Once arrived in Gonggar  Airport the guide will wait for you after immigration. The guide will greet you in a traditional way offering you Khada. From the airport you will go directly to your hotel in Lhasa. The drive from the airport to Lhasa takes approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. The guide will help you with the hotel check in. For the remaining part of the day we advise you to take a rest in order to acclimatize to the altitude at 3600 meter above sea level. 

Today we have a busy day ahead. After our breakfast we start with a visit to the Potala Palace. This is the  winter home of the Dalai Lamas and a famous landmark in the world. Potala Palace is build on the mountain Marpori (the red mountain). You have probably seen the Potala Palace on photos, but today you will experience that the palace is in real life even more impressive. We start our visit with a walk up the stairs and through the gardens. Once we enter the palace we will find our way through the labyrinth of small corridors and tiny staircases.  Not all parts of the Potala Palace are open for tourists, but you will get the opportunity to visit some if its chapels including the audience hall and the golden burial Chorten (Tomb) of Past Dalai Lamas. You will see a  tremendous number of murals, painted scrolls, sculptures, carpets, canopies, porcelain and more on your way through the palace. We will use the whole morning to visit the palace. 

After lunch it is time to visit the Jokhang Temple. This temple is an important sacred site and is seen as the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism.  King Songtsen Gampo built this temple in 652 for his two brides; Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Princes Bhrikuti of Nepal. Based on stories we believe that both brought important Buddhist images and statues from their home countries as part of their dowries. The rest of the afternoon you will have time to explore the surroundings of Barkhor. Bhakor is a busy market area, but also the area where pilgrims walk the clockwise circuit around the temple. Explore Lhasa a bit more by walking around the narrow alleys. 

Today we drive to the Drepung Monastery 8 km northwest of Lhasa. The Drepung Monastery is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet. This monastery was  founded by Jamyang Choje in 1416. The Drepung Monastery was the winter palace for hundreds of monks from all Gelug monasteries in Tibet. There is enough place for as many as 10.000 monks. Nowadays only a couple of hundred monks live in this monastery. 

In the afternoon we drive to the Sera Monastery. This is also one of the “ great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet and was founded three years later than the Drepung Monastery. The monastery is well known for the debates that take place each afternoon in the garden of the monastery. Observe the way the monks clap their hands during the debate. Can you guess what the claps mean?

Today, we drive approximately 60 km northeast of Lhasa to Ganden. Here, we visit Ganden Monastery. This monastery was the first of the three Gelug monasteries and was founded in 1409 by the founder of the Yellow Hat Sect. Je Tsongkhapa has been the main seat of the major Buddhist order ever since. 

The monastery is in a natural amphitheater of Wangbur Mountain in Dagze County. The main attraction of this monastery is Serdung - the tombs of Je Tsongkhapa covered in gold and precious gems. The main assembly Hall, the oldest chapel - Ngamchen Lhakhang, and a sacred chapel - Khangyur Lhakhang, which contains Buddhist scripture.

After visiting the monastery, we get ready to hike around the monastery (Upper Kora). The upper kora around the monastery offers dramatic views of the surrounding hills and mountains. On the hiking path, you can see a lot of carved Buddhist scriptures on the rock pilgrims circling the monastery, and stupendous views of the surrounding Kyi Chu Valley below you and the miles of mountain range in the clear weather day.

After Kora returns to the campsite, relax and savor the simple food that our camping crew has prepared for you.

Today, we will trek to Yama Do, which will take us approximately 5 to 6 hours to walk an 8 km trail depending on our pace. Following the well-trodden trail south along the side of Angor Ri, the highest point on the Ganden kora. You gradually ascend for about 1 and a half hours before reaching a saddle from where you can look west down the Kyi Chu valley towards Lhasa.

You then traverse the west side of the ridge and descend towards Hepu village, a village of about 30 houses. You climb for about an hour in the direction of the Shung La Pass to reach Ani Pagong, a narrow, craggy bottleneck in the valley, where a small nunnery used to be located. From here, you continue climbing for about an hour through marshy meadows to Yama Do, a small village with water sources and suitable campgrounds where you will stay the night.

It will take us about 8 km of hike which, will take around 5-6 hours to reach Yama Do.

