Eleven Days Tour: Pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash, Manasarovar and Guge Kingdom

Total Fair From $1980 per person.

ITINERARY IN SHORT

  • Day 1: Your tour guide will pick you up at Kodari, a town at Tibet-Nepal border, and will drive you to Nyalam
  • Day 2: Nyalam to Saga.
  • Day 3: Saga to Lake Manasarovar.
  • Day 4: Lake Manasarovar to Thirthphuri. Overnight in Tsada.
  • Day 5: Tsada to Guge Kingdo. Overnight in Darchen.
  • Day 6: Trekking from Darchen to Dirakphuk, 20km, approximately five hours.
  • Day 7: Trekking from Dirakphuk to Zuktulphuk, 18km, around six hours.
  • Day 8: Trekking from Zultulpuk to Darchen, 12km, about four hours. Drive to Lake Manasarovar.
  • Day 9: Manasarovar to Saga
  • Day 10: Saga to Zhamu, border between Tibet and Nepal.
  • Day 11: End of tour. Your tour guide will send you off at the Nepal border.

Important notice when you visit the Potala Palace

 

To protect the Potala Palace, a limited number of tourists can go inside. The palace is made of clay and wood, and has become very fragile over the years, thus it is very easy to damage it if too many tourists enter at the same time. Visiting time inside the Palace is restricted to no more than two hours. Due to crowding conditions, tickets are very limited, especially during the summer high season. Sightseeing may also be changed from morning to afternoon, or switched from one day to another according to the situation or the space available.

Please be flexible to this possibility.

  1. Please bring your passport

  2. Tickets should be booked one day in advance

  3. The visit cannot be scheduled ahead of time, the ticketing officer will let your tour guide know when there is availability

  4. You should be at the first security checkpoint one hour ahead of the scheduled time of visit, if you are late then you will not be allowed to re-book a ticket for one week

Services included and excluded in this tour


The following 15 services are included:

  1. The payment for Tibet travel permit and all other necessaries permits to Tibet are included.

  2. All entrance ticket fees for all tourist sites listed in the itinerary include.

  3. We provide meals as specified in the itinerary.

  4. Local tour Transfers, 5-29 seats comfortable Tourist Vehicle according to Group Size.

  5. Professional English-speaking Tibetan local tour guide will be in your group;

  6. Comfortable hotel accommodations will be arranged.

  7. As per the all lodging listed in the itinerary; you need to share a room with other member but if you prefer to stay alone in one room, you need to pay the single room supplement.

  8. Breakfast in hotels

  9. Arrangements include planning, handling, operational and communication charges will include.

  10. We arrange welcome Dinner in local restaurant when group members meet in Lhasa.

  11. We will arrange a vehicle between Lhasa Gongar airport and your Hotel.

  12. Welcome dinner is only possible in Group tours after your arrival in Tibet.

  13. Tibet Handy Map will be provided.

  14. Drinking water will be provided during the trips.

  15. We arrange a shared big Oxygen tank in the car.
The following 6 services are excluded:

  1. International flight to and out of China

  2. Domestic flight/train to and out of Lhasa. (We can provide you the domestic flight/train ticket booking service at the BEST discount price, please contact us our travel experts for the details.)

  3. Lunches and dinners are not included, please pay on site by yourself. Usually it costs about $3-15 per person for one meal in TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region).

  4. Personal expenses, like laundry, phone call, snacks, soft drinks (please do the best to avoid the alcoholic beverages during your Tibet trip), optional tour activities, etc.

  5. Tips for travel guide and driver

  6. Travel insurance covers trips cancellation cost in emergency evacuations, due to bad weather condition, avalanche, or natural disasters

The total fare for Pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash, Manasarovar and Guge Kingdom

  1. Price: From $1980 per person.

  2. Tour Type: Join-in small group with fixed departure.

  3. Trip Level: High-fitness level

  4. Group Size: Max 4-12
  • Day 1: Your tour guide will pick you up at Kodari, a town at Tibet-Nepal border, and will drive you to Nyalam
  • Day 2: Nyalam to Saga.
  • Day 3: Saga to Lake Manasarovar.
  • Day 4: Lake Manasarovar to Thirthphuri. Overnight in Tsada.
  • Day 5: Tsada to Guge Kingdo. Overnight in Darchen.
  • Day 6: Trekking from Darchen to Dirakphuk, 20km, approximately five hours.
  • Day 7: Trekking from Dirakphuk to Zuktulphuk, 18km, around six hours.
  • Day 8: Trekking from Zultulpuk to Darchen, 12km, about four hours. Drive to Lake Manasarovar.
  • Day 9: Manasarovar to Saga
  • Day 10: Saga to Zhamu, border between Tibet and Nepal.
  • Day 11: End of tour. Your tour guide will send you off at the Nepal border.

