15 Days Kailash Pilgrimage Small Group Tour

Your private guide and driver will pick up you at Lhasa's airport or train station and bring you to your hotel.

To preempt altitude sickness, we suggest you have a good rest and do not get too excited. We haven’t arranged any activity for this first day of your trip, in order to give you time to acclimatize. There is a chance you might suffer from symptoms of altitude sickness, including abnormal tiredness or headache. If you need any help, your guide is on 24-hour standby. If you feel good, feel free to explore this gorgeous ancient city on your own. Take it easy and move slowly.

Tip:
Always ask your guide whether you can take a photo inside of monasteries.

Enjoy some time on the square in front of the Potala Palace at night. It’s a good chance to see more of the locals, as Lhasa people like to get together there at night

This is your 2rd day in Tibet, so you should be physically ready for Potala Palace—the palace with a lot of steps.

Climb up to Potala Palace, Tibet’s iconic landmark. You’ll see a lot of precious decorated statues, Buddhist scriptures and murals inside. Your guide will reveal to you the interesting history of the palace.

Visit Jokhang Temple (elevation 3,700 m), said to be the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism. You will see many pilgrims prostrating themselves near the temple. Take part with locals in the 20-minute walk with prayer wheels, clockwise around Jokhang Temple. Take a stroll round Barkhor Street and see some Tibetan handicrafts.

Tip:
There are 1,080 steps up to Potala Palace and climbing steps on the plateau is not easy. If it’s too demanding physically, you don’t have to climb all the steps, and your tour guide will adjust your route accordingly.

Enjoy a hotel breakfast, and visit Norbulingka in the morning; formerly the summer palace for the Dalai Lamas. Nowadays, Norbulingka is a beautiful public park and a good place to see locals camping and picnicking in summer.

Watch a monks’ daily debate in Sera Monastery (elevation 4,000 m), the second most important monastery in Tibet. The debate not to be missed is held at 15:30 every day, except Sundays. Monks are happy to live in the monastery and study Buddhist scriptures there.

Later you will visit Drepung Monastery, renowned as the site for the annual Shoton Festival. If you visit in early August, you will have a chance to see for yourself this largest of Tibetan festivals.

General rules for visiting temples in Tibet: Cameras are not allowed in the temples or in the debate field, but taking photos with a cell phone is ok. When visiting a temple, your shoulders should be covered, and you should not wear shorts. Walk clockwise when visiting Barkhor Street.

In the morning, drive from Lhasa to Shigatse .On the way, drive over the Gampala pass (4790 m), and you will have a glimpse of Yamdrok-tso (4400m) .The Lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains and in the distance you can have spectacular views of Holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar, (7191m) the highest mountain near Lhasa .

Later, we will pass and enjoy the Korola Glacier on the roadside; At Manak Dam Lake, you can hang pray flag at Simila Mountain Pass; Then, we will arrive in Gyantse, historically Tibet's third largest city (after Lhasa and Shigatse).In Gyantse, we will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery and Gyantse Kumbum and enjoy the Far view of Gyangtse Fortress.

After one and a half driving, we arrive in Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet. In Shigatse, we may visit traditional Barley Mill and view the landscape of Barley Field (in summer).

In the morning, we will visit the home of Panchan Lama - Tashilunpo Monastery. Then, we’ll leave Shigatse after getting your Alien’s travel permit, and then drive to Lhatse, it is a small town where you can have lunch.

After that, we will pass Tsola Pass(4600M), and Gyatsola Pass(5248M). Shortly after we enter Mt. Everest National Nature Reserve, tourists can enjoy the panorama of Himalaya at Gawula Pass(5198m).Then we drive along the New zigzag road to Everest Base Camp(5200m). You can get closer to gazt at the Mt. Everest peak. The sunset of golden Everest peak if time and weather permits at the lodging area.

