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 Tsedang. The drive from the airport to Tsedang takes approximately 1 hour and 30 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 to acclimatize to the altitude at 3550 meters above sea level.

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.

In the morning we will visit Samye Monastery and then continue the drive to Lhasa, visiting the award-winning Dadong Village near the Lhasa suburb. 

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 our trip to Dadong Village. 

Dadong Village in Tibet is the most beautiful and culturally rich village near the Lhasa suburb once awarded by the authorities. Fully immerse ourselves in experiencing the local Tibetan village life, natural beauties, terraced fields, cultivated land, and traditional Tibetan architecture.

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 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.