15 Days Central Tibet Biking Tour

Transfer to Lhasa downtown after arriving at the Lhasa Gongar airport or the Lhasa train station. Relax with free time after your arrival in Lhasa to acclimatize to the high altitude.

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.

Ride about 53 kilometers eastwards to visit the Ganden Monastery, which ranks the first among the six largest monasteries of Gelugpa. If you are not tired, you can walk the circuit round the monastery. Walking the kora takes about one and a half or two hours, and on a clear day there are stunning views of the peak of Nyenchen Thangla and the Kyi-chu valley below.

Cycle back to Lhasa. The rest time of the day is for you to have a good rest, preparing the next destination - Namtso Lake.

Cycling northwards to Namtso, tourists can enjoy Nyenchen Thanglha shortly after you leave Lhasa.

In summer (May to August), the sheepherders and their family move to grassland and set up their tents. You could see green grassland, groups of sheep and yaks, nomad tents beside the road. Namtso Lake is the Heavenly lake which is one of the three holy lakes of Tibet and also the highest salt lake.

To spend a night at lake shore is fantastic. The night sky is so clean that you could see all the stars twinkling in the sky, so close to you as if you could stretch you hands to pick the stars. Situated at about 5000m high, Namtso lake is actually the lake in the sky, lying on the highest plateau in the world.

While enjoying the clear morning at the lake shore, you can trek along the lake shore to Tashi Dor Island to explore the meditation caves. Bike over the Lagangla pass to Yangpachen and stay overnight at Yangbachen. Yangbachen is famous for its geothermal power station and there is a hot spring nearby where tourists can have hot bath and refresh themselves.

Today ride back to Lhasa from Yangpachen. You could see green grassland, groups of sheep and yaks, nomad tents by the road. The road condition is the same as the day before.

Then bike towards the Samye located around 200km far away from Lhasa and it is one of the most popular Holy places where the tradition of the Tibetan people and Kings emerges. Also you can visit some of very ancient monasteries and palace.

Bike to Tsetang along the amazing Brahmaputra river, then to visit Trundruk Monastery and Yumbulagang Palace. Trundruk is one of the earliest Buddhist monasteries in Tibetan history. Yumbulagang was built for the first Tibetan King, Nyatri Tsanpo, in the 2nd Century BC and became the Tibetan Kings' palace since then.

For these two days, we will have a scenic and pleasant bike ride along good roads on our way to Lhasa from Tsedang. After arriving in Lhasa, you will have free time to relax and recover from our long journey and to prepare for your trip on to your next destination.

For these two days, we will have a scenic and pleasant bike ride along good roads on our way to Lhasa from Tsedang. After arriving in Lhasa, you will have free time to relax and recover from our long journey and to prepare for your trip on to your next destination.

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.