Today we will drive the old Tingri Road to Saga County, with views of Mount Everest and Mount Shishapangma (elevation 8012 meters), which was the last of the world’s 8000-meter peaks to be climbed. The road conditions get rougher from the old Tingri Road as it runs parallel to the to the Himalayan mountain ranges and the Nepalese sides known as the Anapurna Ranges. The main road passes through the desolate plains of Digur Tang, with its enormous sand dunes contrasting with the neighboring snow peaks of Shishapangma and Langtang to the south. As we leave the Bum-chu basin, we will descend into the relatively lower elevations of the Pelkhu-tso (elevation 4600 meters), a cobalt blue lake. After checking out the lake, we’ll drive the additional 69 kilometers on to Saga County and spend the night in the small town of Saga.

On the way to Darchen, you will have a chance to appreciate the stunning view of the Saga valley between Gangdise Range and Himayala Range. Meanwhile, the beautiful grassland and local's villages can also be seen. As we cross the Mayomla Pass(5112M), you can enjoy the spectacular vista of Mt. Naimonanyi(7694M). Then we are supposed to pass by the holy Lake Manasarover and finally arrive at the southern foot of Mt.Kailash, the most holy mountain in Tibet.

In the morning, we are supposed to take eco-bus from Darchen to Sarshung valley. Then we will meet Yaks and porters at Sarshung village. (the cost of hiring yaks, horses, and porters are not included in the package) After that, we can begain the trek (Around 13km) from Sarshung to Drirapuk Monastery along the Lachu valley and rivers. You can enjoy the both west and north face of mountain Kailash today. Finally, we will visit Drirapuk Monastery.

Today, we will trek over Dromala pass(5630m), the highest pass of the Kora. On the way you can have a rest in a teahouse. All the way, you can see locals Tibetans prostrating in the Kora path and beautiful Kadoe Lake when walk downhill. We may also visit Zutulpuk Monastery.

Today we will complete our trek around Mt. Kailash, beginning by visiting the many caves, temples and shrines that have been built upon around Milarepa’s cave. It is an easy walk back towards Darchen, taking only about 3 hours of trekking to reach the end of the valley where our driver will meet us to take us for a drive to Tsada.

Today you will see the magnificent Zanda Clay Forest. Entering into Zanda county, the clay forest standing on both sides of Elephant Spring River winds over more than five kilometers. The clay is like warriors defending the mountaintop, some like thousands of horses galloping, and some like devout followers of a religion nurturing themselves, standing there quietly. From different angles, you can see wonderful scenery.

The clay forest in geology is known as "the Level Terrane Physiognomy," formed by erosion, where the sediment of lakes and rivers, mainly composed by sandstone and clay, have formed into various shapes. The Level Terrane has developed upright qualities, and the valley is deep.

After that,we will visit the ruins of the ancient Guge Kingdom and the Torling Monastery. Located in the Ngar Region of Tibet, the ruins of the Guge Kingdom were once an imperial estate that fell into disrepair after the civil war revolt and the invasion of the 8 Allied Forces of foreign countries that destroyed the once prosperous state. Luckily the legendary kingdom has not been totally lost as much can still be learned from what remains of it.

Today we will drive through the windswept territory of rural Tibet, passing through numerous small villages as well as camps of yak and sheepherders on our way back to Saga. With all of the beautiful scenery surrounding us, we will have plenty of opportunities to stop and take photos if you like.

More spectacular scenery awaits us as we continue on our leisurely drive back to Shigatse where we will spend the night.

We will get an early start today to visit the Tashilunpo Monastery, which was founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama. After visiting this ancient monastery, one of the most important sites in Tibetan Buddhism, we will take the 80-kilometer drive back to Lhasa along the northern Friendship Highway. This route will take us through Daktuka across the bridge over the Bramaputra River and along the valley in the north to Namtso Lake. During today’s journey we will pass through many typical Tibetan villages with their traditional houses and peaceful environments. We will also cross the Shuege-la Pass (elevation 5300 meters), arriving at beautiful Namtso Lake in the afternoon with time to hike around the Tahi Do peninsula.

Your guide and driver will take you to Lhasa’s airport/train station on time for your departure and escort you to the correct security gate. Relax and leave any hassles to your tour team.