Day01 Arrival in Lhasa [3658m] 1.3 hrs’ driving from airport and 20minutes from the train station. B
Be greeted by your Tibetan guide in Lhasa Gonggar airport or train station and transfer to hotel in Lhasa to acclimatize the high altitude.
Day02 Lhasa City sightseeing, visit Drak Yerpa 2.5 hr about, and Sera monastery 2 hrs, overnight in Lhasa, B, D
Drak Yerpa is a place that has deep meanings in the Tibetan spiritual culture. There is a saying goes like this: "Lhasa is the shrine of Tibet, Drak Yerpa is the shrine of Lhasa. Not seeing Drak Yerpa in Lhasa is just like making a dress without the collar." The entrance to the Yerpa Valley is about 16 km northeast of Lhasa on the northern bank of the Kyichu River. From there, it is another 10 km to the famous ancient meditation caves.
Visit Sera monastery in the afternoon. It’s one of Gelugpa (yellow hat) sect monastic colleges. Sera monastery is famous for its Buddhism philosophical debate practice.
Day03 Lhasa City sightseeing, visit Potola Palace 1hr & Jokhang Temple 1hr, overnight in Lhasa, B
Both of Potala Palace and Jokhang temple are the focal points of pilgrims from entire Tibetan world, multitudinous pilgrims are circumambulating and prostrating in their strong faith. Potala Palace is the worldwide known cardinal landmark of Tibet. The massive structure itself contains a small world within it. Mostly it is renowned as residence of the Dalai Lama lineages. Jokhang temple is the most scared shrine in Tibet which was built in 7th century and located at the heart of old town in Lhasa, the circuit around it called Barkhor street, which is a good place to purchase souvenirs.
Day04 Lhasa—Yamdrok Lake—Naiqinkangsang Snow Mountain—Karo-la Glacier—
Gyantse[4040m] —Pala Manor—Shigatse [3836m],360KM 5hrs drive, overnight in Shigatse B
It will take you about 1.5 hours to drive up to Kambala pass[4794m high] from Lhasa, you will have a glimpse of Yamdrok Lake there, which is one of the three holy lakes in Tibet.
Then drive about 1.5 hours and arrive at the foot of Naiqinkangsang Snow Mountain. It is one of the holy mountains of Tibet. If you look up to the Snow Mountain you'll see the beautiful "flag cloud"(the creature of the wind and the snow) floating and shining in the air.
20 minutes’ drive later, Karo-la Glacier will be in your eyes. It has a good fame of “Ice Queen” on the roof of the world. It is about 5,600 meters north of the main peak of Karo-la Mountain. You’ll have a long-distance of this masterpiece of nature. You’ll arrive at a valley and see Manlha Water Control Project from a distance later on. It is located in Gyantse County. It consists of a dam, flood water discharge tunnels and a power station. The power station’s installed capacity reaches 20,000 kilowatts. The project will provide irrigation for more than 43,000 hectares of farmland.
After lunch in Gyantse, drive to Pala Manor. Pala Manor is the best-preserved manor in Tibet. It’s about ten minutes’ driving from Gyantse downtown. It will show you the lifestyle of the previous wealth owners’ family. The Pala Manor we see today still has 57 houses on an estate of 5000 square meters. The maze of rooms is richly decorated with exquisitely carved beams and painted rafters. You can feel how extremely luxurious life they had then. However, by contrast to the luxury of the lairds, the whips, ankle-irons and punishment cells that were used for controlling and persecuting the poor slaves and their low, narrow, wet and dark rooms will deeply astound you forever. Late afternoon drive to Shigatse.
Day05 Shigatse—Tashilump Monastery—Dolma Lhakhang temple( optional)— Lhasa 300KM, 4.5hrs drive
Visit Tashilump Monastery in the morning. Tashilunpo Monastery was Built in1447 by the first Dalai Lama. Have lunch in Shigatse.
Enjoy the desert scenery and the scenery along the Brahmaputra on the way back to Lhasa. You can also see devout Christians prostrating and measuring their pilgrimage route with their flesh and blood on Tibetan Plateau if you’re lucky.
Visit Dolma Lhakhang temple on your own expense on the way to Lhasa if you would like to. It is located in Nyethang (approx. 30 kilometers southwest of Lhasa) district, Chushu County. Late afternoon drive back to Lhasa.
Day06 Leave Lhasa for your next destination, B
Your guide and driver will see you off at the airport or train station. Your Tibet tour ends.
