CHENGDU TO LHASA OVERLAND, SOUTHERN ROUTE / 17 DAYS


Woman with beautiful hair decorations / local Tibetan boy / on the road from Dege to Jamdo


Day Daily schedule Overnight in
1 Arrive in Chengdu, transfer to hotel Chengdu
2 Chengdu to Leshan, see the big Buddha Leshan
3 Leshan to Emeishan, visit Baoguo and Wannian temples Emeishan town
4 Emeishan to Kangding Kangding
5 Kangding to Luhuo Luhuo
6 Luhuo to Ganzi, visit Ganzi monastry Ganzi
7 Ganzi via Maniganggo to Dege, see wonderful Lhamu Namtso Lake on the way Dege
8 Dege sightseeing, visit the famous printing temple Dege
9 Dege to Jomda, visit Wala monastery Jomda
10 Jomda to Chamdo. In Chamdo you can visit the Jampaling Temple Chamdo
11 Chamdo to Bakso Bakso
12 Bakso to Rawu, visit the wonderful Rawu lake Rawu
13 Rawu to Bomi, amazing landscapes Bomi
14 Bomi to Basum Tso Lake, holy lake for Buddhists Basum tso
15 Basum Tso Lake to Lhasa, on the way visit Ganden monastery Lhasa
16 Spent the day in Lhasa visit the Potala palace, Jokhang and Ramoqe temples. Lhasa
17 To Sera and Drepung monasteries, just outside of Lhasa.  


Dege Chola / monks boots at Chamdo monastery


Included
 * land cruiser and driver for above itinerary
* English speaking guide
* Tibet permit
* accommodation
Excluded
 * entrance fees
* meals
Price
 Price for 2 people RMB 21.500 per person. Price for 4 people 14.500 per person. (Price will be higher during the Chinese holidays:
1-7 May and 1-7 October). Calculate exchange rate
Best travel time
May-October
Remarks
 This tour can be extended with the Tibet 1-8 tours


Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive at Chengdu airport. You will be picked up by our driver and sent to your hotel in Chengdu.

Day 2: Chengdu to Leshan (150 km). In the afternoon you will have the opportunity to visit the Grand Buddha.

Day 3: Leshan to Emeishan (25 km). This mountain is a holy mountain, ruled by Samanthabadra. We start visiting the mountain with a look at the Baoguo temple at the bottom of the mountain. In this actively used temple we can see many pilgrims offering incense and fruit to the Buddha. We then take the park bus to the Wannian temple. This temple is the oldest temple on the mountain. There are many monkeys in this area, and it is a good place for hiking.

Day 4: Emeishan to Kangding (210 km). Kangding is called Darbo in Tibetan and this is already the beginning of the Tibetan area, even though you have not yet reached the province of Tibet. Many people from Kham come here to do their shopping. You will see the mighty Gongga Shan with an altitude of 7556 meters towering over the town.

Day 5: Kangding to Luhuo (211 km). The landscape today is spectacular, with vast expanses of grasslands dotted with Tibetan tents and surrounded by snow-capped peaks.

Day 6: Luhuo to Ganze (80 km). Today you can visit Ganze monastery, one of the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Gelupa tradition monasteries of the Kham area. The monastery was built in 1662 by the fifth Dalai Lama and was called "Ganze Tashi Nor Buleng", meaning "beauty and white pure fulfilling gem monastery". The monastery consists of many different halls, which can all be visited.

Day 7: Ganze via Maniganggo to Dege (222 km). Just after Maniganggo you will visit the Lhamu Namtso Lake, surrounded by rock mountains covered with snow. After that, you will pass the Dege Chola, a 6168 meter high snow mountain from which you have wonderful views of the valleys and surrounding mountains.

Day 8: Stay in Dege. Dege means "peaceful land" in Tibetan and in Dege you will visit the Printing Monastery It was founded in1729 and is one of the three largest Tibetan ancient cultural centers. In the yard there are more than 320.000 printing plates, and almost all of the more than 1000 Tibetan monasteries get their scripture books from this Dege printing monastery It is regarded as the center of Tibetan culture because of its largeness. It has actually the most comprehensive collection of printed scriptures, since it prints out scriptures of all the different traditions within Tibetan buddhism.

Day 9: Dege to Jomda (110 km). Today you will pass the border of Sichuan province and Tibet province over the Gangtuo bridge. This area is famous for its wild red deer, maybe you will be lucky enough to see some. Near Jomda, you can visit the Wala monastery

Day 10: Jomda to Chamdo (169 km). In Chamdo you can visit the Jampaling Temple, built in 1444. The main buildings of the temple are preserved very well. Hundreds of different images of Buddha and great lamas, more than 1000 square meters of frescoes and countless tangkhas can be seen in this temple. This is a culture and art treasure house in Kham.

Day 11: Chamdo to Bakso (320 km). The Bangda grasslands at an altitude of 4300 meters are a wonderful opportunity to see nomad people with their herds of yaks and sheep. There are also lots of wild animals on these grasslands, like argali sheep or wapiti.

Day 12: Bakso to Rawu (110 km). On the way you will visit Rawu Lake, with an average altitude of 3930 meters. It is the largest lake in the east of Tibet and actually consist of three lakes strung together. It is a magnificent lake situated at the foot of snow-capped mountains.

Day 13: Rawu to Bomi (127km). Again you will drive through kilometers of unspoiled nature, with wonderful views of snow mountains and green prairies.

Day 14: Bomi to Basum Tso Lake (310 km, good road) This lake is located in an area with great views, and on a clear day, you can see many reflections of the surrounding mountains in the water. In summer, many pilgrims from Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal come to visit this lake.

Day 15: Basum Tso Lake to Lhasa (430 km, good road) On the way visit Ganden monastery, the first Gelukpa monastery in Tibet. It has fantastic views of the surrounding Kyi Chu valley and a fascinating kora (prayer wheel route).

Day 16: Spent the day in Lhasa visit the Potala palace, Jokhang and Ramoqe temples.

Day 17: To Sera and Drepung monasteries, just outside of Lhasa.

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