After breakfast, you proceed along the valley floor for about an hour before ascending to a shelf on the eastern side of the valley, avoiding a steep gully. You continue climbing to the Shung  La Pass (5250m), marked by a large cairn covered in prayer flags and yak horns. Crossing the Shung La Pass, you descend quickly across a boulder field, reaching the valley floor about one and a half hours from the pass.

You cross the large stream, the Tsotup Chu, which flows through the valley. The pastures in the area support large herds of yaks, goats, and sheep, and during the trekking season, the Drokpa, the herders, are often camped here. So this is an ideal place for your camp and to meet the herders.

It will take us about 10 km of hike which, will take around 6-7 hours to reach Tsotup Chu.

From your camp by the Tsotup Chu, you follow a tributary to the southwest, climbing steeply for about half an hour up to a basin and a broad valley. Following this valley, you turn to the south and can soon see the Chitu La Pass (5210 m) in the distance, a rocky rampart at the head of the valley. As you continue towards the pass, the trail switches to the east side of the valley and you have fairly easy terrain up to the Chitu La Pass (5210 m) which is marked by several cairns.

As you leave your second high pass behind you circumvent a sheer rock wall to descend into a basin with three small lakes. From here you drop down through a valley passing several herders camps on the way. At the first of them, the herders have carved out level places for their tents.

Below this, the valley becomes very narrow and you pick your way through the rock-strewn valley floor, squeezed in by sheer rock walls. As the valley widens you come to a flat and another seasonal herder’s camp in the east side of the valley. As you continue down the valley the camping places become more numerous and you will choose your camp for the night here.

It will take us about 16 km of the hike, which will take around 6-7 hours to reach Herder’s Camp.

Today's hike is about six to seven hours. As the trail gets wider, the walking will become easier. We will traverse lovely, lush woodlands and follow waterways. We'll see a variety of rhododendrons, scrubs, and trees. There will be breathtaking vistas of verdant fields and mountains to the south. After walking just a few kilometers away, the alpine desert prevails, and you have entered into what may be the most beautiful part of the entire trek. Local woodcutters say that more than 15 types of trees and shrubs are found here, some growing 6 meters tall. Fragrant junipers grow on exposed southern slopes, while rhododendrons prefer the shadier slopes. At the end of May, the forest is ablaze with pink and white rhododendron blossoms.

After passing through this wonderful scenery, you will arrive at the first permanent village, from here we hike for another one and a half hours to reach our campsite at Wango /Nyango. 

It will take us about 15 km of the hike, which will take around 6-7 hours to reach Wango/Nyango.

After breakfast, we will walk for around two hours onto a motorable road. From here, we will ride in our car and drive to Samye. We visit Samye Monastery. Samye Monastery is not only considered Tibet’s first monastery, but it is also the first university in Tibet. The construction of the monastery is based on the Tibetan Buddhist universe as described in the sutras. Throughout history, the monastery has been destroyed several times, nowadays only a couple of buildings still exist. 

The main temple of the complex is the Wuzi-hall. This hall consists of three stories constructed in three different styles. The first floor is built in Tibetan style, the second floor in the Han style, and the top in Indian style. One of the murals in this temple describes Tibetan history and many of its legends. Take your time to explore the monastery before we continue the drive to Tsedang to conclude one of the most beautiful treks in Tibet.

After breakfast, we will start today’s sightseeing with a visit to Yambulkahang. Yambulkahang is built on a ridge overlooking the Yarlung Tsampo Valley and is considered the oldest building in Tibet. According to legends, the initial foundation was built for Nyentri Tsenpo, who according to legends descended from the sky. During your way up you will be guided by colorful Tibetan prayer flags.

The second place we will visit today is Tandruk Monastery. This monastery is one of the oldest in Tibet and was founded around the same time as the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa which we will visit later during this trip. There is an interesting legend about this monastery stating that to build this monastery the reign Songtsen Gampo had to turn into a hawk and fight a dragon. You will find a famous Thangka of Chenresig in this monastery, the Thanka is made of 29,000 pearls. 

From Tandruk Monastery we will head to the Tombs of Tibetan Kings. The tombs are spread over an area of three million square kilometers. This results in amazing scenery. The tombs look like small hills, as the tombs are piled with earth and rocks. Walking up the biggest tomb will take you about 40 minutes! There are eleven tombs in total and the former Tibetan kings were buried there with their wives and officials.

Today is already the last day of your trip. We will drive to Gonggar Airport where you can catch your flight back to Kathmandu or to onward destination.