Fourteen Days Tour: Pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash and Mt. Everest Base Camp

Total Fair From $2220 per person.

ITINERARY IN SHORT

  • Day 1: Our guide will arrange transportation to pick you up from either, the Gongkar airport or the Libu train station in Lhasa.
  • Day 2: Lhasa sightseeing: Bakhor street, Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace.
  • Day 3: Lhasa sightseeing: Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery.
  • Day 4: Lhasa to Shigatse, stopping in Tashi Lhunpu monastery.
  • Day 5: Shigatse to Saga.
  • Day 6: Saga to Darchen.
  • Day 7: Darchen to Dirakpuk.
  • Day 8: Trek from Dirakpuk to Zuktulpuk.
  • Day 9: Trek from Zultulpuk to Darchen. Drive to Manasarovar Lake.
  • Day 10: Manasarovar to Saga.
  • Day 11: Saga to Rongbuk.
  • Day 12: Rongbuk to Shigatse.
  • Day 13: Shigatse to Gyantse. Overnight in Lhasa.
  • Day 14: End of the tour. Our guide will arrange transportation to take you back to the Gongkar airport or the Libu train station.

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 Gongkar 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 and Mt. Everest Base Camp

  1. Price: From $2220 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: Our guide will arrange transportation to pick you up from either, the Gongkar airport or the Libu train station in Lhasa.
  • Day 2: Lhasa sightseeing: Bakhor street, Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace.
  • Day 3: Lhasa sightseeing: Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery.
  • Day 4: Lhasa to Shigatse, stopping in Tashi Lhunpu monastery.
  • Day 5: Shigatse to Saga.
  • Day 6: Saga to Darchen.
  • Day 7: Darchen to Dirakpuk.
  • Day 8: Trek from Dirakpuk to Zuktulpuk.
  • Day 9: Trek from Zultulpuk to Darchen. Drive to Manasarovar Lake.
  • Day 10: Manasarovar to Saga.
  • Day 11: Saga to Rongbuk.
  • Day 12: Rongbuk to Shigatse.
  • Day 13: Shigatse to Gyantse. Overnight in Lhasa.
  • Day 14: End of the tour. Our guide will arrange transportation to take you back to the Gongkar airport or the Libu train station.

Itinerary in Detail

Day 1

You will arrive at Lhasa either by plane or by train. Your Tibetan tour guide will arrange transportation to take you to your hotel in Lhasa city. The distance from the airport to Lhasa is about 70km, approximately 1:30 hrs.’ drive. The distance from the train station is only 25km, about 30 minutes’ drive. Check in the hotel and relax the rest of the day to acclimatize your body to the new altitude and alleviate the jet lag.

Day 2

This morning we will visit the Potala Palace. Most likely it, it will be a challenge to climb up the Potala Palace (3,700m above sea level) but you will get great views of Lhasa’s urban areas. You will hear the story of the Dalai Lamas and see the chapels where the Dalai Lamas studied, rested and worked. You’ll also get to see the former Dalai Lamas’ graves, beautifully decorated.
We’ll continue the tour to the Jokhang Temple, within walking distance from the Potala Palace. It is considered the spiritual center of Tibet. You will see many pilgrims nearby the temple. Entering the first floor of the temple and absorbing the religious atmosphere, you will see pilgrims donating butter lamp in front of Buddha’s statue. While learning about more Buddhism and Lamas, you will gain a feeling of the vast history of Tibetan Buddhism. You might also listen red-robed Lamas praying. You will walk up to the roof of the temple, take some pictures of the gold roof and enjoy the beautiful sunshine of Lhasa while observing pilgrims praying in front of the temple.
Finally, we will join in local traditional pilgrimage route with a relaxing walk in a large circular path around the Jokhang Temple and Bakhor Street. The street is filled with pilgrims taking part in religious activities and street vendors selling a wide variety of traditional Tibetan goods and religious items.
If you like you can also ask your tour guide to arrange a visit at a Thangka workshop, and marvel at the fabulous Thangka art work.
We’ll take you back to your hotel

