Day 01: Fly from Kathmandu to
the Gonggar airport of Lhasa, (90 Kilometers from the main
city). This afternoon remains free for acclimatization. Early
morning you are transferred to the airport to board the plane
for the flight over the Himalaya to Lhasa. If the weather
is clear, there is a wonderful view of Everest, Nuptse,
Lhotse, Makalu, Kanchenjunga and other peaks en route.
On arrival at Gonggar airport (which is 90 kilometers
from Lhasa), you meet your vehicle and drive east along
the broad Yarlung Tsangpo valley to Tsedang (3400m.).
After checking into your hotel, you drive south to
see the reputed oldest building in Tibet, the Yumbu
Lakhang, a beautiful castle-like dwelling and monastery,
dramatically perched on a spur looking out over the
fertile valley below. If time permits, you may be able
to visit a small monastery close to Tsedang, or an
interesting carpet factory where you can see the whole
process of carpet making.
Day 02: This day you visit Potala Palace, Norbulinka,
Jorkhang Temple & Barkhor Street. One of the highlights
is the visit to the symbol of Tibet; the Potala Palace
set high on Red Hill, the winter home of the Dalai
Lama until 1959. The most sacred temple in Lhasa is
the Lokhang, where people come from all over Tibet
to visit and pray in this spiritual heart of the country.
It was used as a military kitchen during the Cultural
Revolution but has now been beautifully restored, with
many priceless thangkas and statues adorning the chapels,
and magnificent gilded roofs.
Another great treasure is the Norbulingka – the
old summer palace of the Dalai Lama. Now you visit
Jorkhang Temple, the center of the Tibetan Buddhism
and the sacred land of Buddhist followers where innumerable
pilgrims come for worship everyday. The temple, built
in 647, is the earliest wood-and-masonry structure
still existing in Tibet. Surrounding the Jorkhang Temple
is the bustling Barkhor Street which is the religious
and social focus of Lhasa. Around the Barkhor Street
there are numerous stalls selling all sorts of handicrafts:
brightly coloured boots and fur-lined hats, silver
and turquoise jewelry, rosaries, prayer flags and charms,
as well as beautiful Tibetan carpets and all manner
of ordinary household ware.
Day 03: Drive to Gyantse via Yamdrok Lake, after visiting
Kumbum & Pelku Chode, continuously drive to Shigatse.
You stay overnight in Shigatse. Today is a full day
picturesque drive crossing over a colorful Yamdrok
Lake and Kambala Pass at 4,794 m and Karola Pass at
5,010m. In Gyantse you spend time visiting the Pelke
Chode Monastery and the 35m high famous Kumbum Stupa
in Gyantse packed with exquisite Tibetan sculpture
and paintings, a stunning architectural wonder in Tibet
With Gyantse just fades away from your sight, Shigatse
becomes clearer because it's just 1 1/2 hours' driving
(98km).
Shigatse is situated near the junction of the Ngang
and Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) rivers, with many
traditional low ceiling, flat roofed, mud brick Tibetan
houses, but quite a lot of ugly modern Chinese buildings
as well. It is home of the Tashilunpo monastery, traditional
seat of the Panchen Lama, and one of the great centers
of Tibetan Buddhism. Shigatse also has an interesting
bazaar, where various traditional items can often be
found at more or less reasonable prices. Shigatse has
always been an important trade and administration center
and also has political and religious significance,
once being the seat of the Panchen Lama. The town is
essentially divided into two parts: the old Tibetan
style area in the city and the concrete, modern Chinese
part of the town. The older streets and alleys here
are very pleasant to wander and there are a few sights
of interest to warrant a stay of a day or two.
Day 04: You drive from Shigatse to Rongbuk via Lhatse
and Tingri. You stay overnight at Rongbuk Monastery.
