Small Group Journey to Lhasa, Yamdroktso, Shigatse, Mt. Everest

Upon your arrival at Lhasa airport, your guide will greet you and escort you to your hotel and help you check in. You will have the rest of the day and evening to rest and relax to become acclimatized the high altitude of Tibet.

Notice：

• Pick up/drop off: Foreign and Taiwanese travelers need a tour guide to pick up/drop off according to the regulations of the Tourism Administration.
• Altitude sickness: With its much higher elevation, some visitors may experience symptoms of altitude sickness. We recommend taking everything slowly, getting plenty of rest the first day and staying very well hydrated by drinking plenty of water to minimize the effects of the high altitude.
• Usually, you will be fine by the second day, but if you do experience severe and/or worsening symptoms, please contact your guide or a member of our staff immediately.

In the morning, head to Potala Palace, a landmark building in Tibet and the highest-altitude palace in the world. Composed of the White Palace and the Red Palace, it exudes grandeur. You can wander through its resplendent Buddha halls, stupas, living quarters, and corridors, admiring the large collection of Buddha statues, murals, and Buddhist scriptures housed within. Here, you can also overlook the entire Lhasa city.

Potala Palace

Ticketing tips for Potala Palace: The Potala Palace requires real-name online ticketing and valid document (such as ID card, household registration book or passport) is required to make the reservation. Once the reservation made, the ticket cannot be re-booked within 7 days from the day of visit. If you can not enter the Potala Palace due to the wrong documents provided by yourself, we do not bear any responsibility or consequences.Therefore, it is important to take the valid documents. If the name or ID number is inconsistent with the actual ID used, you will not be able to enter the Potala Palace. Please note the ticket fee has actually been incurred and cannot be refunded.

The visiting time of the Potala Palace is randomly issued by the Potala Palace Management Office and it can not designate the visiting time. Please note the actual visiting route sequences may be different from the provided one.

In peak season, there has restrictions in visiting the Potala Palace and each travel agency has limited group bookings quotas every day. In order to ensure the group tour visiting, we solve the problem through different channels. Due to the special requirements for ticket purchases in different channels, you are requested to follow the tour guide’s arrangement. The normal arrangements are as below：

• The group tour may be divided into multiple small groups (tourists who book together might be divided, and they join with other small group to visit the Potala Palace).
• Each small group is divided into different times/dates to visit.
• Each small group follows the different guide to visit.

Next, proceed to Jokhang Temple, a sacred site revered by all sects of Tibetan Buddhism and the center of Lhasa. You can see the 12-year-old statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, which is the core sacred relic of the temple. On the second-floor terrace, you can overlook the panoramic view of Barkhor Street and Potala Palace, making it an excellent spot for photography.

Jokhang Temple

Ticketing tips for the Jokhang Temple: The Jokhang Temple needs real-name online ticketing. Every day, from 7:00am to 23:59pm the tickets for the next day will be open to book through the We Chat applet "Jokhang Temple Reservation" until the number of reservations is full. Therefore, tickets must be reserved one day in advance. Please follow tour guide’s instruction to make the reservation.

The Jokhang Temple is a religious temple rather than a tourist attraction. Please note if encountering important religious activities, it will be closed to tourists.

After visiting Jokhang Temple, head to Barkhor Street. Historically, it was a place for Buddhists to perform religious circumambulations. Now, you can see devout believers performing prostrations and spinning prayer wheels everywhere. The street also sells various Tibetan delicacies and exquisite souvenirs.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

By visiting Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Barkhor Street, understand the core architectural characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism, religious rituals, and the actual connection between faith and folk customs.

Educational Focus:

Why was Potala Palace built on a mountain? What are its architectural characteristics?

Takeaway:

Tibetans worship mountain gods, so building Potala Palace on a high mountain signifies "connecting to heaven." Potala Palace is a combination of architectural techniques from multiple ethnic groups, with its most prominent features being the stacked and winding palace structures.

Thought Challenge:

How to rationally plan tourist routes and control passenger flow without affecting pilgrimages and residents’ daily lives, so as to achieve a win-win situation between cultural heritage protection and tourism development?

In the morning, drive to Kampala Pass Viewing Platform—the best spot to overlook the panoramic view of Yamdrok Lake. From here, you can take in the lake water, snow-capped mountains, and islands all at once. The water of Yamdrok Lake is clear and azure, showing different tones with changes in light and weather, making it a paradise for photographers.

Yamdrok Lake

Next, we will arrive at Karola Glacier, one of Tibet’s three major continental glaciers. The glacier is only over 300 meters away from the highway, allowing you to view it up close. It appears blue under the sunlight. At the prayer flag blessing platform, you can also see Nainqen Kangsa Snow Mountain and the glacier in the same frame; the colorful prayer flags and the blue glacier create a strong visual impact. Then depart for Shigatse.

