Lhasa Nyingtri Tsetang Tour
- Duration:
- 9 Days
- Route:
- Lhasa - Nyingtri - Tsetang - Lhasa
- Season:
-
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter
- Tour Type:
- Private Tour
Overview
Day | Route | Attractions & Activities |
---|---|---|
1 | Arrival in Lhasa (3650m) | Pick up and transfer to the hotel. |
2 | Lhasa City | Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street, Tibetan Carpet Workshop |
3 | Lhasa Suburb | Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery |
4 | Lhasa - Draksumtso - Nyingtri | Draksum-tso Lake |
5 | Nyingchi - Lulang - Tashigang | Lulang Forest, Tashigang Village |
6 | Tashigang - Nyingtri - Tsetang | Niyang River |
7 | Tsetang - Trandruk - Yumbulagang - Chongye - Tsetang | Trandruk Monastery, Yumbulagang Palace, Chongye Burial Mounds |
8 | Tsetang - Samye - Tsetang | Samye Monastery |
9 | Tsetang - Lhasa Airport | Send off to the airport/train station |
Daily Itinerary
CollapseThis is the first day in Tibet. Your guide will greet you at Lhasa Gonggar Airport/Railway Station and transfer you to your hotel. It usually takes around 1.5 hours to drive from Lhasa Airport to downtown Lhasa and takes about 20mins from Lhasa Railway Station. Tourists could have a look at the Yarlung Tsangpo River, the largest and longest river in Tibet on their way to the hotel. After check-in, you can have a good rest first. And if you feel like going out, you can wander around the city. But just remember that don't take too much stuff, try to go with a light pack. Meanwhile, drink some more water, do not move strenuously. It’s really useful to get acclimatized to the high altitude.
Stay overnight in Lhasa
In the morning our guide will meet you at the hotel and first take you to visit the famous Potala Palace, the cardinal landmark of Tibet and the masterpiece of Tibetan architecture. It was first built by the 33rd King - Songtsen Gangpo in the 7th century and rebuilt later by the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century. Now it's a museum and world heritage site.
In the afternoon, we will go to visit Jokhang Temple in the center of the Lhasa old town. Jokhang Temple is one of the most sacred temples all over Tibet and it is always bustling with earnest local pilgrims since the early days. After that, you will take a walk around the Barkhor Street - one of the most devotional circuit as well as a crowded central market of Lhasa. Barkhor Street is a very ancient round street surrounding the Jokhang Temple and the locals are always proud of it. As a symbol of Lhasa, it‘s also a must-see place for visitors.
Stay overnight in Lhasa


- Potala Palace
- Jokhang Temple
- Barkhor Street
- Tibetan Carpet Workshop
In the morning, we will go to visit Norbulingka. Norbulingka park is considered the premier park of all such horticultural parks in similar ethnic settings in Tibet. During the summer and autumn months, the parks in Tibet including the Norbulingka, become hubs of entertainment with dancing, singing, music, and festivities. The park is where the annual Sho Dun or 'Yoghurt Festival' is held.
In the afternoon, you are heading to Drepung Monastery, which means Monastery of Rice Heap in the Tibetan language. The entire monastery is large in scale and the white buildings cluster and covers the hillsides. They look like huge rice heaps in the distance, so it is called Drepung. Drepung monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery, also the highest-ranking monastery in the Gelug Sect.
Stay overnight in Lhasa


Today we will depart from Lhasa via the G318 national highway, pass Dagze and Mozhugongka county, cross over the Mira Snow Mountain at an altitude of 5020-meter, and then continue eastward into the Niyang River Valley. We will soon arrive at the famous attraction Draksumtso Lake, which means "green water" in Tibetan. The lake is surrounded by snow-capped mountains, and there are Tibetan-style temples on the islands in the lake. It is a famous sacred lake and holy place of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.
After visiting Basongcuo, continue to Bayi Town (Nyingchi), an altitude of only 2500 meters. You can enjoy the Southern Niyang River Valley along the way.

Lulang means “Loong King Valley” in the Tibetan language, or “a place that will make you forget your home”. It is located about 80km from Nyingchi.
In the afternoon, we will drive 2km from Lulang to Tashigang Village, which a gorgeous tiny rural village at the foot of Lulang forest. Here the cattle and sheep graze freely and walk by you calmly. Some people say that this is probably China's Switzerland!


- Lulang Forest
- Tashigang Village
After breakfast, we will start from Tashigang village to Tsedang, known as the "Birthplace of Tibetan Culture", All the way, the beautiful scenery on both sides of the Niyang River is accompanied. The distance is 533 kilometers and the estimated travel time is 8 hours or so.

