Day 1：Arrive in Lhasa.

Arrive in Lhasa by train or plane. When you arrive in Lhasa (3700m) you will be welcomed by your English-speaking local Tibetan guide and driver and they will bring you to your hotel and rest at hotel for acclimatization.

Today you will start cycle from Lhasa towards Everest. It may be an relatively resay day for you since the road is in good condition and cycle beautiful along the Tsangpo River to the foot of the Kamba La Pass.

Today is a harder day for you since you will overcome the first mountain pass of this trip. A strong uphill climb along a tar road of several switchbacks, reaches a summit lavishly adorned with prayer flags (4794m). After descending we continue alongside Lake Yamdrok Tso, at the far side of which set camp (4490m). Yamdrok Lake is located at the Nagartse County of Shannan Region some 110 kilometers to the southwest of Lhasa. The lake is 130 kilometers long from cast to west and 70 kilometers broad form north to south. The lake bank is 250 kilometers long and its surface is 638 square kilometers. Standing at an elevation of 4,441 meters above sea level, the lake’s average depth is 20 to 40 meters, with the deepest point at 60 meters. It is the largest inland lake on the northern range of the Himalayas. Supplied with melted ice, the salt water lake has a low level of salinity. Azure blue and crystal clear, the lake is one of the three holy lakes of Tibet.

Today you will cycle along the Friendship highway which soon becomes a gravel roadway, through a ravine and up to the foot of the Karo La Pass (4750m), where your tented village will be prepared for the night.

In the early morning, you will go to climb the high Karo La Pass (5010m). You can see glaciers stretching down to 6000m and beautiful lakes, and you will spend a night with your guide in a top hotel in the city of Gyantse.

Today, you will ride to Gyantse Dzong and visit special Pelkor Stupa First visit the Gyantse Dzong and Gyantse Kumbum. Pelkor Chode, a renowned Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Gyangtse, was founded between 1418and 1436 by Rabten Kunzang and the first Panchen Lama, Khedrup Je. The monastery lies on a hillside. It consists of Gyangze Kumbum, a three-story assembly hall (tsogchen), dratsang (college), living quarters, and walls. The Gyangze Kumbum and the assembly hall are its main building. The assembly hall is a three-story building in the center of the monastery. It faces south and has a cross-shaped plan. It is remarkably well preserved and many of the statues and painting inside date back to when the monastery was founded. Although today is a long cycling day, the highway is tarred and flat. In the afternoon, arrive in Shigatse (3860m) and stay one night in a comfortable hotel in there.

Today you will have a rest in the second largest city of Tibet as your reward of few days’ cycling from Lhasa and stay one night in a comfortable hotel in Shigatse. In the late monrning, you will go to the expansive Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse. One of the six great monasteries of the Gelugpa sect, Tashilunpo monastery is about 3 kilmeters west of the city of Shigatse, at the southern base of Mount Drolma. The monastery was founded in September 1447 by Gedun Druppa, the first Dalai Lama and one of the Tsongkhap’s foremost disciples.

Today you will ride over two small passes and through several small Tibetan villages, past the isolated Gyachung Monastery and camp.

Today, you will ride along the high way and pass picturesque valleys before the long route begins which leads over the Tso-La (4520m). After having a simple lunch, you will head towards Lhatse past the geothermal hot spring and camp about 10km outside of town.

Today, you will ride over the Gyatso-La (5220m) with breathtaking view. And after some hours ride, you will enjoy thefirst view of Mount Everest. After a 40 km ride through prairie towns, you will arrive in Pelbar (Shegar) which is a popular stopover for anyone heading to the Everest region.

Today, you will reach Everest Base Camp. A bumpy road winds up through the Rongbuk valley until the stunning Mount Everest appears before you. You will beside the Rongbuk monastery, where you camp tonight.

On your second day in Rongbuk, you can get closer to Mt. Everest by taking a walk or cycling to Everest base camp, which is 8km from the campsite. Overnight at Rongbuk Monastery (Dormbed/Tents)

Leaving Everst Base Camp and head back down the bumpy road and then take a shortcut into the mountains. Another bumpy trail takes us over a canyon and down into Tingri (4340m).

