Seventeen Days Tour: Pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash through Taklakot, Manasarovar and Guge kingdom

Total Fair From $2860 per person.

ITINERARY IN SHORT

  • Day 1:  Fly from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj
  • Day 2: Fly to Simikot (2960m), trekking to Dhara Pokhari (2270m). we overnight at Dhara Pokhari.
  • Day 3: Trekking from Dhara Pokhari to Salli Khola (2300m).
  • Day 4: Trekking from Salli Khola to Muchu (3180m)
  • Day 5: Trekking from Much to Sipsip (4330m)
  • Day 6: Trekking from Sipsip to Hilsa (3860m)
  • Day 7: Trekking from Hilsa to Taklakot (4450m)
  • Day 8: Drive from Taklakot to Manasarovar lake.
  • Day 9: Drive from Manasarovar Lake to Darchen.
  • Day 10: Drive from Darchen to Dirakphuk
  • Day 11: Trekking from Dirakphuk to Zuktulphuk, 18km, about six hours.
  • Day 12: Trekking from Zultulphuk to Darchen. Drive to Thirthphuri.
  • Day 13: Drive from Thirthaphuri to Tsaprang.
  • Day 14: Drive to Guge kingdom and back to Manasarovar lake.
  • Day 15: Drive from Manasarovar Lake to Saga.
  • Day 16: Drive from Saga to Nyalam.
  • Day 17: Drive from Nyalam to Zhamu. End of tour.

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 Gongfar 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 through Taklakot, Manasarovar and Guge kingdom

  1. Price: From $2860 per person.

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

  3. Trip Level: High-fitness level

  4. Group Size: Max 6-12
  • Day 1:  Fly from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj
  • Day 2: Fly to Simikot (2960m), trekking to Dhara Pokhari (2270m). we overnight at Dhara Pokhari.
  • Day 3: Trekking from Dhara Pokhari to Salli Khola (2300m).
  • Day 4: Trekking from Salli Khola to Muchu (3180m)
  • Day 5: Trekking from Much to Sipsip (4330m)
  • Day 6: Trekking from Sipsip to Hilsa (3860m)
  • Day 7: Trekking from Hilsa to Taklakot (4450m)
  • Day 8: Drive from Taklakot to Manasarovar lake.
  • Day 9: Drive from Manasarovar Lake to Darchen.
  • Day 10: Drive from Darchen to Dirakphuk
  • Day 11: Trekking from Dirakphuk to Zuktulphuk, 18km, about six hours.
  • Day 12: Trekking from Zultulphuk to Darchen. Drive to Thirthphuri.
  • Day 13: Drive from Thirthaphuri to Tsaprang.
  • Day 14: Drive to Guge kingdom and back to Manasarovar lake.
  • Day 15: Drive from Manasarovar Lake to Saga.
  • Day 16: Drive from Saga to Nyalam.
  • Day 17: Drive from Nyalam to Zhamu. End of tour.

Itinerary in Detail

Day 1

We will flight one hour from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj. Nepalgunj is in the lowland in southwestern Nepal. Sightseeing of the town.
Overnight stay in Nepalgunj.

Day 2

Early this morning, we’ll take a 40 minutes flight from Nepalgunj to the wonderful city of Simikot. When we arrive, we’ll register our permit in the police station, sightsee Simikot and have lunch. Then we’ll begin our trek from Simikot to Dharapuri (2270m). It will be a beautiful trek through the jungle and villages of Thakuri people, who ruled the Humla-Karnali region in the past (16th – 17th century).
Overnight stay at Dhara Pokhari

Day 3

Today we’ll trek from Dharapuri to Salli Khola (2300m), passing through Kirmi village. We will follow the Karnali River trekking accross gorgeous mountains and waterfalls. The Kirmi village has a hot spring, so we can enjoy this on the way to Salli Khola. We will camp in a beautiful site on the bank of river.
Overnight stay at Salli Khola

Day 4

Our trekking will continue from Salli Khola to Muchu, Tumkot Khola(3180m), passing through Yalbang. We will continue our trek along the Karnali river towards its origin (Rakash lake). On the way, we’ll visit the most impressive Gompa Buddhist temple in the area and the Yalbang monastery. We’ll stop at the border police station to register our permit and passport.
Overnight stay at Muchu

Day 5

Today we’ll trek from Muchu to Sipsip (4330m). Today will be somewhat difficult as we begin to feel the effects of the high elevation. We will leave the Karnali River and start the climb up towards Sipsip. A beautiful walk through this alpine region.
Overnight stay at Sipsip

Day 6

We’ll continue our trek from Sipsip to Hilsa / Sher (Tibetan Border) (3860m). This day will also be somewhat difficult because of the rugged terrain. We will have an early morning breakfast. On the way to Hilsa, we will cross the Pass, Nara la (4600m), and descend down to Hilsa. Here we will meet Karnali River again.
Overnight stay at Hilsa

Day 7

We’ll trek from Hilsa to Taklakot (4450m). We’ll stop in Sher to check border immigration paperwork. Then we’ll meet our land cruiser truck and Tibetan tour guide. We will drive from there to Taklakot. On the way, we will visit Khojarnath Gompa, which was built in the 11th century. The landscape and the scenery of Gurlamandata and the Darchula mountain range is beautiful. This 110 km drive will take us approximately 2.5 hours.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse in Taklakot.

