Day 1 Arrival in Lhasa

Upon your arrival by air or train, our Lhasa driver and guide will be ready to take you for a wild adventure. There is no activity arranged for the rest of the day. You can use it to acclimatize yourself to the plateau environment.

Day 2 Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barhkor Street

After breakfast, your Lhasa discovery officially begins. The first stop today will be the world-famous Potala Palace. It’s a witness of the beautiful combination between Tibetan chief Srongtsen Gampo and Princess Wencheng from the Tang Dynasty and a place where the Dalai Lamas took residence and handled local affairs. The palace houses numerous relics and treasures. Tibetans consider the palace a sacred place. Many significant religious events took place here.

After visiting the Potala Palace, you will enjoy a Tibetan lunch at a local restaurant.

Tip: Some people may find Tibetan food a little strange. Please check your guide for lunch advice.

In the afternoon, we will head for the Jokhang Temple, the real sacred place for Tibetan Buddhist disciples. It’s the most magnificent building from the Tubo period in existence and the earliest wooden building in Tibet. It has traces of Tibetan, traditional Chinese, Nepalese, and Indian architectural styles. Many Tibetan Buddhist disciples came here to pay their respect, making the thousands of butter lamps and incenses burning all day long.

At last, we will spend some time in Barhkor Street. It’s a thousand-year-old street that can show the Tibetan culture and customs best. The most prosperous part of Barhkor Street is near the Jokhang Temple. Many Tibetan Buddhist disciples with revolving prayer wheels in their hands make their pilgrimage clockwise around the Jokhang Temple. It’s striking to see local people so devout and reverent. Of course, you will also see a lot of local specialties, arts, crafts, and souvenirs.

Your day tour comes to an end by now. Your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.




    

Day 3 Norbulingka, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery

After breakfast, you will head for Norbulingka first. It used to be the Summer Palace for Dalai Lamas. As the largest man-made garden with the best landscape and most historic spots, Norbulingka doesn't collect much antique relics and treasures as Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple. It is still a great place for leisure.

Your next stop will be the Drepung Monastery. “Drepung” in the Tibetan language means “rice pile” as the outer walls of the temple (built on the mountain) are white and look like rice piles from afar. It’s the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Tibet. You have to trek on the mountain road to get to the main hall of the monastery, which can take a lot of energy. During the Sho Dun Festival, which takes place in July of Tibetan Calendar, a large image of Sakyamuni made from colorful silk will be presented along the mountain so that all the disciples can prostrate themselves in worship.

Have lunch at another nice local restaurant before heading for the Sera Monastery. “Sera” in the Tibetan Language refers to the rosewood as there is a vast piece of rosewood forest around the monastery. One of the highlights of visiting the Sera Monastery is to see the monks debating the Buddhist scriptures.

Afterward, your guide and driver will accompany you back to your hotel.

Day 4 Lhasa Departure

Your driver and guide will pick you about 3 hours before your flight and drive you to the Lhasa airport.