Lhasa Tsetang Yarlung Valley Tour

This 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 hour to drive from Lhasa Airport to downtown Lhasa and takes about 20 minutes 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, and do not move strenuously. It’s really useful to get acclimatized to the high altitude.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

In the morning, your 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, you will go to visit Jokhang Temple in the center of the Lhasa old town. Jokhang Temple is the most sacred temple in 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 circuits 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

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In the morning, we will visit Norbulingka, which is a typical Tibetan-style royal garden, the summer resort of the Dalai Lama. There are a lot of towering trees, exotic flowers and plants in the garden, as well as many collections of cultural relics, Buddha statues, pagodas, thangkas, murals, etc. They are all very precious treasures.

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 cover the hillsides. Drepung monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery, also the highest-ranking monastery in the Gelug Sect.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

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Departing from Lhasa, along the famous Yarlung Tsang River, you will visit Trandruk Monastery and Yumbulagang in Yarlung Valley of Tsetang. Trandruk Monastery is one of the earliest Buddhist monasteries in Tibet, having been founded at the same time as the Jokhang Monastery and Ramoche Monastery in Lhasa. In order to build Trandruk Monastery here, Songtsen Gampo had first to take the form of a hawk to overcome a local dragon, a miracle that is commemorated in the monastery’s name.

Then you will continue to visit Yumbulagang Palace, as it’s considered the first palace of Tibet, which is a remarkably impressive sight.

Stay overnight in Tsetang

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Chongye is located in the southwest of Qiongjie County, Shannan, about an hour's drive from Tsetang Town, where tourists gather. This place holds a special place in the heart of every Tibetan, for it was here that the first great Tibetan monarchs forged an empire on the world’s highest plateau. It was one of the most representative cultural landscapes in Tibetan history.

In the afternoon, we will drive back to Lhasa. On the way, we'll go to visit the Samye Monastery. It is the first temple to be built in Tibet and the first complete with the three Buddhist jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. With these unique features, this splendid temple has become an attraction for visitors from near and far.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

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Your tour ends today. Our guide and driver will collect you from your hotel to transfer to Lhasa Airport/Railway Station for your next destination.