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?

We leave Lhasa today. Our final destination today will be Shigatse, but we will visit several places before we reach there in the late afternoon or early evening. Our first destination is Yamdrok Lake. On our way we will go over the Khambala pass at 4790 meters. Yamdrok Lake is a sacred lake and is one of the three biggest holy lakes in Tibet. The views 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).
From the lake, we will continue our journey to Gyantse, the third largest city in Tibet, driving over the Karola Pass at 5050 meters and Simila Pass at 5000 meters. Once we arrive at Gyantse, we can enjoy the far view of Gyantse Fortress. 

Here we will visit Khumbum Stupa and Pelkhor Chorten. Khumbum Stupa is the only Nepalese-style Stupa built in Tibet. The name means ‘hundred thousand images of Buddha, and that name reflects the decorations of the Stupa. The giant octagonal Stupa is one of the outstanding architectural achievements built and decorated by a Gyantse Prince. Rising 35 meters high, the Stupa is said to have 108 Cells in the 9 levels/floor surmounted by a golden dome and contains 77 chapels that line its walls.

Pelkhor Chorten is located next to the Stupa and was built in 1418. The monastery is a mix of Han, Tibetan, and Nepalese architecture. This monastery consists of 15 different chapels and halls and houses three different orders of Tibetan Buddhism. The main temple of the monastery is the Tsulaklakang. This temple has three floors, and you will find murals and images from the 15th century.

The last leg of today’s trip is a drive to Shigatse. This journey will take you about two hours further drive from Gyantse.

After breakfast, we will start with a visit to Tashilimphu Monastery. This monastery was built in 1447 at the time of the 1st Dalia Lama Gendun Drupa, a disciple of Tsongkapa. Hence the monastery is also one of the biggest functioning monasteries of Gelugpa. 

The name of the monastery means ‘heap of glory’. The monastery was attacked by Nepalese Gurkha in 1791, but they were driven out again by the Chinese. The monastery has white walls and golden roofs. You will find the biggest statue of sitting Maitreya Buddha in one of the chapels of this monastery. 

After visiting the monastery, we will see the local markets for shopping and local sightseeing. You will have time to experience daily Tibetan life in the local market. Smell the different fragrances and observe the colors of the local products. Mingle with locals and get a feel of Tibetan life before we drive to Shegar.

The small town of Shegar, also called New Tingri is situated along the Friendship Highway, the main road connecting Lhasa to Kathmandu. The second-largest city in Tibet, Shigatse, is roughly 240 kilometers southwest of it. This place has a dry, chilly environment as it is situated at an elevation of about 4300 meters above sea level. Shegar is a well-liked destination for tourists going to Mount Everest Base Camp and other locations in the Everest region.

We continue our drive uphill, crossing Pang La Pass (5,150 m), from where we enjoy an incredible panoramic view of the Himalayan range stretching from Mt. Makalu to Mt. Shishapangma. From here, we drive onward to Tashi Zom Village, where we change vehicles and take an environmental protection (EV) bus to Rongbuk.

We then proceed toward the highest point of our journey — Everest Base Camp at 5,200 meters. This is the closest we can get to the highest mountain in the world.

Before reaching Base Camp, we visit the famous Rongbuk Monastery. At 4,980 meters, Rongbuk is the highest monastery in the world. From here, you will enjoy stunning views of Mount Everest. Long before the monastery was built, nuns and monks lived in this area for meditation. Even today, you can find meditation caves scattered around the monastery and throughout the valley. As you explore, walk on the left side of the mani stone walls, which are carved with sacred syllables and prayers.

After spending time at Base Camp, taking in the breathtaking views of Everest and the surrounding peaks, we will either return to Shegar or stay overnight in Rongbuk.

Today we will drive to Kyirong at the border with Nepal. This is the last day to enjoy the Tibetan scenery. We will pass magnificent valleys and several Tibetan villages on our way. We will have enchanting views of Mount Shishapangma and Pekutso Lake. After the Ghungtang Lhamo pass (5236 meters) we will start descending to the Kyirong valley. You will feel the climate changing, it gets warmer. We are approaching the Indian subcontinent. We will arrive in Kyirong in the late afternoon.

Upon arrival, check in to the hotel walk around Kyirong town, and visit the Pakba Monastery there. 

Pakba monastery is the only four-tiered Nepali-style pagoda temple in Tibet. The temple was built more than one thousand years ago. The main relic in the monastery is the self-rise sandal statue of Lokeshvara. At the present day, it resides in the Dharamsala and the main statue here is a copy of the main statue of Lokeshvara.

Today is already the last day of your trip. We will leave Tibet and enter Nepal again. We Drive 24 km, one and a half hours downhill to reach the Chinese immigration (Rasuwa Gadi Bridge), after the immigration process we walk through the Bridge where vehicles from the Nepal side will be waiting, After driving for about 1.5 km we do immigration formality on Nepal side, and continue drive to Kathmandu which will take about seven hours of drive. From the border, we will have a long bumpy ride back to Kathmandu. Enjoy the Nepalese side of the villages during this ride.