Day 1 Arrival in Lhasa

Upon your arrival in Lhasa, either by train or plane, our Lhasa guide and driver will pick you up and transfer you to your hotel. The rest of the day will be in your hands. Please take the time to acclimatize the high altitude.

Day 2 Norbulingka, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery

After breakfast, our first destination will be the summer palace for the Dalai Lamas - the Norbulingka. There, you can slowly breathe in the fresh morning air and get used to the high altitude. The luxuriant trees, flowers, beautiful ponds, and magnificent palaces will ease your mind.

Then, we will drive for the Drepung Monastery - the highest-ranking monastery in the Gelug Sect. As a school of Dalai Lamas, the Drepung Monastery has played a crucial role in Tibet Buddhism. “Drepung” in the Tibetan language means “piles of rice," which symbolizes prosperity. The fact is that the monastery has housed over 10,000 monks by now. It will be a journey of the spirit.

At last, we will head for the Sera Monastery, another great local monastery famous for its grand ceremony of the Buddhist debating and beautiful temples. You will have a chance to observe monks debating with each other over the Buddhist scriptures.




    

Day 3 Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street

After breakfast, you will head for the Potala Palace, the landmark of Tibet. It was the political center of Tibet since the 7th century and served as the winter palace for Dalai Lamas in later generations. You will spend 1-2 hours wandering around this magnificent building and marvel at the luxuriant lifestyle of Tibetan rulers.

In the afternoon, you will set out for the Jokhang Temple. Like other monasteries of Tibet, Jokhang Temple also has many individual temples and painted saints and lamas. There are three of them particularly interesting, the statues of Princess Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo and Princess of Nepal. You will hear so much about their stories.

Afterwards, we will stroll around the Barkhor Street where you will encounter hordes of pilgrims walking around the Jokhang Temple, a unique way of worshiping their deities. You can also see a lot of stylish buildings along the street where stores and shops are lining up.




    

Day 4 Lhasa - Shigatse, Yamdrok Lake, Palcho Monastery

After breakfast, your adventure continues to Shigatse, the largest city in Tibet. The first sight for today is the holy Yamdrok Lake. Praised as “the most beautiful water on earth," the Yamdrok Lake is the “turquoise earrings dropped by the goddess” in the hearts of the Tibetan people. No matter which angle you view the lake, you will always be presented with an extremely rich blue color. The towering Gangbala Mountain capped with snow in the north makes it even more endearing. Besides, the lake is the largest bird habitat in southern Tibet, where you will see a lot of swans, ducks, water birds, fiegles, egrets, and seagulls. It’s striking to see numerous eggs being laid on dozens of small islands in the lake during the spawning season. On the banks of the Yamdrok, flocks of yaks and sheep are browsing leisurely. If you want, you can ride a yak like a local Tibetan.






    





Next, we will head for the Gyantse, on the way there, we will pass by the splendid Karuola Glacier. It’s one of the three continental glaciers in Tibet and the eastern source of Nianchu River. Your last sight today is the Palcho Monastery in Gyantse. It’s a classic Tibetan Buddhist monastery integrated Han, Tibetan, and Nepali architectural characteristics. The monastery has two extraordinary parts. On the one hand, Sakya, Kadam, and Gelug sects exist in the monastery simultaneously. On the other hand, there is the Kumbum Stupa, the symbol of Palcho Monastery. It’s not an ordinary stupa. Instead, it’s composed of nearly 100 Buddha halls. Inside the stupa are over 100,000 Buddhist statues.

Stay overnight in a hotel of Shigatse.

Day 5 Shigatse-Tingri, Tashilunpo Monastery

After breakfast, you will explore the Tashilunpo Monastery, one of the six great Shamanism monasteries in Tibet. It was built by the first Dalai Lama I Gedun Drub, the eighth disciple of Tsongkhapa and the first person to introduce Shamanism into Tibet. Since the 17th century, the Tashilunpo Monastery became the preaching place for later Panchen Erdeni.

After the tour, we will drive to Tingri. The journey will take about 4.5 hours but don’t worry; there will be plenty of views. You will have the afternoon free for yourself and be ready for the Mt. Everest Base.




   

Day 6 Rongbuk Monastery, Mount Everest

After breakfast, we will drive for the Rongbuk Monastery. Located at the foot of Mount Everest, the Rongbuk Monastery is the world’s highest monastery. The monastery was built here because the monks wanted a serene place for chanting and rest. However, the travel surge of Mount Everest has made the monastery popular as well. You will see a lot of stone piles inscribed with English, Japanese and Italian words.

After visiting the monastery, we will proceed to Mount Everest. It’s about 20km from the monastery, but the mountainous road can be very bumpy. Luckily, there is spectacular scenery awaiting ahead. You will enjoy the magnificent sunset at the Everest Base Camp. Drive back to Shigatse in the evening.



    

Day 7 Shigatse - Lhasa (6h), Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon

After breakfast, we will drive to Lhasa, but we will pass the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon on the way there. You can take some fantastic places of the snowy peaks, twisting rivers, beautiful lakes, and pristine Tibetan villages.






After that, you will head back to Lhasa.






    

Day 8 Lhasa Departure

Your guide and driver will pick you up a few hours before your flight and take you to the airport.