Outline:

Tour Length: 9 Days & 8 Nights

Best Time to Visit: All the year round

Physical Demands:  Easy - suitable for all level of fitness, family with kids and senior groups

Main activities: Sightseeing

Trip Overview

This classic Tibet tour takes clients to three cultural destinations of Tibetan plateau. It is one of the very interesting travel routes, which really makes people have a better knowledge of Tibet’s history, culture, tradition, religion. In Lhasa tourists will visit the Potala Palace, the magnificent Sera monastery, the holy Jokhang Temple and the busy Barkhor Street, the nerve centre of Lhasa.

Then drive to the birth place of Tibetan civilization in the Yarlung valley of Tsedang. Gyantse and Shigatse, the two most important cities after Lhasa and other scenic vistas like the Yamdroktso Lake. Samye monastery--the first monastery in Tibetan history;and the first village near Yombulakhang Palace; the first farmland near Yombulakhang Palace.

At a Glance

Day 1 Arrive in Lhasa（3650m)

Day 2 Lhasa Tour -Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street (B)

Day 3 Lhasa Tour - Drepung Monastery, Carpet Factory and Sera Monastery (B)

Day 4 Lhasa (3650m) to Tsedang (3100m) and Visit Samye Monastery(B)

Day 5 Tsedang Tour (3100m) - Yombulakhang Palace and Trundruk Monastery (B)

Day 6 Tsedang (3100m) to Gyantse (3950m) via Yamdrok Lake and Karo Glacier (B)

Day 7 Gyantse (3950m) to Shigatse (3900m) (B)

Day 8 Shigatse (3900m) to Lhasa (3650m)(B)

Day 9 Depart from Lhasa (B)

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Lhasa.

After arriving in Lhasa, tourist can take a rest and get acclimatized to high altitude or feel free to go to Potala Square, enjoy the fountain with different colors and get amazing photos of the Potala and around.

Day 2: Lhasa City, Potala Place and Barkhor Street (B, D)

Your Tibet Travel will begin from UNESCO World Heritage site - Potala Palace, which is also the winter palace of Dalai Lama. It's situated at 12,139 feet above sea level. It's a 13-story high building that contains over 1,000 rooms, various statues, stupas, murals and artifacts.

Then continue to Jokhang Temple, another UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s a spiritual center for Buddhists in Tibet. Next to the temple there is Bakhor Street, filled with pilgrims and street vendors, selling traditional Tibetan items such as prayer wheels and jewelry.

Day 3: Monasteries in Lhasa (Drepung and Sera) (B)

In the morning, tourists are going to visit Drepung monastery which was one of the “three great” Gelug monasteries of Tibet and was founded in 1416. Ganden palace is used as Dalai Lama’s palace in the Drepung before moving to the Potala palace.

Afternoon, Sera Monastery---It was one of the “three great” Gelug monasteries of Tibet and was founded in 1419. The highlight is the Monks debate at around 3 - 5 in the afternoon.

Day 4: Lhasa (3650m) to Tsedang (3100m) and Visit Samye Monastery (B)

Today, clients will have a 290 km driving along the Yarlung Tsang (Brahmaputra River), the Sand Mountain, the high mountain meadow, and the wide rivers accompany you heading to Samye Monastery. The Samye Monastery is the Tibet’s first Buddhist monastery, built in 8 century in Tibet and it is the first monastery of its kind which houses three Buddhist jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Samye Monastery

Afterwards, drive to Tsedang, the capital of Shannan Prefecture, located in Yarlung Valley.

Day 5: Tsedang Tour (3100m) - Yombulakhang Palace and Trundruk Monastery (B)

Tsedang is reputed to be "the cradle of Tibetan Civilization"". In the morning, tourists can visit Yumbulhakhang, the first imperial palace built on the rocky hill for the first Tibetan king and you could have a nice view of the whole valley from there.

Yombulakhang Palace

Then tourists head to visit Trandruk which has a history of 1,300 years, one of the oldest monasteries one couldn’t afford to miss.

Day 6: Tsedang (3100m) to Gyantse (3950m) via Yamdrok Lake and Karo Glacier (B)

Today, tourists will go to Gyantse. On the way, the group will pass over the Gampala pass (4790 m), and tourists will have a glimpse of Yamdrok-tso (4400m) . The Lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains and in the distance clients can have spectacular views of Holy Mount Nojin Khangsar, (7191m) the highest mountain near Lhasa.

Yamdrok Lake

Karo Glacier

We head westward along the lake and drive towards Gyantse. Gyantse was historically Tibet's third largest city (after Lhasa and Shigatse).

Day 7: Gyantse (3950m) to Shigatse (3900m) (B)

In Gyantse, tourists will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery (also known as Gyantse Kumbum). The Kumbum has nine floors and each tier has unique chapels. It is considered the largest stupa in Tibet.

In the afternoon we drive to Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet.

Day 8: Shigatse (3900m) to Lhasa (3650m)(B)

In the morning, tourists will visit Tashilunpo monastery of Gelug Sect, the seat of the Panchen Lama built in 1447. The monastery houses a giant statue of the Maitreya Buddha, the biggest gilded statue of Maitreya (Buddha of the future) in world and a tomb of all the Panchen Lama containing masses of jewels and gold.

Tashilunpo monastery

In the afternoon, the group will drive back to Lhasa on the friendship Highway. The distance between these two places is almost 280 km and it takes 6 hours along the Yarlung Tsangpo River / Bhamaputra River (the Longest and largest river in Tibet).

Day 9: Depart from Lhasa (B)

Transfer tourists to airport/train station