Day 8

We’ll drive about three hours from Taklakot to Lake Manasarovar. The driving scenery will take you through local villages, water springs and beautiful mountains. After two hours driving we will reach Gurla pass, from where we will have our first view of Holy Mt. Kailash. We will also get a glimpse of the blue waters of Lake Rakshesh and Manasarovar.
Today we will camp in Lake Manasarovar (4600m) on the south side of the lake near Thullgo Gompa. Most tourists camp near Chiyu Gompa but it is very crowded, so we will camp on the south side from where you will able to enjoy beautiful view of Kailash, Gurlamandata and Lake Manasarovar.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse in Lake Manasarovar.

Day 9

We will rest half of the day in Lake Manasarovar. Then we’ll drive to Darchen and arrange our yak for our Parikarma. Parikrama or Pradakshina refers to the circumambulation of sacred places in Hindu, Jain or Buddhist context, and the path along which this is performed. Parikrama means “the path surrounding something” in Sanskrit, and is also known as Pradakshina (“to the right”), representing circumambulation. Both words are mostly used in the context of religious deities in a temple, sacred rivers, sacred hills and a close cluster of temples, and “doing a parikrama” as a symbol of prayer is an integral part of Hindu worship. In Hinduism and other Indian religions, the Parikrama inside temples or sacred sites is traditionally clockwise.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse in Darchen.

Day 10

We’ll begin our Parikarama. We drive from Darchen to Dirakphuk, 20km, approximately five hours. We’ll begin our trek to Dirapphuk Gompa, enjoying a very close view of Mt. Kailash.
Overnight camping in Dirakphuk

Day 11

Today we’ll trek from Dirakphuk to Zuthulphuk, across the Dolma pass (5600m). This will be the hardest day of our trek, about 8 hours. We will have an early breakfast and begin our trek towards Dolma la. On the way we will meet many pilgrims. The difficulty of the today’s walk will be worth it as we peer up at the glorious Mt. Kailash.
We will camp near medicine Buddha Mountain in Zuthulphuk valley.

Day 12

After breakfast, we’ll trek about four hours from Zuthulphuk valley back to Darchen. On the way there, we’ll visit Melarepa cave and continue our drive to Thirthaphuri Monastery and Hot Springs (4310m), a very famous pilgrimage stop after visiting Mt. Kailash kora.
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 from Moincer (Mensi). Tirthapuri is accessible by road but there is no public transportation.
Accommodations are available in the monastery guesthouse at Tirthapuri or at a camp further down the river.

Day 13

We’ll drive from Tirthapuri to Tholing, 205km, stopping along the way in Tsaprang. Tsaparang was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Guge in the Garuda Valley, along the Sutlej River, in Ngari Prefecture (Western Tibet) near the border of Ladakh. It is 278 km south-southwest of Senggezangbo Town, and 26 km west of the 11th-century monastery at Thöling, and not far west of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. The Tsaparang Dzong was located here. Nearby is the Bon monastery of Gurugem. Tsaparang is a huge fortress perched on a pyramid-shaped rock rising about 500 to 600 feet (152 to 183 m) at the end of a long narrow spur. It contains numerous tunnels and caves that have been carved out of the rock. At its base was a village where the common people lived. Above them were two public temples – the Lhakhang Marpo (Red Chapel) and the Lhakhang Karpo (White Chapel), and the housing quarters for the monks. Further up, ascending a twisting stone staircase in a tunnel, were the royal quarters, and at the very top, the summer palace.
The Ngari Prefecture is praised as “the roof of the world” for its high-altitude, and its ancient weathered soil and forest are covered by rare geological and natural formations. The magnificent landscape, morning glows, and sunsets are highly praised among its visitors, making it a wonderful trekking destination. It should be noted that tourists should plan to bring necessities to deal with altitude sickness and possible emergencies before the trip.
Overnight camping at Tsaprang.

Day 14

Today, we’ll drive to Guge kingdom and back to Manasarovar, 295km. We’ll be sightseeing the Guge kingdom in the morning and in the afternoon, we’ll drive to Lake Manasrowar (east side) Horr chu. The Guge Kingdom was founded by one branch of descendants of a nearby crumbled Kingdom. It was ruled by 16 kings with armies of tens of thousands of soldiers, over 700 years. In the 1660s, power disputes within the imperial family resulted in civil uprisings. The king’s brother asked for military help from the neighboring country Ladakh (the present Kashmir). This army overthrew and conquered the kingdom. Only years later, the power was returned to Tibet. During its lifetime the Guge Kingdom played an important part in the economic and cultural development of Tibet. The kingdom advocated Buddhism, and many versions of this religion were created and spread across Tibet. The kingdom also served as a major center for Tibet’s foreign trade.
Overnight camping at Manasarovar.

Day 15

Today, we’ll drive 530 km. from Manasarovar Lake to Sagaalong, a beautiful mountain scenery and sandy hills by the Brahmaputra river.
Overnight camping at Saga

Day 16

Early in the morning, we’ll begin our 280-km. drive from Saga to Nyalam. We’ll the Brahmaputra river by ferry and drive across many passes, the drive provides excellent view of Shishapangma and other peaks. We will also make a stop to visit Pigutso, another beautiful lake.
Overnight camping at Nyalam

Day 17

On this last day of the tour, we’ll drive 30km. from Nyalam to Zhamu. We’ll drive to Zhangmu (Kodari), finish border formalities and drive back to Kathmandu.
Your tour guide will drive you to your hotel in 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 Gongfar 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 through Taklakot, Manasarovar and Guge kingdom

  1. Price: From $2860 per person.

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

  3. Trip Level: High-fitness level

  4. Group Size: Max 6-12