8 Days Lhasa to Namtso Lake Bike 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.

Cycle about 155km to Damxung along Qinghai-Tibet highway, the road is pretty good and smooth, You can first ride to Yangpachen to have a little rest.

After lunch, moving on to Damxung.

Nyenchen Thanglha snow mountain ranges appear in front of you all the way, Today’ most difficult ride is to climb to Mt. Nagenla Pass at.5190m high, the 4WD could take you and your bike to over the mountain pass if you need help.

After going through the mountain pass, you can see the sheepherders’ tents. You could see green grassland, groups of sheep and yaks, nomad tents by 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. 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.

Then ride to Yangpachen to enjoy the hotspring. The road condition is the same as the day before.

Today ride back to Lhasa from Yangpachen. The road condition is the same as the day before.

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.