9 days Lhasa to Everest Base Camp and Namtso Lake

We will welcome you at the Airport or The Lhasa train station. Then you will be escorted to your hotel. It is always advice the travellers to take a good rest for proper acclimatization. Please do not any activities which would lead you to dehydrate, like taking bath. And avoid hard work for the first day. Many traveler prefers to take a nap. After some hours of rest, you can explore the Barkhor street and Tibetan quarter surrounding your hotel.

Visit Jokhang Temple and Sera monastery.

In the morning, after breakfast, your guide will meet you at the hotel. Then, you will first visit the Jokhang Temple, the holiest temple in Tibetan Buddhism. Since your hotel is in the Tibetan quarter of Lhasa city, you will walk to the Jokhang Temple. After visiting the Temple, you can spend some time exploring the Old Lhasa city on your own for a couple of hours.

The guide will arrange a time and place for you to visit. In the afternoon, you will visit the Sera monastery. The Monastery was built by one of the most prominent disciples of Je Tsongkhapa, a leading figure in the Gelugpa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. This is the most well-preserved monastery in Tibet. In the monastery, you can sit in the courtyard where monks will be debating on Buddhist philosophy. You can stay there for a while. This is an excellent opportunity for many travelers to take a picture of the monks debating. You can ask your guide to give you some free time to explore the monastery on your own if you would like to take a break for a while.

Visit Potala Palace, and Drepung Monastery.

In the morning you will visit the grand Potala palace. Your guide will fix and time as per the ticket timing. Potala Palace was first built in 7th Century by the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo surrounding his meditation cave. Later in the 17th Century, the fifth Dalai Lama built current palace upon the ruins of the old Palace. The palace is the great specimens of Tibetan Cultural heritage especially in the field of Architecture.

In the afternoon we will visit the Drepung Monastery. It is one of the three biggest monasteries in Lhasa and central Tibet. In the early 20th Century, it is the world biggest monastic complex. The circuit around the monastery takes about an hour of spectacular views.

Distance: 350kms, Duration: 7 Hours, Elevation: 3980m

After breakfast, you will hit the road and begin the next part of your Tibet adventure. From Lhasa, you will drive along the scenic Kyi-chu River Valley and then ascend to the top of the 4794 meter Kamba La Pass, which has a breathtaking view of Yamdrok Lake and 7191 meters Mt. Nojin Kangtsang. You will then descend and drive along the lakeshore before making your way back up to the Karo La, a beautiful glacier that comes down almost to the roadside. In the late afternoon, you will arrive in Gyantse.

You will begin by exploring Pelkhor Chode Monastery and the Kumbum Stupa, the largest Buddhist Stupa in Tibet. This beautiful monastery lies within a walled complex in the Gyantse Old Town. A short hike to the top of the wall offers an excellent panoramic view of the monastery, town and the snow-covered mountains in the distance. Afterwards, you will make the short drive to Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city. Along the way from Gyantse to Shigatse, you can stop at a couple of interesting farming villages to experience traditional Tibetan culture. In Shigatse, you will visit the huge monastery of Tashi Lhunpo. The excellent pilgrimage route around the monastery takes about an hour and has fantastic views.

Distance: 350kms, Duration: 7 Hours, Elevation: 4315m

Today’s destination is the Mount Everest Basecamp. Along the way to Shelkar, you will see more farming villages and beautiful landscapes. You will cross over the 5248 meter Gyatso La Pass, which has great views of the Himalaya Mountains. That afternoon you will arrive in the small town of Shelkar.  We will further continue the journey to the Everest Base camp.

From Shelkar we will begin driving up the 5200 meters Pang La Pass. On clear days, this pass offers a stunning panoramic view of the Himalaya’s. You can see four 8000 meter peaks from this Mountain Pass including Cho Oyu, Makalu, Lhotse, and Everest. You will continue on to Rongphu, the highest monastery in the world at just under 5000 meters. Rongphu has an unbelievable view of Everest! From Rongphu, you will then go to Everest Base Camp to stay the night while gazing out to the world’s highest peak.

Distance: 350kms, Duration 7 hours, Elevation: 3840m

After watching the sun rise on Mt. Everest, you will begin the journey back to Shigatse. You will stop at some farming villages as well as the small farming town of Lhatse. You will arrive in Shigatse with enough time to explore the main market street there or to hike the pilgrimage path (circumambulation) around Tashi Lhunpo Monastery again.

Distance: 380kms,  Elevation: 4749m, Duration: 8 Hours

We will leave earlier in the morning to have best of the journey. Today we will start from Shigatse, we will drive 380 Kilometers to Namtso Lake. On the Way, there is a hot spring in a place called Yangbachen. We will spend some time in the hot spring bath in one of the world highest hot spring. After some time at the hot spring, we will continue to the Namtso Lake. At Namtso Lake we will stay in a local Tibet guest house.

Distance: 250kms, Elevation: 3656m, Duration: 4 hours,

Your last full day in Tibet will take you back to Lhasa. You will arrive in Lhasa in the afternoon with time to explore Barkhor Square, rub shoulders with Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims and walk around the mighty Potala Palace one last time.