Today, your journey will begin with a flat ride (around 50km) and have a simple lunch on the way to Lalung Pass (4990m), from here you will see Shishapangma (8012m), and your guide will help you to set up in the valley between two passes.

Today, we tackle our last up hill, as we cycle up the amazing Thang Pass to 5050m and you will appreciate stunning views of the Himalayan chain as you freewheel the most incredible non stop downhill. On the way from Nyalam to Zhangmu (2300m), you will ride down past lots of waterfalls and pine trees line roads, and overnight in Zhangmu.

Today is your last day in Tibet and your guide will accompany with you to the friendship Bridege and you will cross the bridge to Nepal.

Please see the detail information about what are included in this tour package:

This tour package includes all of your Tibet Entry Permits which you need for traveling around Tibet (Tibet Permits).

Transportation

Transfer fee: transfer fee from airport or train station to Lhasa and from Lhasa to airport or train station (land cruiser or mini bus),and transfer fee of traveling to the places which are listed in your itinerary.

Admission fee:admission fee of all tourist sites which are listed in your itinerary.

Tour guide: English speaking local Tibetan guide with national guide license.

Hotels: clean and comfortable 3 star hotel with sharing twin room accommodation when your stay in Lhasa,Shanna, Shigatse and hotels in other places list in the itinerary (The conditions of hotels in some remote places, such as Sakya, Everest Base Camp, Tingri, and Zhangmu are not as good as hotels in some major cities of Tibet.

Our agency service charge:salary of driver, tour guide, vehicle.

Oxygen:supplied in your car and mineral water.

Meals:breakfast is included in your tour package.

Travel insurance:please be aware that travel insurance in here is very limited. Hence, our agency highly recommends our customers buy their travel insurance in their own countries before you come to Tibet, and most of tourists also do so.

Please see the detail information about what are excluded in this tour package:

International Travel Insurance:International Travel Insurance is not included in our tour package (we highly recommend you to buy international travel insurance which covers tour cancellation & emergency evacuation from your own country before you come to Tibet since the Tourist Accident & Casualty insurance which provided by travel agency in here is very limited.

Meals: Lunch and dinner are not included in your tour package.

Flight and train tickets: the costs of Flight and train tickets are not included in your tour package.

Potala Palace

Potala Palace is located on the Red Hill in the northwest of Lhasa. And it is a famous architectural complex made up of palaces, castles and temples which are the essence of Tibetan ancient architectural art.The Potala Palace was built in the seventh century. A palace of 999 rooms, it was built at an altitude of over 3,700 meters on the Red Hill of Lhasa. The palace, which was built on the hill, now covers 410,000 square meters and its architecture area is 130,000 square kilometers. The main building of the palace has 13 floors and is 115 meters high. It is all stone-wood structure. All the five roofs of palace are covered by gold-plating brasses tiles. It is the essence of Tibetan ancient architecture art.The main structure of Potala Palace is the White Palace and the Red Palace. The White Palace is the Winter Palace of Dalai Lama. It also used to be the past Tibet local government office. There are seven storeys in this building. Tsoqinsha Hall is located on the centre of the fourth floor. It is the largest palace in the Potala Palace White House, whose area is 717 square meters. And it is the place to hold important religious and political activities such as Dalai Lama enthrones and attends grand ceremonies. Rooms on the fifth and sixth floors are for the regent to work and live. The seventh floor, on the top of the White Palace, has two living rooms for Dalai Lama during the winter. Because of the sunny weather all day, they are called East Sunlight Hall and West Sunlight Hall, respectively. The Red Palace, mainly consisting of the chapels for Dalai Lamas’ stupas and all kinds of Buddhist chapels, contains eight stupas which keep the relics of past Dalai Lamas. Among them, the stupa for fifth Dalai Lama is the biggest. In the west is great west hall, the memorial hall of the stupa for fifth Dalai Lama Hall. It is also the biggest hall in the Potala Palace, which covers an area of 725 square meters and there are all frescoes on its inner walls. The thirteenth Dalai Lama’s tomb stupa temple is the latest building in the Potala Palace, which starting in 1933, costing 3 years to be built. During more than 1,300 years, the Potala Palace has collected extremely rich historical and cultural relics and kept them in storage. Among them, there are murals of more than 2,500 square meters, nearly a thousand stupas, tens of thousands of statues and Thangkha (scroll paintings); also, there are valuable scriptures collections like Pattra-leaf scriptures and Kangyur via; There are numerous and various cultural relics, including golden books, golden and jade seals, porcelains, enamels, brocades, crafts, and gold, silver and jade articles.In addition, there are wall paintings on all walls of the palace, Buddhist prayer rooms and passages of the Potala Palace and various relief sculptures around there. Most of the murals and sculptures are bright and colorful, which are mainly themed by plateau scenery, historical tales, stories of Buddhism and construction scenes of the Potala Palace, etc. And they are of highly historical and artistic values.

