10 Days Shalu to Nartang Trek

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.

Today we will drive to Tsedang, the capital of Shannan Prefecture, located at Yarlung Valley and known as "the cradle of Tibetan Civilization". Here we will visit Yumbu lhakhang, the first imperial palace of the first Tibetan king, where you can witness the fantastic view of the entire valley from the palace. After that we will visit the Samye Monastery, which is the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet, built in the 8th century. A unique monastery layout was designed in the form of giant “mandala” - a representation of the Buddhist universe. The main temple in the center represents Mt. Meru, the mythical mountain at the center of the Buddhist universe. The four continents in the ocean around Mt. Meru are represented by the four temples at the cardinal points, each flanked by two smaller temples to symbolize islands in the ocean.

This morning we will enjoy a scenic drive from Tsedang to Gyantse. Along the way we will cross over the Gampala Pass (elevation 4790 meters) with its stunning views of the Karola Glacier and Yamdrok-tso Lake (elevation 4400 meters). The lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains with spectacular views of the holy Mt. Nyenchen Khangsar, (elevation 7191 meters), the highest mountain near Lhasa, We will proceed westward along the lake and drive towards Gyantse. Gyantse was historically Tibet's third largest city after Lhasa and Shigatse. In Gyantse, we will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery and Gyantse Kumbum (a “kumbum” is a multi-storied aggregate of Buddhist chapels).

In the morning we will drive to Shalu Monastery from Gyantse via a 49 kilometer asphalt road, where we will visit the Shalu Monastery. This monastery was the seat of Buton Rinchendrub (1290-1346), who was the great codifier of the Tibetan translations of the Indian Buddhist canon. After our visit there, in the afternoon we will start the trek to Upper Lungsang.

Today’s trek will take us through the farming fields to the Ngor village with its ancient monastery. The Ngor Monastery is renowned for its Sanskrit library and Newar-style murals. There were once five assembly halls, 18 colleges and 400 monks, but now only 25 monks remain.

Today we will trek from Ngor to Nartang, traveling through several villages, mountain saddles, and one electric utility. After our visit to Nartang Monastery, we will transfer to Shigatse.

This morning we will make the scenic drive back to Lhasa from Shigatse, which will take around 4 hours. Along the way, we will visit the largest monastery in west Tibet, the Tashilunpo Monastery, the last historic site on this Tibetan tour itinerary. The Tashilunpo Monastery is one of the six great Gelukpa institutions. It was founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama, Genden Drup, a disciple of Tsongkapa. Jamkhang Chenmo (future Buddha statue) contains the world's largest gilded copper image (26 meters high) of the future god Jampa. After our visit to Tashilunpo, we will drive along the Friendship Highway back to Lhasa.

The guide will transfer you to the airport or train station and help you get on board.