From the tropical lowlands of Nepal to the high Tibetan plateau, this overland trip to Tibet offers astounding altitudinal variation. An exhilarating high altitude walk around Rongbuk, the world's highest situated monastery and Everest Base Camp, makes this trip an amazing and unforgettable experience. Later journey through Central Tibet's urban and religious centres, and capture the essence of a unique and special culture.
ITINERARY:
Day 01 - Kathmandu Arrival Kathmandu. Check into hotel.
Day 02 - Kathmandu Spend day sightseeing
Day 03 - Zhangmu Begin trip with an early morning drive out of Kathmandu to Kodari on the Nepal-Tibet border. Cross into Tibet and spend the night in Zhangmu.
Day 04 - Zhangmu/Shegar Leave Zhangmu and ascend to Nyalam past waterfalls, evergreen forests and canyons. Nyalam is the first village on the Tibetan plateau. Continue onto Shegar and its fortress ruins.
Day 05 - Shegar/Rongbuk Depart Shegar Dzong for Rongbuk, the world’s highest situated monastery at 5200 m and Everest base camp 12 kms beyond.
Day 06 - Rongbuk/Everest Base Camp Hike around Rongbuk and the Everest base camp area. For the more adventurous, hike within sight of the east & west Rongbuk and Khangshung glaciers.
Day 07 - Shegar Dzong Leave Rongbuk monastery and back track to Shegar Dzong.
Day 08 - Shigatse Depart for Shigatse, Tibet’s second largest city and traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas.
Day 09 - Shigatse/Gyantse Visit the Grand Monastery of Tashi Lhunpo. A rewarding feature is the 3 km pilgrims walk from where views of the city and ruins of Shigatse Dzong can be seen. PM Depart for Gyantse. Visit Gyantse’s Palkhor Choide monastery and the Kumbum with its 70 interlocking chapels.
Day 10 - Gyangtse/Lhasa Depart for Lhasa by way of the southern route. Traverse the Khamba La pass at 4900m with great views of scenic Yamdrok Tso Lake. Check into hotel on arrival.
Day 11 - Lhasa AM Visit the famous Potala, perched high above Lhasa on “Marpori” or red mountain. Twelve storeys high and consisting of more than 1,000 rooms, it dominates Lhasa.
PM Tour Drepung monastery, Tibet’s largest monastery.
Day 12 -Lhasa AM Visit the Jokhang temple, religious and geographical centre of Lhasa, and the bustling Barkhor, an inner pilgrim circuit lined with markets, shops and stalls.
PM Tour Sera Monastery on the outskirts of Lhasa. Sera once housed over 5,000 monks and novices and is one of the best preserved monasteries in Tibet.
Day 13 -Tsedang Depart early for the Yarlung valley and Tse-
dang. Enroute take a ferry across the Tsangpo river to Samye, Tibet’s first monastery.
PM Continue to Tsedang.
Day 14 Tsedang Spend full day sightseeing Tsedang with visits to Yumbu Lhakhang and the tombs of the Yarlung kings in nearby Chongye.
Day 15 Departure Transfer to Gongkar airport for flight to Kathmandu.
Day 16 Depart Ktm/or extension
N.B.Trips to Tibet operate between April thru October only
Rates
Mountains & Monasteries
2-5 Persons
6 or more
Air Fare
First Class
$1944
$1647
$1460
Tourist
$1823
$1526
$1460
Hotels In order to make the travel experience more convenient and confortable, we have selected the following hotels in the various stops.
Cities
First Class
Tourists
Lhasa
Lhasa Hotel
Hotel Shambala or similar
Tsedang
Hotel Tsedang
Hotel Friendship
Gyangtse
Hotel Gyangtse
same
Shigatse
Hotel Shigatse
Hotel Gongjorling
Zhangmu
Hotel Zhangmu
same
Cost includes Accommodation in Tibet with breakfast, all transfers, sightseeing with English speaking guide, Tibet (Chinese) normal visa.
Cost does not include Three nights hotel accommodation while in Kathmandu, expense of a private nature i.e. laundry, drinks, telephone calls, meals (unless specified), insurance, visa fees, airport taxes, Tibet (china) urgent visa fee US$ 35, excess baggage charges and all manner of gratuities. A surcharge of US$87 per person to use Toyota land cruisers 4WD from Lhasa to Nepal border based on maximum 4 persons per land cruiser in case of bad road condition.
Special Intructions: All Tibet tours depart Kathmandu on Saturday s or Tuesdays. Passengers must arrive in Kathmandu at least 2 days before departure in order to process your Tibet permit. At the end of the tour allow for an additional day in Kathmandu.
Additional 3 Night Accomodation in Kathmandu
First Class Hotel
Shangrila Hotel or similar
$220 /person
Twin room
Standard Hotel
Tibet Guest House or similar
$95 /person
Twin room
Optional Tours Based on minimum of two persons- Costs are per person
Bhutan
4 nights/5 days
$1360
Glimpses of the Himalayas ( Darjeeling/Sikkim )
4 nights/5 days
$995
Chitwan Jungle Safari
3 nights/4 days
$385
Mountain Flight ( closeup views of the Himalayas )
$135
NOTE: Airfares quoted are estimates only and are based on West Coast departures (Los Angeles or San Francisco). A High season surcharge of $200 will be charched for departure during the following months:
June-July-August & December 1- January 15.
From the tropical lowlands of Nepal to the high Tibetan plateau, this overland trip to Tibet offers astounding altitudinal variation. An exhilarating high altitude walk around Rongbuk, the world's highest situated monastery and Everest Base Camp, makes this trip an amazing and unforgettable experience. Later journey through Central Tibet's urban and religious centres, and capture the essence of a unique and special culture.