Karola Glacier

Notice: Foreign travelers planning to visit Mt. Everest need to apply for an Aliens’ Travel Permit in Shigatse. The tour guide may adjust the itinerary according to the travel permit application status.During peak seasons, please be prepared for long queues when applying for the travel permit, which may be caused by system failures or a sudden surge in the number of applicants.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Pass by Yamdrok Lake and Karola Glacier to enjoy the unique natural scenery of the plateau lake and continental glacier.

Educational Focus:

What beneficial impacts does Yamdrok Lake have on the growth of local crops in its surrounding area?

Takeaway:

Yamdrok Lake is located at a high altitude, with large temperature differences between day and night. Frost is likely to occur during the crop harvest season. However, the lake has a large area and exerts a strong regulating effect on temperature, which can reduce the damage of frost to crops.

Thought Challenge:

Facing the problem of glacier retreat caused by global warming, how to rationally develop eco-tourism while protecting the ecology of plateau lakes and glaciers, and at the same time enhance tourists’ environmental protection awareness?

After breakfast we’ll set out towards the peak of the world – Mount Everest. Departing from Shigatse you will see some of the most beautiful and unique scenery in the world – incredibly blue skies, floating high clouds, endless grasslands and the highest mountain peaks in the world. We’ll also stop by the Rongbuk Monastery – the world’s highest altitude monastery before spending the night at the Everest Base Camp.

Mount Everest

Notice: Tibetan Tent or guesthouse (8-15 pax/tent, multi-beds room, public bathroom). Every year due to cold weather, the tents will be evacuated from the Everest Base Camp, travelers will stay in Basongcun/Tashizongcun guesthouse instead(multi-beds room with public bathroom).

The food and accommodation is poor, the altitude is high, and the temperature is low at the Everest Base Camp. Please pay attention to keep warm and prevent altitude sickness. The temperature is about 0-8 degrees in summer night, so please bring down jackets, or rent one in the Base Camp.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Admire the magnificent snow-capped mountain range at Mount Everest. Along the way, enjoy distant views of Kanchenjunga (the world’s 3rd highest peak), Lhotse (the world’s 4th highest peak), and Rima Na Snow Mountain.

Educational Focus:

What impact does the melting of Mount Everest’s glaciers have on local villages?

Takeaway:

The melting of glaciers leads to an increase in the number of glacial lakes. If a glacial lake bursts, it may trigger a glacial lake outburst flood, threatening villages, farmland, and infrastructure downstream.

Thought Challenge:

The ecological environment in the core area of Mount Everest is fragile. How to ensure tourists’ viewing experience while achieving long-term balance between ecological protection and tourism activities?

We will get an early start today to cross the Gyatso La Pass, also known as the Dingri Boundary, at an altitude of 5,248 meters. If the weather is clear, you can stand at the pass to enjoy a distant view of Mount Everest; you can also see Cho Oyu, Lhotse, and Makalu. In the afternoon, we will drive back to Shigatse.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Stop at the Gyatso La Pass Viewing Platform to overlook the landforms in the middle section of the Himalayas, and observe the geographical characteristics and viewing advantages of this high-altitude pass.

Educational Focus:

How do the plants around Gyatso La Pass adapt to the high-altitude natural environment?

Takeaway:

The area around Gyatso La Pass is dominated by alpine meadows and sparse cold-resistant plants. These plants have well-developed root systems to adapt to strong winds and poor soil conditions.

Thought Challenge:

How to leverage the unique location advantages of Gyatso La Pass to design tourism projects that combine popular science value and immersive experience?

After breakfast, we will set off for Tashi Lhunpo Monastery—the largest monastery in the Shigatse area. We will visit the Tsogchen Hall (the main hall), which enshrines Buddha statues such as Sakyamuni Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Maitreya Buddha, along with many murals and colored paintings. We will also visit the Maitreya Buddha Hall, the most magnificent building in the monastery. Inside, there is a gilded bronze statue of Maitreya Buddha (seated posture), which is 26.2 meters tall and one of the world’s largest copper Buddha statues. After the visit, we will depart for Lhasa.

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Step into Tashi Lhunpo Monastery to admire the grandeur of the world’s large gilded copper Buddha, witness religious rituals, and experience the religious culture of the post-Tibet region.

Educational Focus:

As the residence of successive Panchen Lamas, in what aspects does Tashi Lhunpo Monastery reflect its unique religious value?

Takeaway:

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is not only the core of religious activities in post-Tibet but also undertakes functions such as pilgrim worship and Dharma inheritance. Annual events like the Thangka Unfolding Festival attract believers from all over, making it a core spiritual landmark of post-Tibet.

Thought Challenge:

For traditional religious events of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery—such as the Thangka Unfolding Festival and Tibetan New Year Dharma Assembly—how to appropriately open them to tourists for experience while preserving their original ritual integrity?

Today you will have free time until your tour guide escorts you to the Lhasa train station or airport for your departing train or flight from Lhasa. This will end your tour services in Tibet.