Day 01: Arrival in Lhasa - Lhasa Airport Pick Up
Upon your arrival at the Lhasa airport, your tour guide will greet you and escort you to your hotel and help you get checked in.
Day 02: Lhasa City Sightseeing - Potala Palace - Jokhang Temple - Barkhor Street (B)
After breakfast at the hotel, we will visit the incredible Potala Palace – the highest palace in the world. Then we will move on to the spiritually significant Jokhang Temple, one of the most important temples in Tibetan Buddhism. To see the “real” Lhasa, we’ll stroll through Barkhor Street with its thriving local market where you can pick up some local Tibetan, Nepalese and Indian handicrafts and souvenirs.
Day 03: Lhasa City Sightseeing - Sera Monastery – Drepung Monastery
Today features visits to 2 of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism – the Drepung and Sera Monasteries. Drepung Monastery is located on the hillside west of Lhasa – at one time the world’s largest monastery with about 10,000 monks living there. After Drepung, we will move on to the Sera Monastery. The main highlight of the Sera Monastery is watching the crowd of monks debating inside the shady courtyard behind the main temple.
Day 04: Lhasa - Yamdrok Lake – Karola Glacier – Gyantse (Kumbum Monastery) – Shigatse (B)
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 Karola Pass. Later on we’ll be able to visit the Karola Glacier before continuing along the southern Friendship Highway to Gyantse, where you will be able to see the famous Gyantse Kumbum, one of the most stunning architectural wonders in Tibet. Late in the afternoon we will continue on to Shigatse where we will spend the night.
Day 05: Shigatse - Tashilunpo Monastery – Lhasa (B)
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, we will head back to Lhasa in the afternoon.
Day 06: Lhasa Departure (B)
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.
