Day
01 :
|
Fly from Kathmandu to
Lhasa (3650m.). Upon
arrival at Gonggar
Airport, You shall be
met by your Tibetan
Guide and transfer
provided to Lhasa city.
You stay overnight here.
Early morning you are
transferred to the
airport to board the
plane for the flight
over the Himalaya to
Lhasa. If the weather is
clear there is a
wonderful view of
Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse,
Makalu, Kanchenjunga and
other peaks en route. On
arrival at Gonggar
airport (which is 90 km.
from Lhasa), you meet
your vehicle and drive
east along the broad
Yarlung Tsangpo valley
to Tsedang (3400m.).
After checking in to
your hotel, you drive
south to see the oldest
building in Tibet, the
Yumbu Lakhang, a
beautiful castle-like
dwelling and monastery,
dramatically perched on
a spur looking out over
the fertile valley
below. If time permits
you may be able to visit
a small monastery close
to Tsedang, or an
interesting carpet
factory where you can
see the whole process of
carpet making. |
Day
02 :
|
Sightseeing in Lhasa.
Foremost, your tour
begins with a visit to
SERA MONASTERY. An
experienced tour guide
also working as an
interpreter escorts you
to this preserved
monastery of
white-washed walls and
golden roofs. Equally
adventurous and exciting
tempo builds up while
touring NORBULINGKA, the
summer palace of the
Dalai Lama. JOKHANG
TEMPLE is another
important sacred site
which unravels more deep
seated mysteries of
Tibetan Buddhism. Visit
to BARKHOR MARKETS can
be quite a change from
other visits as you roam
around the city savoring
every tiny detail from
stall hawkers coaxing
their clients to
purchase their goods to
exhibition of Tibetan
culture, custom and
tradition. Eventually,
the tour for the day
concludes as you return
to the comforts of your
hotel. |
Day
03 :
|
Sightseeing in Lhasa.
Like the previous day,
you experience
invaluable insights
during your visits to
POTALA PALACE and
DREPUNG MONASTERY. This
17th century POTALA
PALACE offers an awesome
view of entire city and
also has private
quarters of the Dalai
Lama, numerous grand
state rooms and chapels.
Ancient history has it
that Drepung Monastery
which was built in 14th
century used to shelter
around 10,000 monks but
as now there has been
quite a declination
resulting in only few
hundreds. Tibetans’
respect and belief are
immensely knotted with
this monastery. |
Day
04 :
|
Free day in Lhasa for
acclimatization. You get
an entire day free for
acclimatization. After
proper rest, you can
either indulge in
sightseeing, shop or do
whatever you fancy. You
also get an option of
undertaking an
additional tour to
places such as the
Tibetan Medical Centre,
Ganden Monastery and
Tsurphu Monastery. But
this will incur extra
costs. |
Day
05 :
|
Drive from Lhasa to
Gyantse (3950m).
Following Friendship
Highway, you drive past
Khamba La at 4794 meter
with a brief halt to
savor majestic views of
Yamdrok-tso Lake and
Nazin Kang Sa standing
proud at 7252m. On
turning westwards, you
come across another Karo
La pass at 5045m. If you
glance at the road, you
can see huge glaciers
tumbling down into the
road. After hours of
driving for 261 km,
beautifully landscaped
Tibetan villages become
visible as you enter the
town of Gyantse. |
Day
06 :
|
Sightseeing and drive
from Gyantse to Shigatse
(3900m). Gyantse prides
on GYANTSE DZONG and
KUMBUM. Gyantse Dzong is
a historical fort built
in the 14th century and
overlooks a mesmerizing
view of entire Gyantse
and surrounding Nyang
Chu Valley. Kumbum has
large gold-domed stupa
and houses several
chapels and Tibetan
Buddhist murals. After
you enjoy exploring
Gyantse, you will take a
90 km drive to Shigatse.
