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?

Most overland itineraries already include Yamdrok Lake, although you have to schedule an additional day excursion there for short trips in Lhasa, Tibet with a Lake Tour. On this day trip, we descend to the lake to have a walk near the lake and enjoy the breathtaking views from here.  

Morning drive around 130 southwest of Lhasa climbs uphill to Khambala Pass (4790 m), from where you have a bird’s eye view of the amazing lake. Under clear weather, the lake is a fabulous shade of deep turquoise.

Yamdrok Lake is a sacred lake and is one of the three biggest holy lakes in Tibet. The views from here are stunning. The turquoise lake is 72 km long and surrounded by snow-capped mountains. In the distance, you can see the holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar (7191m).

The lake looks like a holy Sapphire. Yamdrok Lake is one of the most sacred lakes in Tibet. It is reversed as a talisman, supporting the life-spirit of the Tibetan Nation. After lunch drive back to Lhasa and take a rest at the hotel.

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.