Leaving Shigatse you climb steadily to the top of a
4050m pass, then follow valleys containing a few small
villages before climbing to the Tsuo La (4500m.). From
here the road drops steeply down towards Lhatse where
the main road from western Tibet comes in. Another
climb through virtually unpopulated high altitude moorland
brings you to the summit of the Gyatso La (5220m.),
the watershed between Tibet and the Indian sub-continent.
After a long descent you arrive at Xegar or New Tingi.
Scenically this is one of the most spectacular days
of the trip. Leaving New Tingri you head towards Rongbuk.
Day 05: Excursion to Everest Base Camp by local carriage
and return to Rongbuk, same day drive back to Shigatse.
You stay overnight in Shigatse. It requires two hours
trek from The Rongbuk Monastery to reach the base of
the highest peak on earth The North Face of Mount Everest
(8848m.) or Mount Quomolangma in Tibetan. Explore the
base camp and The Rongbuk Glacier. But the views are
stupendous on a clear day, and as it exhibits the feature
of a huge sweep of the Himalaya range including peaks
over 8000, Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Gyachung and Cho
Oyu. When you finally get to Base Camp, the first sight
of the mighty Everest simply leaves you speechless.
All the hardship you bear along the way makes sense
at this while. You return to Rongbuk Monastery and
drive back to Shigatse.
Day 06: Visit Tashilunbo Monastery and drive back
to Lhasa via northern road. You stay overnight in Lhasa.
Unlike most religious buildings in Tibet, the Tashilunbo
monastery was largely untouched during the Cultural
Revolution, and contains numerous impressive chapels
and prayer halls. You would be amazed to see the giant
statue of the Maitreya Buddha that contains 280 kg.
of gold. The Tashilhunpo Monastery does justice to
the term monastic city. It was founded in 1447 by Tsong
Khapa's nephew and disciple, Gendundrub, who was the
first Dalai Lama. Under the fourth Panchen Lama, it
was substantially enlarged and became an important
cultural and religious site. The main chapel contains
a huge, 26 meter-high statute of the future Buddha.
The monastery is grandly decorated with arts, ancient
scriptures and scroll paintings.
After your visit to Tashilhunpo Monastery you drive
back to Lhasa via northern road.
Day 07: This is full day excursion to Namtso Lake,
so called the “Sky Lake”. On the same day
you drive back to Lhasa and visit Yangpacheng Hot Spring
en route. You stay overnight in Lhasa. Namtso Lake,
so called the “Sky Lake”, is like a crystal
gem inlaid on the vast Qiangtang Plain. The Nyaiqen
Tanglha, mountain range with peaks over 7000m, towers
over the lake to the south. Thawed snow from this range
makes the body of the lake, so the water is a miraculous
shade of turquoise blue, and there are magnificent
views of the nearby mountains. The wild open spaces
are intoxicating and dotted with the tents of local
nomad herders. Now, you drive back to Lhasa but can’t
ignore to visit Yangpacheng Hot Spring en route.
Day 08: You are transferred to Gonggar airport and
fly to Kathmandu. Your tour ends! The flight will
give you an eyeful view of mountains such as Mt Kanchenjunga
(8586m.), Mt. Everest (8848m.), Mt. Makalu (8463m.)
and others.
You
fly or drive across the Himalaya to Lhasa, where you
have plenty of time to visit the main sights in and around
the town including the Potala Palace, the Norbulingka
(the Dalai Lama’s summer
palace) and the Jorkhang Temple which contains Jowo Shakyamuni,
the most holy statue to all Tibetan Buddhists. You also
visit the major monasteries in the Lhasa Valley including
Samye, Drepung and Sera. You then drive along the Friendship
Highway to Nepal, one of the most spectacular road journeys
in the world. You visit the towns and monasteries in
both Gyantse and Shigatse and then have a spectacular
drive across the Tibetan Plateau with great views of
Everest from the north side and Shishmapangma, the only
8,000m mountain situated totally in Tibet. Finally you
drive through the Himalaya and down into a spectacular
gorge back to Nepal and Kathmandu. You can also fly back
from Lhasa to Kathmandu.