and so on, housing hundreds of thousands of Buddha Images, hence the name “Hundreds of Thousands of Pagodas”.

   Last, drive to Shigatse for overnight.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Shigatse

   

5. Day 5: Shigatse - Tingri - EBC by Car, 350km, Approx 8hrs
   Mt. Everest National Nature Reserve ( B )

   AM: Today, continue your adventure to the amazing Mt. Everest!! Firstly, drive around 150km to Lhatse, a small town where you can have lunch in a local restaurant. After a short rest, step forward to Tingri, you will pass the Tsola Pass(4600M) and Gyatsola Pass(5248M) on the way.

   Noon: Lunch on your own.

   PM: Enter Mt. Everest National Nature Reserve in the afternoon, you can enjoy the full view of Mt. Everest at Gawula Pass (5198m), don’t forget to record this amazing place by using your camera! Later, drive along the zigzag road to Rongpuk for overnight. If weather permits, you can enjoy the beautiful sunset of golden Everest peak.

   Friendly Tips: Today you’ll stay overnight in Rongbuk guesthouse. Please note that the guesthouse has poor condition, there is only dorm bed lodging available, and no breakfast provided.

   Accommodation: Dorm bed in Rongbuk guesthouse

   

6. Day 6: EBC - Shigatse by Car, 350km, Approx 8hrs
   Everest Base Camp ( No meal )

   AM:If weather is good, you can get up early to enjoy the gorgeous sunrise of Everest Peak in Rongbuk guesthouse. Later, move on to the exciting Everest Base Camp.

   The Everest Base Camp (EBC) is a special zone set for protecting the core area of the Everest and also providing the life supply. Chinese EBC locates at the north side of the Everest with 5200m higher than the sea level. There are also EBCs in the territory of Nepal at the south side of the peak. The best time to climb the Everest Peak is between early April to early June and middle September to early October each year, also the busy time for the EBC.

   Noon: Lunch on your own.

   PM: After the amazing experience, drive back to Shigatse. The driving lasts around 7 hours, you can enjoy the special scenery on the way.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Shigatse

   

7. Day 7: Shigatse - Lhasa by Car, 300km, Approx 5hrs
   Tashilhunpo Monastery, Yarlung Zangpo River ( B )

   AM: After hotel breakfast, follow you guide to explore Tashilhunpo Monastery, the largest one in Shigatse with location at the foot of a hill, titled as one of the “Four Greatest Monasteries of Tibetan Gelug Sect together with Gandan Monastery, Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The Monastery of sparkling yellow roofs and red walls houses those devout monks and visitors, describing the beautiful moments about human and their holy religious belief.

   Noon: Lunch on your own.

   PM: Later, drive around 5 hours back to Lhasa. On the way, you can enjoy the river view of Yarlung Zangpo River.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Lhasa

   

8. Day 8: Lhasa - Namtso - Damxung by Car
   Namtso Lake, Tashi Dor Peninsula ( B )

   AM: Today you’ll head to another highlight of Tibet - the Namtso Lake.

   Namtso Lake resembles a rectangle and situates between the Dangxiong County and Bange County, at the middle of Tibet and occupies over 1920 km2, about 70 km long and 30 km wide, over the sea level 4718m, renowned as the highest salty lake in the world. So travelers who plan to explore here are suggested to stay in Lhasa few days ahead to fit in the plateau and avoid altitude stress.

   Reaching the rolling hills at the north and the Nyenchen Tangula Mountains at the southeast, surrounding by the vast grasslands, the Namtso Lake is supplied the endless water by the melted snow and ice from Nyenchen Tangula Mountains. The water is transparent and blue, almost integrating with the same blue sky naturally, posing a breath-taking feeling to the travelers here with its soul-stirring beauty.

   Noon: Lunch on your own.

   PM: After that, continue your visit to Tashi Dor Peninsula.

   There are 5 peninsulas embedded into Namtso Lake and Tashi Dor Peninsula is largest one and best known for trippers as “Suspicious Love Islet”. Tashi Dor Peninsula collects the most of religious activities around Namtso. Tashi Monastery on Tashi Peninsula receives great worship from pilgrims, especially when Tibetan Year of the Goat, thousands of followers come for pilgrimage here. According to the legends among the followers, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as well as Protective Gods would collect here and host Da Xing Dharma Assembly in every Year of Goat, and reciting when circling the lake would bring much more goodness than that in the common days.

   Finish the sightseeing, drive to Damxung country for overnight.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Damxung

   

9. Day 9: Damxung - Lhasa by Car
   Yangpachen Hot Spring, Norbulingka ( B )

   AM: Enjoy the relaxing morning time in Namtso Lake. Then, drive back to Lhasa city. You’ll pass Yangpachen town on the way, which famous for the unique Yangpachen Hot Spring. If you would like to enjoy the hot spring here, ask your tour guide for assistance ( optional ).

   Yangpachen gains its fame with the rich hot spring resources. The most enjoyable sight views here are: appreciating the distant snowy mountains when taking bath in the hot springs and the hovering smoke in the morning as the hot water meets the cold air in the low temperature. When the warm steam is embraced and surrounded by the mountains, a cozy hot spring bath after the exhausted journey on the highland would be the most wonderful thing in the world for travelers.

   Noon: Lunch on your own.

   PM: Arrive in Lhasa city, follow you guide to explore the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas - Norbulingka. It is the largest garden in Tibet with gorgeous scenery and plenty of historic sites. This lovely garden will offer more insight into the life of the Dalai Lamas. You will have a pleasant walk through the garden and appreciate beautiful murals and other treasures.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Lhasa

   

10. Day 10: Lhasa Departure ( B )

    Free and easy on your own until the pickup time for departure. Our guide and driver will meet you at the hotel lobby and transfer to Lhasa airport / train station to see you off.