Visit the major sights of Yarlung Valley in Tsetang today, which is considered the cradle of Tibetan civilization. We will go to Trandruk Monastery in the early morning. It's also one of the earliest Monasteries in Tibet. The Pearl Thangka is the highlight of this visit. Then we will head to Yumbulagang Palace, which was the first palace in Tibetan history. The scale of the temple is small, but it's very spectacular as it's towering over the hill and condescending on the top.
It was from the Yarlung River Valley that the early Tibetan kings unified Tibet in the 7th century and their massive burial mounds still dominate the area around Chongye.


Tsetang is the fourth-largest city in Tibet and the capital of the huge Shannan (Lhoka) prefecture. Samye Monastery is located about 30km from Tsetang. It was built around the middle of the 8th century AD, during the Songtsan Gampo period. It was also the most magnificent building in the Tubo Kingdom. Samye Monastery is the first monastery in the history of Tibetan Buddhism with Triratna "Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha", so it is known as the "first monastery in Tibet". You can experience three different styles of architecture in Tibet, Khan and India together when visiting this monastery.

Transfer to Lhasa Airport from Tsetang for your next destination, which is almost the same mileage from Lhasa.
- Tibet Tourism Bureau Permit (TTB) and all other necessary permits to Tibet;
- All entrance tickets fee for tourist attractions listed in the itinerary;
- Experienced local English-speaking tour guide;
- Travel-licensed vehicle according to group size & season as itinerary needed including gas and parking fee;
- All lodging listed in the itinerary; it’s your decision about the accommodation class: luxury 5-star international hotel, comfortable 4-star hotel, economic 3-star hotel, or guesthouse. Please tell us your preference;
- All meals listed in the above itinerary;
- Pick-up & Drop-off service from Airport/railway station;
- Travel Agency Liability insurance;
- Government tax;
- Express delivery fee of Permit (eg. SF. Express);
- Food & lodgings for guide & driver;
- Oxygen tank for emergency use;
- Free use of sleeping bag;
- Two bottles of mineral water per person per day.
- International flight to and out of China;
- Chinese Visa/China Group Visa; (Note: we could help you by providing the hotel or domestic flight reservation copies for your Chinese Visa or the invitation letter for your China Group Visa)
- Domestic flight/train to and out of Lhasa; (We can help you book the domestic flight/train ticket at the BEST price. Please contact us for details.)
- Meals are not included but we will recommend some good ones for you according to your requirements. Usually, it takes 3-10 USD per person for each meal.
- While Gratuities for guide and driver is NOT mandatory, it is expected. Based on their service, you can tip them on the last day of the tour. Each of you is suggested to tip them 5-10 USD/day in total;
- All the commission and tax charged by PayPal, Bank, and government when making payment. (e.g. PayPal --- 4.2%. Wire transfer --- 2%);
- Personal expenses, like laundry, phone call, snacks, soft drinks, optional tour activities, etc.
- Anything not mentioned in the Inclusions.
Typically Asked Questions from Our Clients
caro***
2018-07-08
Leave from Brisbane in Australia to go on this tour. Please call me thank you.
Caroline
In your inquiry, you mentioned that you would like to have a 9-day Lhasa Nyingtri Tsetang Tour at the end of 2018. This is a private tour, which is costly for a solo traveler since there are no others to share the guide and vehicle cost with you. Please check the following itinerary.
Mich***
2017-10-07
Traveling over Christmas and new year. What is your package and price. 9-10 is fine. Types of hotels? Visa? Best way to reach Lhasa if I'm coming from Singapore?
penny
Hi Michelle Lee, we’ll arrange the Tibet permit (visa) for you and you just need to send us the copies of your passports. Since you’ll come from Singapore, I suggest that you can consider to fly to Chengdu first and then transfer to Lhasa.
It seems that you would like to do our 9 days Lhasa Nyingtri Tsetang Private Tour, correct?
Step***
2017-09-18
I might be solo, or travelling with another adult, please could you give a quote for this tour for the Autumn (late October - November season) - I really would love to visit Nyingtri. Also can you let me know if it would be safe a solo female traveller (arrangements for hotels, etc.) Thanks.
amy
Dear Stephanie,
Yes, it’s safe to travel to Tibet as a solo female traveler as long as you go with a local travel agency, so please no worry about this. But travelers can’t go to Nyingtri directly by driving now because of road repairing, it will be done in earlier Dec 2017. If you like to go to Nyingtri now, we will drive you from Lhasa to be there through Tsetang and same way back to Lhasa.