Day 1:You will arrive at Lhasa either by fly or by train. Your Tibetan guide and driver will take you to your hotel in Lhasa city. The distance from the airport to Lhasa is about 70km, approximately 1:30 hrs.’ drive. The distance from the train station is only 25km, about 30 minutes’ drive. Check in the hotel and relax the rest of the day to acclimatize your body to the new altitude and alleviate the jet lag.

 

Day 2: This morning we will visit the Potala Palace.  Most likely it, it will be a challenge to climb up the Potala Palace (3,700m above sea level) but you will get great views of Lhasa’s urban areas. You will hear the story of the Dalai Lamas and see the chapels where the Dalai Lamas studied, rested and worked. You’ll also get to see the former Dalai Lamas’ graves, beautifully decorated.
We’ll continue the tour to the Jokhang Temple, within walking distance from the Potala Palace. It is considered the spiritual center of Tibet. You will see many pilgrims nearby the temple. Entering the first floor of the temple and absorbing the religious atmosphere, you will see pilgrims donating butter lamp in front of Buddha’s statue. While learning about more Buddhism and Lamas, you will gain a feeling of the vast history of Tibetan Buddhism. You might also listen red-robed Lamas praying. You will walk up to the roof of the temple, take some pictures of the gold roof and enjoy the beautiful sunshine of Lhasa while observing pilgrims praying in front of the temple.
Finally, we will join in local traditional pilgrimage route with a relaxing walk in a large circular path around the Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street. The street is filled with pilgrims taking part in religious activities and street vendors selling a wide variety of traditional Tibetan goods and religious items.
If you like you can also ask your tour guide to arrange a visit at a Thangka workshop, and marvel at the fabulous Thangka art work.
We’ll take you back to your hotel

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Day 3: In the morning you will visit Drepung Monastery, which was once the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery housing 10,000 monks. You’ll learn about the lives of Tibetan monks.
Your tour will end in the afternoon after we visit the Sera Monastery. There, you will get the chance to experience “Buddhism Scriptures Debating”. These debates are unique to Sera and are quite famous.
We’ll take you to your hotel.

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Day 4: Today we will be driving approximately 6 hours from Lhasa to Shigatse through the Friendship highway. Shigatse is the second biggest city in Tibet.
In the afternoon you will visit Tashilumpo Monastery, the oldest and largest Gelugpa Monastery in Tibet and the seat of Panchen Lama. You’ll get to admire the beautiful frescoes, statues and sculptures. You will see a giant statue of Future Buddha decorated with precious pearls, turquoises, corals and amber.
Proceed to a Tibetan market to experience the distinctive local life.  The rest of the day is for the preparations for the trekking.
Overnight stay in Old Tingri.

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Day 5:Today, we will have a long driving journey to Saga, a distance of 450km, about 8 hours’ drive.
We will arrive around 8 p.m., your guide will arrange overnight accommodations at the Saga Hotel or a similar one (twin-share room basis)

Day 6:On this day, we’ll follow the footsteps of pilgrims across the far-west of Tibet, traversing several high passes of moonscape terrain, through a region where the lifestyle remains close to what it has been for centuries, only enliven by lonely groups of nomads families dwelling in their low, black tents and tending flocks of sheep and herds of ubiquitous yaks over the pastures. Nevertheless, many other abounding wild animals can be found in this region like herds of wild asses.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse in Darchen.

 

Day 7: We will visit Tarboche. The festival of Saga Dawa takes place annually in Tarboche, a Tibetan tradition celebrating the Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment, and Death. This Kailash circuit has 53 km and can be done in three days. We head west in clockwise direction and after a few kilometers the trail climbs up to a cairn at 4730 m from where the southern face of Mt. Kailash comes to view.
Overnight stay at a local tent camp or in at a guesthouse.

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Day 8: Today we will cross Drolma la pass (5630m) and Gauri Kund Lake (5608m) where Hindus worship and immerse themselves in the icy waters of the lake.
Overnight stay at a local tent camp or in at a guesthouse.

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Day 9: The end of the Parikrama is the easiest, it takes approximately 2-3 hours to walk down where the river emerges on to the Barga plain. This will complete the three days circuit trek of Mt. Kailash and we will drive back to Manasarovar Lake where you may take some water from the sacred Lake.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse.

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Day 10:We’ll begin our drive back from Manasarovar Lake to Saga with a distance of 530km, about 9 hours’ drive.
Overnight stay at Saga hotel or similar.

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Day 11: We’ll continue the tour from Saga to Rongbuk. Distance of 430km, approximately 7 hours’ drive.
Overnight stay at Rongbuk
Tips: If you stay overnight near Rongbuk Monastery either in a tent or guesthouse, it takes about a 2-hour trek from the monastery to the first Mt. Everest Base Camp (EBC). Obviously, it can be quite cold there, so pack warm clothes. If you take a shuttle bus from Rongphu monastery to the Everest base camp (8km) it should take about 15mins. At night, visitors can get up to take photos of Mt. Everest surrounded by the moon and stars. Be sure to get up early to see the sunrise over Mt. Everest.

 

Day 12: We’ll wake up early this morning to see the sunrise flowing over the stunning north face of Mt. Everest (8844.43 m), the tallest mountain on earth. For those tourists who would like to go to EBC in the morning to have a closer view of Mt. Everest, we could take the local environment tour vehicle EBC and after shooting the photos, we could come back to the campsite and then we drive back to Shigatse (340km). Our trip will continue from Mt. Everest Base Camp (EBC) to Shigatse with distance of 340km.
Overnight stay in Shigatse

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Day 13: We’ll continue our drive from Shigatse to Lhasa, stopping at through Gyangtse Pelchu monastery, Karo la, and Yamdok Lake. The Kubum Stupa, at the Pelchu monastery, is nine stories’ high, with white layers trimmed with decorative stripes a a crown-like golden dome and with 75 chapels, dedicated to the murals and statues, describing the tantric Tibetan Buddhism.
We’ll drive by the imposing Karo-la Glacier (5045m) along the highway before stopping to visit the famous holy Yamdok Lake. It is one of the clearest unpolluted lake in Tibet.
Overnight stay in Lhasa.

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Day 14: This is your last day of the tour, so your guide will take you to the Gongkar airport or the Libu train station in Lhasa.

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