7 Days Lhasa-kathmandu Overland Group Tour

Itinerary

Day 1: Lhasa Arrival

Stop At: Lhasa, Lhasa, Tibet
Highlights: Welcome to Lhasa! Today upon your Lhasa arrival, you will be greeted by your Tibetan guide and escorted to hotel. Rest of the day you will have a good rest to acclimatize the high altitude.
Tips:
1) The Lhasa guide will hold pickup board wirtten as Snow Plateau, please kindly look for this pickup board outside of the airport
2) As the altitude of Lhasa is up to 3,500meters, new commers usually have different level of high altitude sickness symptom, it is recommended to avoid strenuous activities or alcohol drinking for the first few days, drink more water, have enough rest, these measures will help you to overcome or prevent the sickness.

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Four Points By Shareton 4-star

Day 2: Lhasa City

Stop At: Lhasa, Lhasa, Tibet
Elevation: 3500m
Highlights: Today you will visit the famous Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street. Evening is a welcome dinner for the entire group.
Potala Palace: Which is known as the cardinal landmark of Tibet and the residence of the Dalai Lama lineages. Stands 13 stories high and owes over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 statues, the Potala Palace formed a small world in it.
Jokhang Temple: Listed on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2000 as part of the Potala Palace,Jokhang Temple is the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Pilgrims. The temple is a four-storey timber complex with a golden top, with the combination of Tang Dynasty, Tibetan and Nepal architectural styles. Every day, pilgrims come from every corner of Tibet worship here, make it a perfect site for photograpers.
Barkhor Street: As the oldest street in Lhasa, Barkhor Street is considered as the center of the old city, and a perfect place to lear Tibetan culture, economy, religion, and arts. The street is full of handicarfts, such as ornaments, knives, tangka, religious musical instruments, gold and silver ware, masks and a lot more. If you intend to buy some souvenirs for friends or famiy, Barkhor Street will be an ideal place.
Tips:
1) Today you will visit Potala Palace, please take your passport with you as it needs passport for entry
2) Some visitors might feel a bit hard to breath when climbing the Potala Palace, so please just take the climbing slowly.
3) Some places are not allowed to take photos, please kindly inquire your guide for details.
4) When shopping around Barkor Street, you can compare and bargain for the unique souvenirs
5) During the summer time, the musical fountain show at the Potala Plalace Square is 19:30—22:00PM.
6) Please bring hat, sun cream, and sun glasses for today’s tour as you will be at outside for a long day
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Four Points By Shareton 4-star

Day 3: Lhasa Suburb

Stop At: Lhasa, Lhasa, Tibet
Highlight: Today we will visit Xueduibai Handicraft Art School and Sera Monastery with debate.
Xueduibai Handicraft Art School: It is treasure house of Tibetan handicraft culture, offers you a close look of Tibetan costumes, such as making Tibetan insence and Thangka, also you will learn about theTibetan calligraphy and block printing. This place will be a highlight of your trip to learn Tibetan culture.
Sera Monastery: Which is located in the northern suburb of Lhasa City. The monastery was named Sera which means wild rose in the Tibetan language, because the hill behind it was covered with wild roses in bloom when the monastery was built. From of Mon ~ Fri, every afternoon, you ll be able to see monks debating at Sera Monastery.
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Four Points By Shareton 4-star

Day 4: Lhasa / Yamdrok Lake / Gyantse / Shigatse

Stop At: Shigatse, Shigatse, Tibet
Distance: 350km Drive: 10hrs Elevation: 4441m
Highlights: This morning you will be drive to Gyangtse and finally reach Shigatse for hotel check-in. After passing the Kamba-La Pass (4794m), you’ll get to the beautiful Yamdrok Lake for great highland lake view and the distant view of Mt. Nojin Kangtsang(7191m). Continued is a 1.5 hour’s drive to visit the Karo-la Glacier (5050m). Then you will get to Gyangtze and visit the famous Palkor Monastery. Finally in the later afternoon you will reach Tibet’s 2nd largest city---Shigatse.
Yarlong Tsangpo River: Yarlung Tsangpo River is the part of Brahmaputra River that flows through Tibet, the river originates from a glacier on the northern side of the middle Himalayas, over 5,300 meters (208,661 feet) above sea level. It runs across the south of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from west to east, through India and Bengal, and finally flows into the Bay of Bengal. Altogether more than 2,900 kilometers (1,802 miles) long with a catchment area of 935,000 square kilometers, it is the fifth longest river in China(sencond to Yangtze River in China) and described as "the highest river in the world" . When leaving the Tibetan Plateau, the Yarlung River flows in Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon---the world's largest and deepest canyon.
Yamdrok Lake: Which is one of the 3 most sacred lakes in Tibet. It is a lake of 72km long, fed by numerous small streams and sourrounded by snow covered mountains. The two long arms of water, makeing it look like a scorpion from the sky. According to legend, Yamdok Lake is the transformation of a goddess.
Karola Glacier: At 5,560m above sea level, and with an area of 9.4 sq km, this imposing glacier is visible from the highway which links Lhasa and Shigatse. The glacier has been divided into black and white layers due to smoke pollution from motor vehicles, which gives a distinctive colors to this great glacier.
Pelkor Chode Monastery: Founded in 1418, Pelkor Chode Monastery is the main monastery in Gyantse of Tibet. The highlight inside is the Kumbum, which has 108 chapels in its four stories. As an important center of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism, In 1904, the Gyangtse town and the Pelkor Chode Monastery were attacked by British army, although most of the damage was later restored, bullet holes from this attack still remain in the monastery.

Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Shigatse Gesar Hotel 3-star

Day 5: Shigatse / Rongbuk Monastery (Everet Base Camp)

Stop At: Rongbuk Monastery, near North Everest Base Camp, Tingri County China
Distance: 350km Drive: 10hr Elevation: 5154m
Highlights: Today we will drive from Shigaste to Lhatse, Tingri, and finally reach Rongbuk Monastery---which is current Everest Base Camp site, you will witness spectacular high plateau views such as blue sky, float light clouds, stretching snow mountains, endless grasslands.
Rongbuk Monastery: Located at the northern foot of Mt. Everest, the Rongbuk Monastery is only 10 KM away from the Everest Base Camp. It was originally built in 1902 by a Nyingmapa Lama, and considered as the highest monastery in the world. The monastery belongs to the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism, it used to hold 500 monks, but has only 30 monks now. The monastery is a perfect place to view Everest, on sunny days, a pile of thick clouds, just like a white flag floats lightly above the peak, which is known to be the miracle of 'The Highest Flag Cloud in the World'.
Tips:
1) From 13th Dec 2018, all visitors can only reach Rongbuk Monastery, the government set up a new Everest Base Camp site around the Rongbuk Monastery, which is 2km away from the original EBC site.
2) All visitors have to change for 29 seats eco-bus at a location 20km away from Rongbuk Monastery (EBC), this is to protect the enviroment of Everet area.
3) It is very cold and requires some warm clothing.
4) The beddings in the tent are not frequently washed, if you think necessary, you can bring your own sleeping bags
5) April, May, September, October, November are good to visit Everest, Late June to August is rainy season in Tibet.
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Tent (dorm-bed, basic condition, no shower, public bathroom, no breakfast)

Day 6: Rongbuk Monastery / Gyirong

Pass By: Gyirong County, Gyirong County, Tibet
Distance:320km Drive: 10hrs Elevation:2600m
Highlights: Early in the morning you can view the sun rise on the top of Mt. Everest. Later we will drive back to the main road(318 national high way) to Gyirong Port. On the way you still have the chance to get a last glimpse of the Mt.Everest and the Himalaya mountains.
Mt. Everest: Located in the Himalayas ranges of the border between Tibet and Nepal, Everest is also called Qomolangma or Chomolungma. It raises 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level, it is the main peak of Himalayas and the world's highest mountain. The Everest is covered by snow all the year round, when sun shines on the mountain, the summit of the mountain seems like the pyramid covered by the sunlights, offering a spectacular view.

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Guesthouse of Gyirong (basic condition, no shower, public bathroom, no breakfast)

Day 7: Gyirong / Border / Kathmandu

Pass By: Gyirong County, Gyirong County, Tibet
Distance: 170km Drive: 11hrs Elevation:1370m
Highlights: In the early morning, you will cross the border - Gyirong Port, our service ends at the border.
Tips:
1) Our service ends at the border, you get to manage the transfer to Kathmandu on your own by hiring a jeep or share the jeep with other travelers, the cost is usually around USD30/per seat on the jeep.
2) If you want us to book a private jeep for you, the cost is around USD290/per private jeep
3) It is 11 hours drive from the border to Kathmandu, road condition is not very good
4) The Nepal visa can be obtained upon arrival with 25USD/per person, or you can apply online beforehand.
5) Please prepare 3 photos of 28mm in width, 33mm in length for the immigration use.

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.