Xining Lhasa Tsetang Shigatse Everest Namtso Train Tour

Upon arrival in Xining Airport, please look for our local guide there who will be holding your name board. Then transfer to hotel in downtown Xining. Guide will help you check in before leave. You are free for the rest of the day to check out the city by yourself.

Today, you will visit the most popular scenic spot in Xining - Qinghai Lake. It is located about 130 kilometers west of Xining. We will start our tour after breakfast. As the largest saltwater lake in China, Qinghai Lake is famous for the beauty of sapphire-like water, the turquoise-like grassland and majestic snow-capped mountains. The picturesque views vary from season to season. Cruising is the ideal way to enjoy the landscape. Cruising down the Qinghai Lake, you can catch a glimpse of the grand Mt. Sun and Moon along the way. After visiting the places, you will stay overnight at the lakeside to enjoy the stunning sunset and sunrise.

In the morning, you will get back to Xining city after breakfast. Your tour guide will send you to the train station. Please exchange eTicket to an actual paper ticket at the ticket hall by showing them your e-ticket, a copy of your Tibet Travel Permit, and your original passport. Xining - Lhasa train takes about 22hrs covering a distance of 1960km.

You will spend the rest of the day on the train and enjoy the fabulous scenery along the highest railway in the world - Qinghai Tibet Railway. You will see the gorgeous natural scenery of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau such as nomadic pasture, sapphire lakes, flocks of goats and yaks, snow-capped mountains, etc.

Our local Tibetan guide will wait for you at Lhasa railway station by holding your name sign. You will be greeted with a warm Tashi Delek (a kind of blessing), and be presented with a white Hada (traditional Tibetan ceremonial by giving you a white scarf). Then transfer to the hotel in Lhasa city. On your first arrival day in Lhasa (3650m), it's essential to have a good rest to avoid Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS, also known as altitude sickness). Remember to drink lots of water, eat lighter and have high carbohydrate food which will be helpful to you to adapt to the high altitude better.

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 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 go to visit Norbulingka. Norbulingka 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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After breakfast, transfer from Lhasa to Samye along the serene waters of the braided Yarlung Tsangpo meandering through a swathe of land flanked by dramatic sand dunes and rich in Tibetan history. After sightseeing, transfer to Tsetang, the fourth-largest city in Tibet, for the night.

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. 

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Today, lots of beautiful scenery will be seen on the way from Tsetang to Gyantse. Passing over Gampala Pass (4790m), you will have a glimpse of Yamdroktso Lake (4400m), from where you will have a spectacular view of Holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar (7191m), the highest mountain near Lhasa. We head westward along Yamdroktso Lake to Karola Glacier, then drive towards Gyantse (3980m), a very pleasant town in Tibet, located in the Nyang-chu Valley. 

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In Gyantse, you will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery with Gyantse Kumbum and have a far view of Gyantse Fortress. Then traveling from Gyantse to Shigatse through the fertile Nyangchu Valley, you can see a wide agricultural plain where colorfully decorated yaks and horses are used by Tibetan farmers to till the land.

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Drive from Shigatse to Tingri via Sakya County where we will visit the famous Sakya Monastery. Stay the night in Tingri, the closest settlement from Everest Base Camp where guesthouses provide rooms with private bathrooms and hot shower. 

Abt 3km from the Friendship Hwy, you get to the village of Chay. From Chay, it’s a winding drive up to Pang-la (5050m). The view here is stupendous on a clear day, and features major mountains of the Himalayan range, including Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Gyachung and Cho Oyu. The road then descends past a couple of photogenic villages and runs down into the fertile Dzaka Valley and Tashi Dzom village. The dirt road then runs up the wide valley, to Pagsum village. The next main village is Cho Dzom and from here the road turns south towards Rongbuk Monastery. The first view of Mt.Everest appears half an hour before you reach Rongbuk. After sightseeing at Rongbuk and Everest, return back to Tingri for the night.

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Drive from Tingri to Shigatse today via G318, which takes about 7hrs. Please feel free to ask your driver to stop at any time if you want to take a photo of the fantastic view along the way. 

In the morning, we will visit the home of Panchen Lama - Tashilunpo Monastery, which was founded by the 1st Dalai Lama in 1447. It is a historic and culturally important monastery in Shigatse. It's located on the central hill of the city. The full name in Tibetan of the monastery means "all fortune and happiness gathered here" or "heap of glory".

Then, we will drive back to Lhasa from Shigatse along the Friendship Highway, via the northern route to Lhasa. It is the most direct route and usually takes around 6 hours to reach the capital. We will make several stops on the way in order to enjoy the views of the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley.

On the way to Namtso, you will have a far view of the Nyenchen Thanglha Snow Mountain. Enjoy the view of the vast grassland and spectacular natural scenery. You'll arrive at Namtso Lake after pass Nagela Pass(5150m).

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.