Day 3

In the morning you will visit Drepung Monastery, which was once the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery housing 10,000 monks. You’ll learn about the lives of Tibetan monks.
Your tour will end in the afternoon after we visit the Sera Monastery. There, you will get the chance to experience “Buddhism Scriptures Debating”. These debates are unique to Sera and are quite famous.
We’ll take you to your hotel

Day 4

Today we will be driving approximately 6 hours from Lhasa to Shigatse through the Friendship highway. Shigatse is the second biggest city in Tibet.
In the afternoon you will visit Tashilumpo Monastery, the oldest and largest Gelugpa Monastery in Tibet and the seat of Panchen Lama. You’ll get to admire the beautiful frescoes, statues and sculptures. You will see a giant statue of Future Buddha decorated with precious pearls, turquoises, corals and amber.
Proceed to a Tibetan market to experience the distinctive local life. The rest of the day is for the preparations for the trekking.
Overnight stay in Old Tingri.

Day 5

Today, we will have a long driving journey to Saga, 450km, about 8 hours’ drive.
We will arrive around 8 p.m., your guide will arrange overnight accommodations at the Saga Hotel or a similar one (twin-share room basis)

Day 6

On this day, we’ll follow the footsteps of pilgrims across the far-west of Tibet, traversing several high passes of moonscape terrain, through a region where the lifestyle remains close to what it has been for centuries, only enliven by lonely groups of nomads’ families dwelling in their low, black tents and tending flocks of sheep and herds of ubiquitous yaks over the pastures. Nevertheless, many other abounding wild animals will be seen in this region, like herds of wild asses.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse in Darchen

Day 7

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 at a guesthouse.

Day 8

Today we will cross Drolma la pass (5630m) and Gauri Kund Lake (5608m) where Hindus worship and immerse themselves in the icy waters of the lake.
Overnight stay at a local tent camp or in at a guesthouse.

Day 9

The end of the Parikrama is the easiest, it takes approximately 2-3 hours to walk down where the river emerges on to the Barga plain. This will complete the three days circuit trek of Mt. Kailash and we will drive back to Manasarovar Lake where you may take some water from the sacred Lake.
Overnight stay at a guesthouse.

Day 10

We’ll begin our drive back from Manasarovar Lake to Saga,  530km, about 9 hours’ drive.
Overnight stay at Saga hotel or similar.

Day 11

We’ll continue the tour from Saga to Rongbuk, 430km, approximately 7 hours’ drive.
Overnight stay at Rongbuk
Tips: If you stay overnight near Rongbuk Monastery either in a tent or guesthouse, it takes about a 2-hour trek from the monastery to the first Mt. Everest Base Camp (EBC). Obviously, it can be quite cold there, so pack warm clothes. If you take a shuttle bus from Rongphu monastery to the Everest base camp (8km) it should take about 15mins. At night, visitors can get up to take photos of Mt. Everest surrounded by the moon and stars. Be sure to get up early to see the sunrise over Mt. Everest.

Day 12

We’ll wake up early this morning to see the sunrise flowing over the stunning north face of Mt. Everest (8844.43 m), the tallest mountain on earth. For those tourists who would like to go to EBC in the morning to have a closer view of Mt. Everest, we could take the local environment tour vehicle EBC and after shooting the photos, we could come back to the campsite and then we drive back to Shigatse (340km). Our trip will continue from Mt. Everest Base Camp (EBC) to Shigatse with distance of 340km.
Overnight stay in Shigatse.

Day 13

We’ll continue our drive from Shigatse to Lhasa, stopping at through Gyangtse Pelchu monastery, Karo la, and Yamdok Lake. The Kubum Stupa, at the Pelchu monastery, is nine story’s high, with white layers trimmed with decorative stripes a a crown-like golden dome and with 75 chapels, dedicated to the murals and statues, describing the tantric Tibetan Buddhism.
We’ll drive by the imposing Karo-la Glacier (5045m) along the highway before stopping to visit the famous holy Yamdok Lake. It is one of the clearest unpolluted lake in Tibet.
Overnight stay in Lhasa.

Day 14

End of the tour. Your tour guide will arrange transportation to take you to either the Gongkar airport or the Libu train station in Lhasa.

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 Gongkar 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 and Mt. Everest Base Camp

  1. Price: From $2220 per person.

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

  3. Trip Level: High-fitness level.

  4. Group Size: Max 6-12