Lhasa and Mt. Kailash Tour - 528 Days

Today you will be headed to the UNESCO listed world heritage sites in Kathmandu. After your breakfast, your guide will receive you at the hotel and transfer you to the Kathmandu Durbar Square. Here, you can explore the historical monuments, temples and palaces built during the medieval period in Nepal. It is a fine piece of art, culture and history. After exploring the artistic beauty of those palaces, temples and museum, you will be headed to Swayambhunath stupa, a reflection of Buddhist religion atop a hill that offers a picturesque view of Kathmandu city as a whole. Next on the sightseeing journey is the ancient and popular Pashupatinath temple. It is a temple of Lord Shiva that holds high value amongst Hindu pilgrims. We wander around the temple, explore its religious value and head towards Boudhanath stupa. We enjoy our evening around the stupa placed on the three layered mandala and wrap up our journey for the day. You will be dropped at the hotel for the night. (Breakfast included)

Get ready for an amazing flight to Lhasa today. You will be picked up at your hotel and escorted to the international terminal of Tribhuwan International airport for a flight to Lhasa. As you take off, you will fly over the beautiful ranges of the Himalayas. Admiring the Himalayan views, you will reach Gonggar airport where you will meet our Chinese crew members who will escort you for your journey ahead. From the airport, you will be transferred to your hotel. Check in and relax for the rest of the day.

Also known as the land of gods, Lhasa is a treasure of Tibet manifested with beautiful monasteries, palaces and temples, preserving its art, architecture and culture intact. Today, you will be guided to Sera monastery, one of the best preserved and magnificent monasteries in Lhasa, with whitewashed walls, golden roofs and classic architecture, home to thousands of monks who study and live there. After visiting this monastery, you will be headed to Norbulingka, a summer palace of the Dalai Lama. After admiring this palace, you will be headed to Jokhang temple, an ancient temple placed amid the maze-like Bakor streets in the center of Lhasa. Stay at your hotel for the night.

Another day of sightseeing in Lhasa. You will be guided to Potala palace, one of the magnificent palaces of the Dalai Lama. As you enter Lhasa, the first thing that comes into sight is the red and white colored grand palace atop a hill known as Potala palace. Built in the 17th century, this palace is full of grand rooms and important worship rooms (chapels). After exploring this palace, you will be transferred to Drepung monastery, the largest monastery in the world, able to accommodate around ten thousand monks. After this we conclude our sightseeing journey and you will be dropped at your hotel for the evening.

Leaving Lhasa, we head towards Gyantse in our land cruiser, following the path along the Tsangpo river and ascending until we reach Khampa La. From the pass, we can relish beautiful views of Yamdrok lake just below us and the peak of Ningdzingzonka right in front. Leaving the lake, we drive west to Gyantse. We stay at a guesthouse in Gyantse for the night.

Early in the morning, we visit the popular Pelkor monastery in Gyantse. After visiting the monastery, we head towards Shigatse. On the way, we can visit the Panchen Lama's Tashilhunpo monastery, with whitewashed walls and golden roofs, one of the largest functioning monasteries in Tibet today. After visiting the monastery, we continue our drive further to Shigatse. We stay at a guesthouse in Shigatse for the night.

Leaving Shigatse, we head towards Lhatse. Today, we will pass two high passes on the way, offering spectacular views of mountains and Tibetan plateaus. Admiring those appealing views from the passes, we head towards Lhatse. We stay at a guesthouse in Lhatse for the night.

After breakfast in the guesthouse, we continue our overland ride in the land cruiser, driving along the Brahmaputra river, passing many villages and small camps of yak herders on the way to Saga. We drive through flat land for most of the day, making our ride comfortable and pleasing. We stay at a guesthouse in Saga for the night.

After breakfast in the guesthouse, we continue our overland ride in the land cruiser, engaged with beautiful views of the Tibetan landscape throughout our drive. We stop at Paryang and stay at a guesthouse for the night.

Get ready for an exciting day today, as you will be blessed with enriching views of Mt. Kailash and the holy Mansarovar lake. After breakfast in the guesthouse, we set off for the longest drive day. As you reach Mansarovar lake, you will be awed by its turquoise complexion - the highest freshwater lake, home to fish and swans. The mystic Mt. Kailash and Rakshyasha lake in the periphery add to the beauty of the surroundings. After exploring the lake, you will spend the night nearby.

Wake up early in the morning in the backdrop of Holy Mt. Kailash with Mansarovar lake in sight. Take a bath in the holy lake to get rid of sins, as it is believed a dip in the lake and worship will cleanse them; a bath in the lake is also considered an ailment for the body. After the bath, we take our packed lunch and visit a nearby gompa called Chui gompa. We stay at a guesthouse near Mansarovar lake today.

Today, we head towards Darchen, driving from Mansarovar lake to Darchen, the starting point of our Kailash yatra. We stay at Darchen for the night.

We fuel up with breakfast for our kora journey today. Tarchen is the starting point of our Kora around Mt. Kailash. The path from Tarchen is also known as "Asthapath" - astha meaning faith, path meaning way, i.e. way of faith. As we start our Kailash yatra, we will be blessed with astonishing views of cliffs, waterfalls, mountains and wild Tibetan landscape. As we walk towards Dirapuk, we will get glimpses of Mt. Kailash a few times during the journey. Today, we stop at Dirapuk for the night.

We start our journey early today. We visit Dirapuk gompa and continue on our trail until the path winds up to Dolma La pass. The weather condition at the pass is totally unpredictable, prone to heavy storms during the day, so it's recommended to cross as early as possible. From the pass, our trail descends to Zuthulpuk via Gauri kunda. Today, we stop at Zuthulpuk for the night.

We are at the end phase of our kora (Kailash yatra). Early in the morning, we visit a few temples and shrines built in the periphery of Milarepa cave and walk towards Tarchen to complete our circulating journey around Mt. Kailash. From Tarchen, you will be driven back to Tirthapuri. We stay at a guesthouse in Tirthapuri for the night.

From Tirthapuri, you will be driven back to Mansarovar lake. We stay at a guesthouse nearby for the night.

Leaving Mansarovar, we drive back via the same path to Paryang. We stay at a guesthouse in Paryang for the night.

Continuing our return journey, we drive back to Saga via the same scenic route. We stay at a guesthouse in Saga for the night.

We drive back via the same path to Nyalam. We stay at a guesthouse in Nyalam for today.

We are almost at the end of our journey. Today, you cross the border of China and enter Nepal. Our Nepalese crew member will pick you up and drive you back to Kathmandu. You will be dropped at your hotel. Stay at the hotel for the rest of the time.

Concluding the trip, you will be transferred to the airport for your journey ahead.