Nepal Tibet Flight Tour

Welcome to Kathmandu! Our Nepali tour guide will greet you at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and transfer you to the hotel. It’s only 6km from the airport to the downtown area. After a little bit rest, you can wander around this old city by yourself.

Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, was built in A.D.723, already more than 1200years until now. It is the symbol of Nepalese ancient culture with the great art of architecture and wood carving. Numbers of palaces, temples, pagodas, and monasteries were built here during Nepal dynasties.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu

Today you will start to explore Kathmandu with our experienced Nepali guide.

Firstly, you will go to Swyambhunath Temple to see the stupa there. Swyambhunath was built 2000 years ago, even older than Kathmandu city! It’s one of the World's Cultural Heritages in Nepal. And it’s also called “ Monkey Temple” as there are hundreds of wild monkeys live around it. The Swyambhunath Stupa is the second largest stupa in Nepal. The Buddha's eyes were painted on the four sides of the stupa, which means Buddha is watching you. The paint makes it so sacred that many pilgrims come to worship.

Then you will go to see the largest stupa in Nepal, as well as in the world. Boudhanath Stupa is located in the eastern of Kathmandu. 90% of Nepalese are Hindu devotees. you can see Lord Shiva everywhere. But here, Boudhanath is a holy place of Tibetan Buddhism as it’s located in the main trading pass between Nepal and Tibet. So, every morning, there are many Tibetan Buddhists doing kora here, which is really an impressive scene.

In the end, we are heading to Pashupatinath Temple, the largest Hindu temple in Nepal. The god of destruction— Shiva is enshrined in it. “Pashu” means “all living creatures”, “Patinath” means “the lord”. This temple is also known as “corpse cremation temple” because it’s the place where Hindu devotees cremate the dead bodies in public.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu

Today we are going to visit Bhaktapur Durbar Square first.

“Durbar” means “Palace” in Nepalese language. There are three famous Durbar Squares in Nepal, one is in Kathmandu, one is in Bhaktapur, and the last in Patan. After the 6^th. King of Malla Dynasty died, all his three sons wanted to be the new king, so they controlled three different places and fight each other. These three Durbar Squares were built during that time.

Bhaktapur Durbar Square is bigger than the other two squares. There are many temples, statues and palace over 500years history there, thus it’s called “The Treasure of Medieval Nepalese Art” and “Outdoor Museum” as well.

After lunch, we are going to Nagarkot, 35km from Kathmandu. It’s called the “Viewing Deck of the Himalayas” because it’s the best place to see the overall perspective of the Himalayas. It used to be the secluded place of the Nepalese rulers, but since 70’s it became the most popular place to enjoy the sunrise and sunset. The peak season is from Oct. to Mar. every year.

Stay overnight in Nagarkot village

After enjoying the great sunrise of Himalaya in Nagarkot, today we are going to another Durbar Square---Patan Durbar Square. It’s also one of the world's cultural heritages in Nepal. The biggest difference compared with the other two squares is the Newari classical architecture here.

In the afternoon, we are going to the Patan Museum. It may be the best museum in the South Asian Sub-Continent. It’s a complex of modern and ancient architecture art. The specialty seeing is those bronze statues, which are gods of Hindu and Buddhism. There are three showrooms of Hindu while 2 of Buddhism.

We will go back to Kathmandu in the late afternoon.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu

It takes around one and a half hours to Lhasa from Kathmandu by flight.

This is the first day you enter Tibet. Your Tibetan guide will greet you at the airport and send you to the lovely hotel. It usually takes 1.5 hours to drive from Lhasa Airport to downtown Lhasa. Tourists could have a look at 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 to go out, you can wonder 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. It’s really useful to get acclimatized to the high altitude.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

After resting one night, today you will recover sufficiently to launch your Lhasa city tour, with close contact with Lhasa, which is the political, economic, cultural, communication and tourism center of Tibet with a history of over 1300 years.

At first, you will go to the Potala Palace, which is the symbolic place of Lhasa and also the winter palace of the Dalai Lama. It was built by the 33rd great king of Tibet - Songtsen Gangpo in the 7th century. The gilded burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and the meditation Cave of the 33rd great king are the most worth seeing in Potala Palace.

After lunch, you are going to Jokhang Temple, which was founded at the same time and by the same king as Potala Palace. From the outside, you can see many pilgrims prostrating in front of the temple. The most precious treasure of this temple is the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of 12.

Barkhor Street is the next destination that women love a lot. Because it’s a famous busy walking street where they can go shopping. There are many distinctive shops and stalls that sell different Tibetan stuff, like handicrafts, Thangka, and so on. Except for shopping, tourists can also join the Kora with pilgrims and locals, to explore Tibetan religious culture more deeply.

Optional:

You can go to visit the Tibetan handicraft art or Tibetan Traditional Medicine center if time is enough. You can also watch the Tibetan Culture Show in the evening for USD60 per person at your own expense.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

In the morning, you are heading to Drak Yerpa, the most famous meditation retreat near Lhasa. It's a monastery embedded in the cliff wall. Drak Yerpa is described as the "life tree" or spiritual axis of Lhasa. The site had strong spiritual power, having been visited by almost all great Tibetan masters. You can feel the power of the meditation caves here.

In the afternoon, you will pay a visit to Sera Monastery, which is one of the "great three" Gelug monasteries of Tibet. Monks debate from 3 pm to 5 pm. If the debate is not your type, you can also enjoy the three sand Mandalas and colorful rock paintings of Buddha. The sight here is splendid because you can see wild roses around. That's why people also call it "the Court of Wild Rose."

Stay overnight in Lhasa

In the morning, we drive to the holy Namtso Lake along the Qinghai-Tibet. On the way to Namtso, you will have a far view of Nyenchen Tangula Mountains. Enjoy the view of the vast grassland and spectacular natural scenery.

You'll arrive at Namtso Lake after passing Nagela Pass(5150m). It covers a total area of more than 1900 square kilometers. At an elevation of 4718 meters, it is also the highest-altitude salt lake in the world, the furthest depth being more than 33m. Besides, you can enjoy the view of the Sky Road Railway with snowy mountains background; while standing at the famous Nagela Pass, you can see the stunning view of holy Namtso Lake. If the weather is good, you will have a chance to enjoy the marvelous sunset view of the lake. Then we will drive to Damxung for and accommodation.

Stay overnight in Damxung

In the morning, we will go back to Lhasa. On the way. Yampachen lies just south of the Nyainqêntanglha Mountains, famous for Yampachen Hot Springs, at an altitude of 4290–4500m making it the highest altitude set of hot springs in China. Both indoor and outdoor swimming pools have been set up here, in which visitors can enjoy a bath.

Stay overnight in Lhasa