Thirteen Days Tour: Pilgrimage to Holy Mt. Kailash

Total Fair From $2160 per person

ITINERARY IN SHORT

  • Day 1: Our tour guide will make transportation arrangements to pick you up from either, the Gongkar airport or the Libu train station in Lhasa.
  • Day 2: Lhasa sightseeing: Bakhor street, Johkang 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 Gyantse.
  • Day 12: Gyantse to Lhasa. Stopping at Yamdrok Lake and Karo-La.
  • Day 13: End of your tour. Your guide will take you to 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 Holy Mt. Kailash

  1. Price: From $2160 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 tour guide will make transportation arrangements to pick you up from either, the Gongkar airport or the Libu train station in Lhasa.
  • Day 2: Lhasa sightseeing: Bakhor street, Johkang 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 Gyantse.
  • Day 12: Gyantse to Lhasa. Stopping at Yamdrok Lake and Karo-La.
  • Day 13: End of your tour. Your guide will take you to the Gongkar airport or the Libu train station in Lhasa.

Itinerary in Detail

Day 1

You will arrive at Lhasa either by plane or by train. Your Tibetan tour guide will make transportation arrangements 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 Barkhor 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 can be found 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 will continue the trip from Saga to Gyangtse, 535km.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Gyangtse

Day 12

After breakfast, we’ll begin our drive, 270km, approximately seven hours, from Gyantse to Lhasa. In the morning, we’ll visit the Pelkor monastery in Gyantse, where you’ll see the fancy frescoes, statues, and sculptures. The Pelkor monastery precinct is a complex of structures which, apart from the Tsuklakhang Monastery, also includes its Kumbum, believed to be the largest such structure in Tibet, famous for its 108 chapels in its several floors and the old Dzong or fort.
Then we’ll drive to the holy Yamdrok Lake, stopping on the way at the Karo-La Glacier. The Yamdrok Lake is one of the three largest sacred lakes in Tibet, over 72 km (45 mi) long. The pristine turquoise lake is surrounded by gorgeous snow-capped mountains and is fed by many small streams. Like mountains, lakes are considered sacred by Tibetan people, the principle being that they are the dwelling places of protective deities and therefore invested with special spiritual powers. We’ll continue our drive to Lhasa.
Overnight stay in Lhasa

Day 13

This is your last day of the tour, so your tour guide will make transportation arrangements to take you to 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 Holy Mt. Kailash

  1. Price: From $2160 per person

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

  3. Trip Level: High-fitness level

  4. Group Size: Max 6-12