Itinerary in Detail

Day 1

Our Nepalese tour guide will pick you up at Kodari, a town at the Tibet-Nepal border, and will drive you to Nyalam. You’ll drive across the Friendship bridge and you will be greeted by our Tibetan tour guide and driver on the Tibetan side. Then, we will drive through a zigzag road to Dram, the first Tibetan town at the border, from there you will see the river which acts as a border line between the Tibet and Nepal. Your tour guide will collect your passports to be able to arrange the paperwork necessary to collect the ATP permit to Mt. Kailash. after that we’ll continue our drive 30 km to the town Nyalam.
On the way, we will pass by the Matsang Tsangpo river and spectacular waterfalls on both sides of the road. As we climb to a higher altitude, the forest will get thinner, the air will get dryer and the snow will get thicker on the capped Himalayan mountain range. Nyalam will be the perfect spot to spend the night and help you acclimatize to the new altitude and get ready to your adventure in the Tibetan plateau.
Overnight stay at Nyalam.

Day 2

Today, we’ll drive from Nyalam to Saga,  280km. Along the way we’ll pass by Thongla (4950m) and the stunning Pekutso lake at the foot of Mt. Shishapama (8012m) to the far-west of the Tibetan plateau. The lifestyle in this region remains close to what it has been for centuries, driving over moon like landscapes and vistas as vast as sparsely inhabited, enliven by lone groups of nomads’ families dwelling in the low, black tents are tending flocks of sheep and herds of ubiquitous yaks. You’ll also get to see other wild animals like wild asses, Tibetan gazelles, wild yaks and so on.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse in Saga

Day 3

We’ll continue our journey from Saga to Lake Manasarovar, 530km., enjoying a beautiful mountain scenery and sandy hills by the Brahmaputra river.
Overnight in a guesthouse at Manasarovar lake

Day 4

Today, we will drive 65 km. from Manasarovar lake to Thirthphuri. Afterwards, we’ll drive 205 km. to Tsada.
On fourth day we drive to Guge Kingdom via Thirthphuri. The Guge Kingdom was founded in the tenth century by a descendant of the King Lang Darma, who fled from Lhasa after the collapse of the Tubo Kingdom. The Guge Kingdom survived about 700 years and disappeared mysteriously in the 17th century. The Guge ruins lie at a hill top near a river and cover 180,000 square meters. Houses, cave dwellings, monasteries and stupas are distributed on the hill and surrounding areas. There are palaces set on the summit and monasteries on the mountain side. The kingdom was enclosed by walls and had many tunnels. Some of the structures remain in good condition currently. The Guge Kingdom is famous for its murals. Sculptures and stone inscriptions can also be found on the surviving structures. The White palace, Red palace, Yamantaka Chapel, Tara Chapel, and Mandala Chapel all still exist in good condition.
The Thirthaphuri is Located northwest of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, the Tirthapuri Hot Springs are closely associated with Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche). Pilgrims bathe in pools fed by the springs, visit the monastery containing the guru’s footprint and dig for healing stones along a one-hour pilgrimage route. The Tirthapuri Hot Springs are located about 80km northwest of Mount Kailash, 65km west of Darchen, and 9km south of Moincer (Mensi). Tirthapuri is accessible by road but there is no public transportation. Simple accommodations are available in the monastery guesthouse at Tirthapuri and it is possible to camp further down the river.
Overnight stay in Tsada.

Day 5

We continue to drive from Tsada to Darchen 250km. In the afternoon we’ll be getting ready for our trekking.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse in Darchen.

Day 6

On the sixth day, we’ll trek from Darchen to Dirakphuk, 20km, approximately five hours. Along the say, we will visit Tarboche. The festival of Saga Dawa takes place annually in Tarboche, a Tibetan tradition celebrating the Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment, and Death. This Kailash circuit has 53 km and can be done in three days. We head west in clockwise direction and after a few kilometers the trail climbs up to a cairn at 4730 m from where the southern face of Mt. Kailash comes to view.
Overnight stay at a local tent camp or in a guesthouse in Dirakphuk.

