Lhasa to Nepal Friendship Highway Tour

Day 1 Arrival and acclimatization

Schedule:

Arrival in Lhasa, pick-up and transfer to hotel for acclimatization, or you can have your free time hanging out at this holy city to get the first impression of Tibet.

Day 2 Lhasa sightseeing ( Tour of the world heritages and Tibetan history )

Highlights: Potala Palace, Johkang Temple, Backhor Street

Schedule:

In the morning, visit the symbol or landmark of Lhasa-Potala Palace, the successive Dalai Lama's winter residence. In the afternoon, visit the center of Tibetan Buddhism-Jorhkang Temple, where you will come across lots of devoted pilgrimages coming from every corner of Tibet. Both sites are under the list of the world cultural heritages by the UNISCO.

Day 3 Lhasa sightseeing ( Tour of Tibetan arts and religion )

Highlights: Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery

Schedule:

In the morning, visit the craftsman workshop at the Dropenling Handicraft Center( local NGO), where you can learn how local artists make Thangka, textiles, painted wood boxes and trays, stone carving, leather bags, jewelry, carpets and etc. Afterwards, hike up to Pabongka Monastery which lies on the hillside of Sera Utse, definitely an off-the-beaten track, small but enchanting monastery. Standing on the roof the monastery, you will have a good bird view of Lhasa city. Near the monastery, there are lots of caves, hermitages as well as monastery ruins to explore. Next, we must go back to Sera Monastery, one of the three leading Gelupa Monasteries in Tibet, which is just located at the foot of Sera Utse to watch the famous scripture debating among it monks there.

Day 4 Lhasa-Gyantse'shigatse ( Tour of Tibetan holy lake and family wisdom )

Highlights: Yamdrok Lake, Karola Glacier, Palcho Monastery

Schedule:

In the morning, drive to the historic town of Gyantse via Yamdrok Lake, according to local mythology, Yamdrok Lake is the transformation of a goddess, on the Gangbala Pass, you will have a clear picture of this Tibetan holy lake in turquoise, in distance you can also see the snow capped Summit of Ninjingkangsang. In Gyantse, you will find the largest stupa in Tibet-Kumpa Stupa (Ten-thousand stupa), just next to the Stupa is the Pelchor Monastery. Another important site in Gyantse is Dzong Castle which once was a battle field where Tibetan fought against British invasion.

Day 5 Shigatse'syaka Monastery-Lhatse ( Tour of Tibetan religion panorama )

Highlights: Tashilump Monastery, Syaka Monastery

Schedule:

In the morning, visit Tashilumo Monastery which is the seat of Panchen Lama, the equally important religious figure in Tibet as Dalai Lama. The monastery was built by the first Dalai Lama in 1447, and inside the Monastery placed the highest statue of Buddha in Tibet which is 26.8 meters high. Afterward, drive to Syaka Monastery which was built during the Yuan Dynasty when Syaka School dominated Tibet Buddhism. Syaka Monastery is reputed as the Second Dunhuang Grotto in China, the murals said to be the most beautiful in Tibet, and also in Syaka Monastery you can find the largest book written in gold at its Buddhism library.

Day 6 Sightseeing in Lhatse  ( Tour of Tibetan wilderness )

Highlights: Rongbuk Monastery, EBC

Schedule:

In the morning, drive to Mt. Everest Nature Reserve, if weather permits, on the top of the Gyalpo-la pass you can see the beautiful sunrise from the peak of great Himalayan Mountains.

Before arriving the EBC, you will first see the highest monastery-Rongbuk Monastery in the world, which is also a good position to watch the Everest. Hike up to the less touristy area to set up camp there; we will have this unforgettable night in the tent just at the foot of the No. 1 giant in the world. What a fantastic night it will be!

Day 7 EBC-Old Tingri-Gyirong ( Tour of Tibetan glory )

Schedule:

Get up early in the morning to wait for the most exciting and holy moment when the first sunshine reaches the world at the peak of the Everest. The golden crown of the Everest will definitely be the killer of your camera. Next, we will continue our journey again to Jilong town via Old Tingri. Today we will stay at Jilong town, the border town of both Nepal and China.

Day 8 Border transfer, tour ends.

Schedule:

Our Guide will drop you off in the morning at the border bridge (Friendship Bridge), you can cross the border bridge, 65ms long, then check in Nepal side, you can get the Nepal visa upon arrival with 30USD, please prepare one photo of passport size to get Nepal Visa. Next step, you need to find a car or bus towards Kathmandu, 50ms ahead from border bridge, dozens of car or bus are parking here to pick up travelers; about 3000 Nepali Rupee for a taxi rental or 50 Nepali Rupee(Appro.1USD) for a bus seat. Sharing to rent a Jeep will be a good choice for you