TIBET 6 : UNDISCOVERED TIBET / 17 DAYS


Barkhor area, centre of Lhasa / Samye monastery

Day Daily schedule Overnight in
1 Transfer from Lhasa airport to hotel. Free day in Lhasa to acclimatize. Talk a leisurely stroll around the charming Barkhor area. Lhasa
2 Visit the Potala palace in the morning and Jokhang and Ramoche temples in the afternoon. Lhasa
3 Visit the Drepung and Sera monasteries. See the monks debating the Buddhist doctrine. Lhasa
4 Drive from Lhasa to holy Nam-tso lake Nam-tso Lake
5 Drive from Namtso Lake to Reting monastery, this monastery has a great view Reting
6 Reting to Drigung Monastery, which is famous for performing sky burials. Also there is a small hot spring nearby Drigung
7 Drive from Drigung Monastery to Bayi, which is famous for the Yalung Zangbo Canyon, the world's deepest canyon, and Mt. Nanjiabawa 7782 m high Bayi
8 Bayi to Gagtsa Gagtsa
9 Gagtsa to Chokor Gyal, monastery near Lhamo Latso holy lake
 Chokor Gyal
10 Chokor Gyal - Tsetang, visit the Yimpulakang Tsetang
11 Tsetang to Samye monastery, first monastery of Tibet Samye
12 Yimpulakang to Gyantse. Visit the beautiful Pelkhor Monastery with its great Kumbum Stupa Gyantse
13 Gyantse to Shigatse. Visit the Tashilumpo monastery. Shigatse
14 Shigatse to Shekar, great mountain views of Gyawu la pass New Tingri
15 Shekar via Rombuk to Mt Everest base camp, great views of Shishapangma, Cho-Oyu, and Everest Base Camp
16 Mt Everestbase camp to Zhangmu Zhangmu
17 Zhangmu - Kathmandu  


Stupa in Bodhnath, Kathmandu / sleepy street in Gyantse town / sky burial at Drigung monastery


Included
 * English speaking guide
* land cruiser
* accommodation, best available hotel or guesthouses
* tented guesthouse at Nam-tso Lake is simple
* Tibet permit
Excluded
 * entrance fees
* meals
* costs made due to land slides
* Nepali and Chinese visa
Price
 Price for 2 persons: RMB 19.700 p.p. Special group rates are available on request. (Price will be higher during the Chinese holidays: 1-7 May and 1-7 October.) Calculate exchange rate
Best travel time
April-November (weather permitted)
Remarks
  

Itinerary:
 Day 1: Pick up from Lhasa airport, transfer to your 3 star hotel in the center of Lhasa, which is the Barkhor area. This area is actually the "old" Lhasa, a charming bustling market area full of Tibetan goods and souvenirs. Many Tibetans from all over Tibet come to this area for shopping and for sightseeing, so you can see many different kinds of people here, with stunning clothes and head dresses.

Day 2: Your guide will take you to visit the Potala palace in the morning and Jokhang and Ramoche temples in the afternoon.

Day 3: Car and guide to take you to Drepung and Sera monasteries just outside of Lhasa. The Sera monastery is famous for its daily debating, which attracts many people. It is so special to see the passion with which the monks use the debating system to increase their knowledge of Buddhism.

Day 4: We continue our tour to Nam-tso "heaven" lake. The scenery is absolutely spectacular. The lake lies at an elevation of 4718 m, and has a surface area of 1870 square kilometers. It is the highest salt lake in the world, and largest salt lake in the TAR.

Day 5: We leave Nam-tso lake, crossing Penbo Chak la pass to Reting, We visit the monastery and the surrounding area.

Day 6: From Reting to Tridum, where we visit the nunnery and the hot-springs there and then on to Drigung Til monastery.

Day 7: Leaving Drigung, crossing Kongpo Bala, passing Kongpo Gyamda to Basum Tso lake, we enjoy the scenery at Basum lake and same day late afternoon continue our scenic overland trip to Nying Tri, (Bayi) 

Day 8: Leaving early in the morning, we drive to Gyatsa. En route we will take a de-tour to visit the Lamaling monastery and the Pochoe temple, with stops in Miling and Nangzong and local villages.

Day 9: Early departure to Lhamo Lhatso lake, Chokor Gyal, (one of the most sacred lakes in Tibet, the oracle lake). We can have a short hike up there and enjoy the scenery in the surrounding area.

Day 10: Drive to Tsetang and on to Yimpulakang, where we visit the palace of the first king of Tibet and also the Tradruk temple.

Day 11: Tsetang - Samye monastery, visit the first monastery of Tibet and the surrounding area.

Day 12: Today we drive to Gyantse. The first thing you will see when approaching Gyantse town is the impressive Dzong Fort on a hill. This fort once housed the city government of Gyantse, now it is abandoned. We will visit the Pelkor Chode, a Gelukpa buddhist monastery. Long ago this walled area contained several monasteries from different buddhists sects. The most famous structure inside this monastery is the fantastic Kumbum stupa, the largest stupa in Tibet. The stupa was built in 1427, it has more than 10.000 murals.

Day 13: Drive to Shigatse where we visit the famous Tashilumpo monastery, with its heavy religious atmosphere. This monastery was founded in 1477 by the first Dalai Lama. Inside this monastery we can see the largest copper Buddha figure in the world, adorned with beautiful precious stones and jewels. The monastery is built in Tibetan style, with elements of Han Chinese architecture.

Day 14: Today we ascent to Shekar, also known as New Tingri. On the way we still have great views of Shishapangma, Cho-Oyu, and Everest. We also pass the most scenic Gyawu la pass on the way to Everest base camp.

Day 15: Today we drive up to Everest Base Camp. Great views of the mountain range already greet us. Amazing! We say in a simple tent guesthouse belonging to local Tibetans. Take it easy today, since the base camp is at 5200 m.

Day 16: Today we go down to 2300 meters above sea level to the border town of Zhangmu. It has a mild and humid subtropical climate, which is a rarity for Tibet, making the natural scenery very wonderful.

Day 17: The Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge is only 10 more km. away and another 100 km. drive will lead you into the capital of Nepal, Katmandu.

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