Jokhang Temple

The Jokhang Temple is in the center of the old urbanarea of Lhasa, which has a history of over 1,350 years. Legend has it thatwhere Jokhang Temple locates was originally a lake. Songtsen Gampo once made apromise to Princess Bhrikuti at the lakeside that he would build a Buddha hallwhere his ring fell. Unexpectedly, the ring happened to fall into the lakebefore it was suddenly covered by light, reflecting a white nine-story pagoda.Then, a huge project was started by thousands of white goats transporting soilto build the temple. Jokhang Temple has undergone the construction for overthree years, and it was named “Rasa Zulagkhang” to commemorate contributionsfrom those white goats, because in Tibetan language “ra” meant “goat” and “sa”meant “soil”, Zulagkhang meaning scripture hall, full name meaning thescripture hall which was built from soil transported by white goats. Theprecious image of the 12-year old Buddha Shakyamuni statue is consecrated inthe Jokhang Temple. Every year, tens of thousands of Buddhists from far andnear, come to Lhasa only for paying their religious homage to this statue,which got a consecration by Shakyamuni in person when he was alive.

Sera Monastery

Sera Monastery is one of three famous monasteries in Tibetalong with the Drepung Monastery and the Ganden Monastery. It is the latestbuilt building among three Monasteries. The Sera Monastery, located at the footof Tatipu Hill in the northern suburb of Lhasa City, is one of the three majormonasteries of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was built in 1419, themonastery means “Wild Rose Monastery” in Tibetan language. There is a mainhall, three Dratsang (college) and 29 khumtsen (dormitory of monks). There areover 5,500 monks at most. The monastery still keeps over ten thousand of vajraBuddha, most of which are made locally in Tibet. Many of them are copper statueof Buddha brought from mainland or India. Main hall and walls of other monkdormitories and chapels maintain a lot of original color murals. There are Jie,Me, and Nga-pa three scripture halls and colleges. Sera Je College is thelargest college where the monks study the Sutras. Sera Me College is the nextlargest college, where the monks study medicine. The third college is SeraNgag-pa College, the Tantric College. There are more than 9,000 Buddhist monksin that temple during the golden age. Sera Monastery did not suffer fromserious destruction in her history.

Yamdrok Lake

Yamdrok Lake, “swan pool” in Tibetan language, is one of the three holy lakes in Tibet. Elevation of the lake-surface is 4441 meters. The lake is 130 kilometers long from east to west and 70 kilometers wide from north to south. The lake shoreline is 250 kilometers in length, and the total area of the lake is 638 square kilometres. The average depth of the lake is 20 to 40 meters. It is the largest inland lake in the area of northern peaks of the Himalayas. There are many forks in Yamdrok Lake, which seem like coral branches, so it is also called “Coral Lake above”. More than ten small islands distributed in the lake. The large ones can hold five to six households, while the small ones are only hundreds of square meters. After climbing over the Khambala which is almost 5030 meters high, you get through its pass and tread straight down upon a road, along which it i takes you about 30 minutes to get to the Yamdrok Lake. On this road you will get a perfect angle of view of Yamdrok, since alongside the road are quite a few viewing platforms where you can stop and take pictures. Yamdrok is a low density salt lake. Its freeze-up period begins in the middle of November every year and the ice thickness can reach up to half a meter. The lake abounds in fishes such as Brachymystax Lenok, Tibetan Schizopygopsis, and Gymnocypris waddelli. Here is also the maximum waterfowl habitat in southern Tibet. Every winter, the birds will migrate southward here and there are a great many swans, water pigeons, yellow ducks, fish eagles and spotted eagles around the lake shore and central island areas. There are also plenty of famouse peaks at the west of Yamdrok Lake, such as Khangsong Lhamu Peak and Shegangsu Peak, etc.