Having driven to an
altitude of 3900 meter,
you find yourself at
Shigatse, second largest
city of Tibet. |
Day
07 :
|
Sightseeing and drive
from Shigatse to Tingri
(4390m). After wandering
around TASHILHUNPO
MONASTERY, the largest
functioning monasteries
in Tibet and major
attraction of Shigatse,
you will transverse
along the Friendship
Highway amidst
picturesque landscape
driving past small town
of Lhatse and Gyamtso La
pass at 5220m. As the
route opens into plains,
many monasteries and
camps of nomadic herders
become visible en route
to Tingri where you will
meet your trekking crew
(cook and trek guide
from Nepal) |
Day
08 :
|
Rest day at Tingri
(4390m). This is a rest
day at Tingri to ensure
further acclimatization
before you head off high
into total wilderness of
tough Tibetan highlands.
Your camping crew will
set up a camp little off
the friendship highway.
Views of surrounding
mountains from a small
hillock near your
campsite are awesome. |
Day
09 :
|
Trek to Lung Thang
(4510m). The trail heads
away from Tingri plain
towards Cho Oyu. As you
near the village of
Chholung, a small Gompa
comes into sight.
Further on, barren
plains open up.
Amazingly, even in these
barren fields local
villagers yield good
harvest of barley.
Mostly, you will find
herders in this
territory. You can
select a superb campsite
at Lung Thang to spend
the night. |
Day 10 :
|
Trek to Lamna La (5150
m). As you ascend to
Lamna La pass at 5,150m,
you may find the trail
quite strenuous. But as
soon as your eyes bask
in the splendor of
majestic vistas of
surrounding mountain
peaks, you will realize
that this trek has
indeed been very
self-rewarding and
worthwhile. Camping atop
this pass dwarfs other
materialistic pleasures. |
Day
11 :
|
Trek to Zommug. Further
away from Langma la
pass, you have to take
steep descents through
verdant vegetation. En
route, you encounter yak
herders. The trail
continues towards the
whitewashed walls and
barren fields of Zommug
village. Amazing vistas
of Mount Everest and
Gyachung Kang visually
rejuvenates you as you
enter Zommug. Since
lands being infertile
are unable to yield
agricultural crops,
local villages are
largely dependent on
animal husbandry for
livelihood. At a superb
location, you will camp
for the night. |
Day 12 :
|
Trek to Rongbuk (5000m).
As the morning seeps in,
you march towards
Rongbuk. Within few
hours along Rongbuk
Glacier, North Face of
Everest becomes visible
flaunting its unparalled
beauty. Rongbuk
Monastery lies ahead 15
kilometers below Everest
Base Camp at an
elevation of 4,980 m, at
the foot of the Rongbuk
Glacier. This monastery
was reconstructed into
present pristine form in
1960 Cultural
Revolution. In a way,
Rongbuk is regarded as a
gateway to Mount
Everest. You will get to
set your campsite at an
outstanding location
with the breathtaking
view of Mount Everest as
the backdrop. |
Day 13 :
|
Trek to Everest Base
camp (5150m). It is a 9
km walk along dirt road
to the base of Mt.
Everest. The base camp
itself is dry and
barren, but the views of
Everest more than
compensate for this. It
is a truly awe-inspiring
place with the sheer
north face of the
highest mountain in the
world towering above
you. |
Day 14 :
|
Drive from Base Camp to
Nyalam (215 km). You
have to take a 215 km
drive from Base Camp to
Nyalam along Friendship
Highway transversing
past Pang La pass. On
the way you can halt at
Tingri for lunch.
Further away amidst the
stunning view of
Everest, Cho Oyu and
other mountain peaks,
you accelerate past
Lalung La pass at 5124m
and Shung La pass at
5200m. The trail further
commands far-reaching
views of enchanting
Shishapangma, Menlungtse
and Gauri Shankar
enchant as you leave
behind arid Tibetan
Plateau. The route then
progresses towards
pristine and fortified
town of Nyalam where you
can find a suitable
accommodation at a
hotel. |
Day 15 :
|
Drive from Nyalam
(3750m) to Kathmandu.
Heading away from Nyalam,
drive for one hour to
the lush and verdant
vegetation of Zhangmu at
2300 meter. Few
kilometers drive follows
Friendship Bridge along
Bhote Koshi River to
Immigration Control in
Kodari where you bade
goodbye to your Tibetan
guide and handle
re-entry formalities to
return to Kathmandu.
After 5 hours of driving
for 123 km, you finally
arrive in Kathmandu. |