15 Days Lhasa-Shigatse-Mt Everest-Mt. Kailash & Guge Kingdom Tour

Day 1  Arrival Lhasa

Altitude: 3650m   Distance: 100km, about 1.5 hours’ drive

Upon your arrival at the Lhasa airport, your tour guide will greet you and escort you to your hotel and help you check in. You will have the rest of the day and evening to rest and relax to become acclimatized to the higher altitude of Tibet.

Meals: None

Accommodation: Standard/Comfort hotel in Lhasa

Travel Tip:

With its much higher elevation, some visitors may experience symptoms of altitude sickness. We recommend taking everything slowly, getting plenty of rest the first day and staying very well hydrated by drinking plenty of water to minimize the effects of the high altitude. Usually, you will fine by the second day, but if you do experience severe and/ or worsening symptoms, please contact your tour guide or a member of our staff immediately.

Day 2 Lhasa City Sightseeing– Traditional Handicraft Art Center- Sera Monastery

Altitude: 3650m

Traditional Handicraft Art Center - Design Your Own Tibetan Handicrafts - Sera Monastery Debates

This day will give you the opportunity to fully immerse yourself in Tibetan culture as you will be involved in the hands-on process of the traditional Tibetan handicrafts;, we will learn how to make a simple traditional Tibetan cuisine in a typical Tibetan setting. Dishes will include making Tsampa (roasted barley) with butter and cheese, enjoy Tibetan butter tea and other tasty Tibetan treats. After that, we will take you to the treasure house of Tibetan culture which will teach you all about various Tibetan costumes, such as making Tibetan incense, the methods behind Tibetan calligraphy and the secrets of block printing. The whole journey takes around 2 hours.

Then we will move on to visit the holy Sera Monastery, which is held in the courtyard almost every day between 3:00 and 5:30 p.m. Please note that in case of some special monastery activities such as the Dharma Meeting or the reception of VIPs, the monk debates may be canceled that day. After our visit to the monastery, feel free to stroll around the streets of Lhasa as you absorb the atmosphere and spirit of the devoted Tibetan people, or you may return to your hotel to rest and relax from this wonderful Tibetan cultural experience.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Standard/Comfort hotel in Lhasa 

Day 3  Lhasa City Tour -Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street

Altitude: 3650m 

Potala Palace

Initially built in 641 AD and listed as a world heritage site in 1994, the Potala Palace is the most popular tourist attraction in Tibet. The halls, murals, statues and mountain views will make you shocked even if you are not a Buddhist.

Jokhang Monastery

The Jokhang Monastery is the final destination for pilgrims. A statue of the 12-year-old Sakyamuni, who lived in India in the fifth century BC, and who was the creator of Buddhism, is collected in the monastery. This is the reason why Buddhists consider Lhasa a Sacred Land.

Barkhor Street

Located near the Jokhang Monastery, the Barkhor Street was only a place for Buddhists to do a religious circumambulation in ancient times. Nowadays, tourists can buy exquisite souvenirs on the street, such as handicrafts, costumes, tea, prayer wheels and Tibetan incense.

Day 4  Lhasa - Yamdrok Lake – Karola Glacier – Shigatse

Altitude: 4000m   Distance: 380km, about 7 hours’drive

This morning we’ll take a drive up to the Kampala Pass (elevation 4797 meters) where you’ll have a glimpse of Yamdrok Lake down below as well as spectacular views of the holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar in the distance. You will want to have your camera at the ready for the turquoise waters of Yamdrok Lake, which is one of the three holy lakes of Tibet, and the beautiful Mt. Nyenchen Khangsar glacier as seen from the Karol la Pass. Later on we’ll be able to visit the Karola Glacier.

Day 5 Shigatse→Gawula Pass→Rongbuk Monastery→EBC

Altitude: 5100m   Distance: 340km, about 7 hours’ drive

After breakfast we’ll set out towards the peak of the world – Mount Everest. Departing from Shigatse you will see some of the most beautiful and unique scenery in the world – incredibly blue skies, floating high clouds, endless grasslands and the highest mountain peaks in the world. We’ll also stop by the Rongbuk Monastery – the world’s highest altitude monastery before spending the night at the Everest Base Camp.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: EBC tent or guesthouse

Travel Tip:

Today’s food and lodging is poor. Due to the high altitude, it is possible that you may have some symptoms of altitude sickness. We recommend that you stay well hydrated, relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery to minimize your symptoms.

Day 6: Everest Base Camp - Saga  - Shishapangma Protection Zone – Pelkhu-tso

Altitude: 4600m   Distance: 320km, about 7 hours’ drive

Today we will drive the old Tingri Road to Saga County, with views of Mount Everest and Mount Shishapangma (elevation 8012 meters), which was the last of the world’s 8000-meter peaks to be climbed. The road conditions get rougher from the old Tingri Road as it runs parallel to the to the Himalayan mountain ranges and the Nepalese sides known as the Anapurna Ranges. The main road passes through the desolate plains of Digur Tang, with its enormous sand dunes contrasting with the neighboring snow peaks of Shishapangma and Langtang to the south. As we leave the Bum-chu basin, we will descend into the relatively lower elevations of the Pelkhu-tso (elevation 4600 meters), a cobalt blue lake. After checking out the lake, we’ll drive the additional 69 kilometers on to Saga County and spend the night in the small town of Saga.