Pelkor Chode Monastery

Pelkor Chode Monastery was initially built in Gyangtse, in the 15 century (about 1428), which took 10 years for completion. It is a classic Tibetan Buddhism temple with natural integration of pagoda and monastery. The monastery and the pagoda are an integral whole, which adds radiance to each other. It fully embodies the classic pattern of Tibetan monasteries dated back to the 13th to the middle and later period of the 15th century. Pelkor Chode monastery is the temple of 3 major coexisting sects: Sakya, Kadampa, and Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It now contains 16 Dratsang (monk dormitory). This gives it a special status and influence in the Tibetan Buddhism history. There is a world-famous Pelkor Pagoda in Pelkor monastery. Its formal name is “Bodhi Pagoda”. The pagoda is called “Pelkor Chode”.The Pelkor Chode was firstly established by Rabten Kunzang and the first Panchen Lama, Khedrup Je., in 1418. The Pelkor Chode has a good reputation of "hundreds of thousands of buddha pagodas". The Palcho Temple is extraordinarily charming because of this pagoda. The Palcho Pogoda is not an ordinary pagoda. It has about hundreds of chapels overlapping each other. The pagoda, with 9 levels, is over 32 meters high. There are 77 Buddha halls, 108 doors, shrines and scripture halls, etc. It is a unique treasure in the history of Tibetan architecture. There are more than 100,000 Buddha figures painted in the palace hall, so it is called Hundreds of Thousands of Buddha Pagodas.

Tashilhunpo Monastery

Tashilhunpo Monastery was built by the disciple of Gelug’s founder Tsongkhapa, the 1st Dalai, Gendun Drup. It was initially constructed in 1447 AD, after successive Panchen lamas' renovation and expansion; the scale of the Monastery has expanded constantly. Up to now, it covers an area of 200,000 square meters.After entering the main gate of the temple, the biggest building in sight is the Tsochin Hall. Out of the hall is a yard surrounded by winding corridors, which is the lecture field of the temple. In the past, Panchen Lama often preached to the monks in the temple here and it was also the place where monks carried out the regional reply. In front of the main hall is the main scripture hall. In the center of the scripture hall locates the throne of the Panchen Lama. Of the three Buddha halls at the back of the scripture hall, Shakyamuni hall rests in the middle, Maitreya hall rests in the west side and Tara hall rests in the east side. In Sakyamuni hall, a more than 5-meter-high gilt bronze statue of Shakyamuni is worshiped. It is said that inside the statue there are the Shakyamuni’s relics, Tsongkhapa’s hair and the scull of Gedun Drupa’s scribe, Sherop sangyel. The mural paintings on the wall of the Monastery are mainly biographies, such as Buddha worship figure, the Eighteen Arhats map, etc. There are many kinds of precious cultural relics in the monastery, among which the portrait of the Emperor Qian Long from Qing Dynasty hung in “Jena Lhakang” and other cultural relics kept here are of higher value. The stupa of the fourth Panchen Lama, Lobsang qukyi has been repaired with the tower body wrapped with copper and inlaid with jade jewelry, brilliant and glittering. A panorama of Tashilhunpo monastery drawled in the form of “Thangkha” hangs in the foreign guest lounge of the monastery, which is the current production of the lama in this temple. These are all priceless treasures to study the civil religion and state as well as social development in every historical period of Tibet. Tashilhunpo Monastery adequately reveals the excellent construction art of Tibetan people, which attracts Buddhists and tourists at home and abroad worshiping and visiting here.

