Tibet Lhasa Kailash Tour – 16 Days

● Sightseeing tour of Lhasa, Gyantse, Shigatse and Darchen

● Visit Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Sera, Drepung and Samye monasteries

● Drive to Everest Base Camp and cherish breathtaking views of Mt. Everest. Lhotse, Shishpangma and Makalu

● 3 days trek around Mt. Kailash

● Appreciate the beauty of Yamdrok-tso Lake and Lake Mansarovar

● Cross Kora La (5010m), Kamba La (4794m) and Simi la (5258m) passes of Tibet

● Accommodation on twin sharing room basis

● An experienced local Tibetan English speaking guide

● Transportation by one good conditioned tourist mini van.

● Breakfast for entire tour

● All necessary Tibet permits and sightseeing entry fee where applicable.

● Oxygen inside the car just in case if needed

● Both international and domestic flight

● Tibet Train tickets

● Lunch and dinner

● Service of mainland China or Nepal side

● China visa fee

● Personal insurance, medical and evacuation insurance

● Any extra cost in the event of landslides and personal nature expenses.

Our Tibetan guide will receive you on your arrival at Lhasa airport/train station and transfer you to a booked hotel. En route you can view Tibet’s mighty Yarlung Tsangpo river. Refresh and acclimatize with the climate. Overnight rest in the hotel.

After warm breakfast you will get ready for a full day sightseeing tour of Lhasa conducted by our Tibetan guide. Begin by visiting the iconic Potala Palace. Also called the winter palace of the Dalai lama, this 7th Century Palace has the largest and most valuable collections of documents related to Tibetan Buddhism and history. There are almost 1000 rooms in Potala containing large audience halls, chapels and sacred rooms adorned by sacred texts, statues of Buddhas, chorten of past Dalai Lamas, paintings and Thangkas. From here you will head to Barkhor street, a buzzing bazaar offering a variety of products from incense and butter to Thangka and Tibetan tea. The constant movement of pilgrims as they prostrate to pay respects will amaze you. Just off the Barkhor street you will step into the sacred Jarkhor Temple which was built by Tibetan King Srong Tsen Gonpo for her Chinese wife Princess Wencheng of Tang Dynasty. In the evening you can stroll back to your hotel. Overnight in a hotel.

Like yesterday, you will enjoy a full day of sightseeing in Lhasa. Founded in 1416, the Drepung monastery is one of the biggest monasteries in Tibet belonging to the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery houses hundreds of budding monks clad in red robes and praying, meditating and reading the sacred books or making Thangkas.

The second half of the day you will visit Sera Monastery which is equally popular. The monastery houses many religious scriptures, mandalas and rock paintings of Buddha. The age-old tradition of debate among monks can be discovered in this monastery. Overnight in a hotel.

After breakfast, get ready for a long drive to Tsetang. For the first part you will follow the Lhasa River and then Yarlung Tsangpo before moving towards Samye monastery. Samye is the oldest and first monastery of Tibet which still holds hundreds of monks. The monastery belongs to Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Leaving Samye, you will head for Gyangtse via Tsetan which will take 2 hrs. This journey entails crossing of three biggest mountain passes namely, Kora La (5010m), Kamba La (4794m) and Simi la (5258m). Karola and Kamba La passes in particular present the most amazing view of Yamdrok-tso lake along with Karola glacier. Gyantse is the third biggest city in Tibet with good hotel and restaurant facilities. Overnight in a hotel.

Early morning tour in Gyantse involves visiting Kumbum Pagoda Stupa and Pelkor Monastery. Afterwards you will begin your short drive to Shigatse which takes only 2 hrs maximum and covers a distance of 90 km. Once in Shigatse, take some refreshments and then visit Barley Mill and Field and especially Tashi Lhunpo monastery, whose guardian is Panchan Lama. The statue of Jampa is one of the most attractive items in this 15th century monastery and is dedicated to the future Maitreya Buddha. Overnight in Shigatse.

Today you will be taking a long drive to Tingri via Sakya. In about 3 hrs you will reach the Sakya region which hosts the popular Sakya monastery. Leaving Sakya you will travel over the pristine and vast landscape of Tibet. On the way you will cross Gyatso-la pass at 5200m, one of the highest passes in Tibet, before arriving at Tingri. Overnight in a hotel.

Today is the day you have been waiting for. You will reach Everest Base Camp, one of the goals of this tour. It takes little less than 3 hrs from Tingri to arrive at Everest Base Camp. En route you will stop over at the famous Rongbuk monastery. The base camp offers breathtaking views of the north face of Mt. Everest, world’s highest mountain, along with Mt. Lhotse (8516m), Mt. Shishapangma (8012m) and Mt Makalu (8463m). Overnight in Rongbuk monastery.

Enjoy once more the majestic views of Everest and then get back on the road. This is an old road so is bit rough full of sand dunes but the views of mountains keep dominating the landscape. Mt. Annapurna, Mt. Langtang on Nepali side will also appear on the view. It will take a minimum of 10 hrs to reach Saga. Overnight in a hotel.

Start driving to Darchen early in the morning. This is one of the longest journeys across the Tibetan landscape you will ever make. In 4-5 hrs you will approach the sacred Lake Manasarovar, a pristine freshwater oasis in the middle of Tibetan geography. This is a major attraction for both Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims. Further from the lake, we come to Darchen, the starting point for the trekking around Mt. Kailash.

Today you will start the trek around Mt. Kailash but after a short drive on an environmentally friendly bus to Sarshung. Follow your Tibetan guide as you will follow other trekkers and pilgrims. Along the way you will have multiple occasions to view the summit of Mt. Kailash. It takes around 5 hrs to reach Drirapuk(4920m) where we will rest for the night in a monastery.

Have a warm breakfast and then a short briefing of the Tibetan guide for the day. Today’s trek is a very challenging one as you will have to cross Dolma-la pass at an altitude of 5630m. After a while you will step into the Lhachu valley floor, and from there make a straightforward trek to Dzultripuk. There is a Milarepa cave in Dzultripuk worth visiting.

This is your final day of trekking around Mt. Kailash. It takes only three hours and an easy walk back to Darchen. Overnight in a guesthouse.

It is almost over 8 hrs journey from Darchen to Saga on four wheels. You will leave Darchen in the morning the first few hours on foot and then drive all the way to Saga. Overnight in the lodge.

In the next two days you will be back in Lhasa. On this day you will have a full day drive back to Shigatse. Enjoy the beautiful and great landscape of Tibet on your journey. Overnight in a hotel in Shigatse.

After morning breakfast, begin your journey back to Lhasa. In just under 5 hours you will be in Lhasa. Later afternoon is free for you to do shopping or take a leisurely stroll in the local market. Overnight in a hotel.

Today is your last day in Lhasa. Depending on your flight timing, our representative will transfer you to the airport or train station for your departure to the next destination.