Day 7

Today we’ll trek Dirakphuk to Zuthulpuck, 18km, about six hours. On the way, we’ll cross Drolma la Pass (5630m), and Gauri Kund Lake (5608m), where Hindus worship and immerse themselves in the icy water of the lake.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse in Zultulphuk.

Day 8

The trekking will continue from Zultulpuk to Darchen  12km, about two to three hours. It will be an easier trek walking down to where the river emerges on to the Barga plain. We’ll have completed our three days circuit trekking of Mt. Kailash. At the end of the day, we will drive back to Manasarovar Lake where you may take some water from the sacred Lake.
Overnight stay in a guesthouse at Manasarovar Lake.

Day 9

We’ll continue our adventure from Manasarovar Lake to Saga, enjoying a beautiful mountain scenery and sandy hills scenery.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse in Saga.

Day 10

We’ll drive 310km from Saga to Zhamu. While driving, you will contemplate beautiful views of Mt. Shishabangma, the 14th highest mountain in the world at (8,027m), but restricted by the government to visits by foreign travelers. On our way to Zhamu, we’ll visit the beautiful Pikutso lake.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Zhamu

Day 11

End of the tour. Your tour guide will prepare the border formalities and drive you back to Kathmandu.

Important notice when you visit the Potala Palace

 

To protect the Potala Palace, a limited number of tourists can go inside. The palace is made of clay and wood, and has become very fragile over the years, thus it is very easy to damage it if too many tourists enter at the same time. Visiting time inside the Palace is restricted to no more than two hours. Due to crowding conditions, tickets are very limited, especially during the summer high season. Sightseeing may also be changed from morning to afternoon, or switched from one day to another according to the situation or the space available.

Please be flexible to this possibility.

  1. Please bring your passport

  2. Tickets should be booked one day in advance

  3. The visit cannot be scheduled ahead of time, the ticketing officer will let your tour guide know when there is availability

  4. You should be at the first security checkpoint one hour ahead of the scheduled time of visit, if you are late then you will not be allowed to re-book a ticket for one week

Services included and excluded in this tour


The following 15 services are included:

  1. The payment for Tibet travel permit and all other necessaries permits to Tibet are included.

  2. All entrance ticket fees for all tourist sites listed in the itinerary include.

  3. We provide meals as specified in the itinerary.

  4. Local tour Transfers, 5-29 seats comfortable Tourist Vehicle according to Group Size.

  5. Professional English-speaking Tibetan local tour guide will be in your group;

  6. Comfortable hotel accommodations will be arranged.

  7. As per the all lodging listed in the itinerary; you need to share a room with other member but if you prefer to stay alone in one room, you need to pay the single room supplement.

  8. Breakfast in hotels

  9. Arrangements include planning, handling, operational and communication charges will include.

  10. We arrange welcome Dinner in local restaurant when group members meet in Lhasa.

  11. We will arrange a vehicle between Lhasa Gongar airport and your Hotel.

  12. Welcome dinner is only possible in Group tours after your arrival in Tibet.

  13. Tibet Handy Map will be provided.

  14. Drinking water will be provided during the trips.

  15. We arrange a shared big Oxygen tank in the car.
The following 6 services are excluded:

  1. International flight to and out of China

  2. Domestic flight/train to and out of Lhasa. (We can provide you the domestic flight/train ticket booking service at the BEST discount price, please contact us our travel experts for the details.)

  3. Lunches and dinners are not included, please pay on site by yourself. Usually it costs about $3-15 per person for one meal in TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region).

  4. Personal expenses, like laundry, phone call, snacks, soft drinks (please do the best to avoid the alcoholic beverages during your Tibet trip), optional tour activities, etc.

  5. Tips for travel guide and driver

  6. Travel insurance covers trips cancellation cost in emergency evacuations, due to bad weather condition, avalanche, or natural disasters

The total fare for Pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash, Manasarovar and Guge Kingdom

  1. Price: From $1980 per person.

  2. Tour Type: Join-in small group with fixed departure.

  3. Trip Level: High-fitness level

  4. Group Size: Max 4-12