Mount Everest

With an altitude of 8,848 meters, Mount Everest or Qomolangma, the "holy mother" in Tibetan language, is the highest mountain in the world and is also the most beautiful and amazing one among ten famous mountains in China. It is located on the China-Nepal border of the middle part of the Himalaya Mountains and on the due south of Tingri County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet. Its north slope is within the border of Tibet in China while the south slope is within the border of Nepal. Mt. Qomolangma is the main peak of the Himalayan range. "Qomo" stands for goddess and "langma" means the third in Tibetan. There are other four peaks around and Qomolangma ranks third, so it is called Qomolangma. Its summit is covered with snow all the year around, representing a holy and pure scene. There are 4 peaks of over 8,000 meters and 38 peaks of over 7000 meters above sea level in Qomolangma region, which is honoured as “the Third Pole on the Earth”. Located at the foot of Mount Qomolangma, Rongbuk Monastery is the world’s highest monastery above sea level, and is regarded as the best spot to overlook Qomolangma, with a linear distance of 25 kilometers.The word Qomolangma is transliterated from Tibetan language, meaning “the third goddess”. The upper part of the mountain is covered with ice and snow throughout the year and is cliffy and steep. It is a place attractive to mountaineers worldwide. Overlooking Mount Qomolangma, people will be amazed by its mystery and beauty. Either the chain of grotesque mountains and peaks swathed in cloud or the dazzling ice world arouses people’s great interest. However, what people are most interested in is the cloud floating over the summit, which is like a flag fluttering on the mountain top, so this kind of cloud is vividly described as flag cloud or flag-shaped cloud. The only place to accommodate people near Everest Base Camp is Rongbuk Monastery where is convenient to take a good look at the Mount Everest in the morning and evening. The only place that people can live near the base camp of Everest is the tent area, 2 kilometers from the south of the Rongbuk Monastery.

Things needing attention when touring Mount Qomolangma

1. You’d better buy travel accident insurance before setting out so that you would get assistance in time if any accidents occur.

2. The temperature difference between day and night on Everest is big and the weather is changeable. Please put on extra clothes or put off them accordingly. The temperature is extremely low in the evening at high altitude, so it's necessary to wear down coats. Car will bump along the land stirring dust, so it would be better to prepare masks.3. Everest base camp is at an altitude of 5200 meters and two mountains of over 5000 meters will be crossed over. You might develop altitude sickness in different extents. Please take some anti-fatigue medicines like Herba Rhodiolae or Gaoyuanan in advance. Good rest is needed and alcohol as well as strenuous exercise should be avoided.4. In the area of high altitude, due to dry weather, thin air as well as the reflection of snow ground and water surface, ultraviolet radiation is very strong. A high SPF sunscreen and a pair of sunglasses should be prepared.

Namtso Lake

Namtso Lake is 190 kilometers away to the north of Lhasa. It is one of the three holy lakes and also a famous holy land of the Tibetan Buddhism. It means Heaven Lake. Namtso Lake is located between Dhamshong county of Lhasa city and Ban’ge county of Nagqu region. To the north side of the lake are successive hills, and to the southeast of it is 7111-meter-high main peak of Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains covered with white snow all year round. Endless steppe stretches to the end of horizon around the lake. Namtso was a huge lake formed by the depression caused by the Himalayas' movement in the late Tertiary period and the early Quaternary period. Later, because the climate of Tibetan Plateau became drier gradually, the area of Namtso decreased greatly.The lake elevation of Namtso is 4718 meters. The whole lake is more than 70 kilometers in length from the east side to the west, more than 30 kilometers in width from the south side to the north, covering above 1900 square kilometers. Being the saltwater lake with highest elevation in the world, with the maximum depth of over 33 meters, Namtso Lake is replenished by the water from the thawing ice and snow on Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains, and near the lake there are many small streams merging in it. Lake water is pebble-clear and dark blue, presenting an integrated image of mixed sky and water. The souls of people who have come here seem washed by the pure lake water. There are 5 islands in the land, of which the biggest Island whose area is 1.2 square kilometres. The Tashi Island is the travelers’ favorite scenic spot. On the island, there scatters a lot of grottos in strange shapes and clusters numerous stone pillars and weird stone peaks. Hard-featured rocks are exotic and wonderful. It takes about 2 hours to go around the island clock wisely. Pastures at the lakeside plain are fine forming the natural grazing grounds. Every early summer, herds of wild ducks fly here to perch and propagate. Areas around the lake are often dwelled by wild animals such as bears, wild yak, wild onager and sheep. In the lake, plateau alepidote and brachymystax lenok are abundant and rare medicinal herbs such as cordyceps sinensis, saussurea involucrata and the bulb of fritillary are also produced in the lake region. If the weather is bad, when it is rainy or snowy, you’d better not go to Namtso, for there may be heavy snow in the mountain pass, and cars can be easily trapped on the road near Namtso Lake.