Day 7: Saga - Baryang -  Lake Manasarovar - Darchen

Altitude: 4600m   Distance: 500km, about 7 hours’ drive

On this 7th day we will drive to Drongpa County, which was founded around the bountiful resources of the Brahmaputra River. We will make a stop in a small village along the main road that consists of only a few basic guesthouses, restaurants and a small monastery known as “Old Drongpa”. Scattered around the monastery you will be able to observe a pile of yak heads that are carved with “sutras” and “mantras”. New Drongpa is another small town with a few shops, hotels and restaurants located about 25 kilometers from Old Drongpa monastery. We will continue on to the Baryang Township (elevation 4750 meters) and drive around Lake Manasarovar before reaching our final destination for the day, Darchen, where we will spend the night.

Day 08: Mt. Kailash Trek Day One – Darchen – Drirapuk

Buddhist pilgrims traditionally begin the 52-kilometer religious trek around Mt. Kailash at Darchen (elevation 4574 meters), which is also the finishing point for the circumnavigation of the sacred mountain. After hiking for a few hours out of Darchen, we will reach a valley known by the locals as “Sarshung” where we will meet an eager group of porters who will be happy to help us carry our gear on yaks and horses along the rest of the trek. After another couple of hours of trekking, we will find a grassy plain populated by nomads, who will be happy to offer up their tents as a place to relax with some soft drinks for a while. From here, we will travel on for another approximately two hours to a place known as Drirapuk (elevation 4920 meters) where we will spend the night in a monastery’s guesthouse that offers the best accommodations in this area (although it is still very rustic.)

Day 09: Mt. Kailash Trek Day Two – Drirapuk – Dzultripuk

This second day of our circuit of Mt. Kailash will be the toughest as we ascend 762 meters up to the Dolma-la Pass. The peak of this pass lies about 5630 meters above sea level, so we’ll get an early start as the sun begins its rise over the mountain ridges above us. Once we have reached the peak of the Dolma-la Pass, we’ll stop for a rest and the opportunity to admire all of the fantastic scenery around us. Then we will begin our descent to the Lhachu Valley, which will take us about one hour. After another short rest, we’ll trek on for another four hours to our final destination for the day. We will walk along the right side of the river to finally reach Dzultripuk, whose name means “miracle cave of Milarepa” in the local language. We will be glad that we got an early start to reach Dzultripuk so that we will get there before the other groups – there are a limited number of rooms available here. We will have time this evening for some rest and relaxation in the guesthouse as we prepare for the final strech of our trek tomorrow.

Day 10: Mt. Kailash Trek Day Three – Dzultripuk – Zanda

Today we will complete our trek around Mt. Kailash, beginning by visiting the many caves, temples and shrines that have been built upon around Milarepa’s cave. It is an easy walk back towards Darchen, taking only about 3 hours of trekking to reach the end of the valley where our driver will meet us to take us back up to Darchen and then the driver will take us to Zanda where we will spend the night.

Day 11: One day trip in Zanda - Guge Kingdom and the Torling Monastery, drive back to Darchen for the night

We will visit the ruins of the ancient Guge Kingdom and the Torling Monastery. Located in the Ngar Region of Tibet, the ruins of the Guge Kingdom were once an imperial estate that fell into disrepair after the civil war revolt and the invasion of the 8 Allied Forces of foreign countries that destroyed the once prosperous state. Luckily the legendary kingdom has not been totally lost as much can still be learned from what remains of it.

And after that,you will see the magnificent Zanda Clay Forest. Entering into Zanda county, the clay forest standing on both sides of Elephant Spring River winds over more than five kilometers. The clay is like warriors defending the mountaintop, some like thousands of horses galloping, and some like devout followers of a religion nurturing themselves, standing there quietly. From different angles, you can see wonderful scenery.

The clay forest in geology is known as "the Level Terrane Physiognomy," formed by erosion, where the sediment of lakes and rivers, mainly composed by sandstone and clay, have formed into various shapes. The Level Terrane has developed upright qualities, and the valley is deep.

Day 12: Darchen – Saga

Altitude: 4600m   Distance: 500km, about 6 hours’ drive

Today we will drive through the windswept territory of rural Tibet, passing through numerous small villages as well as camps of yak and sheepherders on our way back to Saga. With all of the beautiful scenery surrounding us, we will have plenty of opportunities to stop and take photos if you like.

Day 13: Saga – Shigatse

Altitude: 4000m   Distance: 500km, about 6 hours’ drive

More spectacular scenery awaits us as we continue on our leisurely drive back to Shigatse where we will spend the night.

Day 14: Shigatse - Tashilunpo Monastery – Lhasa

We will get an early start today to visit the Tashilunpo Monastery, which was founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama. After visiting this ancient monastery, one of the most important sites in Tibetan Buddhism, then we will head back to Lhasa.

Day 15 Lhasa Departure

Altitude: 3650m Distance: 100km, about 1.5 hours’drive

Today you will have free time until your tour guide escorts you to the Lhasa train station or airport for your departing train or flight from Lhasa. This will end your tour services in Tibet.