Xining Lhasa Tsetang Shigatse Everest Namtso Train Tour

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

Stay overnight in Xining

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 its sapphire-like water, 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 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.

Stay overnight at the lakeside

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In the morning, you will get back to Xining City after breakfast. Your tour guide will take you to the train station. Please fetch an actual paper ticket at the ticket hall by showing them your e-ticket, a copy of your Tibet Travel Permit, and your passport. Xining - Lhasa train takes about 22hrs covering a distance of 1,960km.

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 the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau such as nomadic pasture, sapphire lakes, flocks of goats and yaks, snow-capped mountains, etc.

Stay overnight on the train

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 (3,650m), 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, 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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After breakfast, transfer from Lhasa to Samye Monastery along the serene waters of the braided Yarlung Tsangpo, meandering through a swathe of land flanked by sand dunes. It is the first temple in the history of Tibetan Buddhism to be complete with Triratna (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha). After sightseeing, transfer to Tsetang, the tourist gathering place of Lhoka, which is known as the cradle of Tibetan Civilization.

Stay overnight in Tsetang

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 the massive Tibetan King Burial Mounds still dominate the area around Chongye. 

Stay overnight in Tsetang

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Today, lots of beautiful scenery will be seen on the way from Tsetang to Gyantse. Passing over Gampala Pass (4,790m), you will have a glimpse of Yamdroktso Lake (4,400m), from where you will have a spectacular view of Holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar (7,191m), the highest mountain near Lhasa. We head westward along Yamdroktso Lake to Karola Glacier, then drive towards Gyantse (3,980m), a very pleasant town in Tibet, located in the Nyang-chu Valley. 

Stay overnight in Gyantse

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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.

Stay overnight in Shigatse

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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 to Everest Base Camp where guesthouses provide rooms with private bathrooms and hot showers. 

Stay overnight in Tingri

After entering Mount Everest National Park, you will first arrive at the Gawu La Pass, adorned with fluttering prayer flags. Here you can enjoy a panoramic view of five towering peaks above 8,000 meters. Next, you will experience the famous 108 bends of Everest, a winding road offering breathtaking scenery along the way. Vehicles can only go as far as Tashizong Township, where visitors must transfer to a shuttle bus to reach the Everest Base Camp, a journey of approximately 50 minutes.

At Everest Base Camp, you can worship Mount Everest up close. Standing before the world's highest peak, you might feel a sense of awe and wonder. You will then visit Rongbuk Monastery, the world's highest-altitude monastery, where you can immerse yourself in its unique spiritual atmosphere. Later in the afternoon, you will return to Tingri.

Stay overnight in Tingri

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Drive from Tingri to Shigatse today via G318 and feel the pleasure and excitement that the plateau scenery brings to you. 

In the afternoon, you will visit Tashilhunpo Monastery - the home of Panchen Lama. It was founded by the 1st Dalai Lama in 1447 and is a historic and culturally important monastery in Shigatse.

Stay overnight in Shigatse

From Shigatse to Namtso, it's nearly 400 kilometers along the national highway, passing through Yangbajing and crossing the 5,400-meter-high Xuegela Mountain. Along the way, the vast grasslands stretch beneath a sky of blue and clouds of white, creating a boundless and breathtaking landscape—like traveling through a painting!

Namtso Lake (4,600m) is one of the top three holy lakes in Tibet. It’s also the third-largest salt lake in China and the highest lake in the world. The name Namtso means “lake from heaven” in the Tibetan language. And the gorgeous landscape is really like heaven. You can enjoy the amazing sunset here.

Stay overnight in Damxung

After breakfast, you will head back to Lhasa. En route, visit Tsurphu Monastery, which is the main temple of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. It is also the birthplace of the reincarnation system of the Living Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism. It was later widely adopted by other sects in Tibet.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

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.