12 Days Ngari Discovery Tour: Lhasa + Manasarovar Lake+ Everest+ Mount Kailash + Shigatse ＋ Yamdrok Lake

Lhasa Arrival

You arrive at the Lhasa Gonggar Airport or the train station. The airport is 62 km/ 39 miles away from the city, and it takes approximately one hour to get to the hotel from there. On the way to Lhasa, you will enjoy beautiful views of mountains. The train station is located in Lhasa, and you will only need a short transfer to the hotel.

Depending on the time of your arrival, you might have some free time to spend in Lhasa. Our guides will be happy to advise you on what you can do with your time in Lhasa. After you check in the hotel, you are welcome to explore the city, visit nearby temples, do some shopping, try delicious Tibetan food in one of the local restaurants, or just take a rest.

Walking around Barkhor Street can be an excellent choice for your first day in Lhasa. You will join crowds of pilgrims, local Tibetans, and monks circumambulating the Jokhang Temple.

Most importantly, on your first day in Tibet, be sure to relax, enjoy your day and allow some time for acclimatizing.

Lhasa City Tour: Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple (Walking Tour)

This tour visits the two most important religious sites in Tibet.

The Potala Palace was the seat of the Dalai Lamas since the 17th century. We will then go inside and spend approximately 1.5 – 2 hours from the entrance gate to the exit. While there, you will see many of its most famous artifacts.

There will be free time for lunch after visiting the Potala Palace. .

Time permitting, you can walk around the Potala Palace and join many of the local Tibetans.

Next, we will walk towards the Jokhang Temple. It was built in the 7th century to display the Jowo Shakyamuni Statue – the statue of the 12-year-old Buddha before his enlightenment. The statue was created at the time when the historical Buddha lived. It is elaborately decorated with gold, jewels, and precious stones.

After visiting the temple, we recommend taking a walk around Barkhor Street.

Lhasa City Tour: Drepung and Sera Monasteries

We are visiting the two most important monasteries in the capital.

We will first visit Drepung Monastery, which once was the largest monastery in the world with over 10,000 monks living there. It was the residence of Dalai Lamas before the Potala Palace was built.

There will be free time for lunch after the Drepung Monastery.

In the afternoon we are visiting Sera Monastery. It was founded by Tsongkhapa’s disciple in the 15th century. Nowadays it is famous for monks debate that you can witness. Debates are a very important part of learning and understanding Buddhism. Monks gather in the courtyard in the shade of the trees to refine their knowledge.

Driving to Shigatse: Yamdrok Lake and Glaciers

Today we will travel on some of the most beautiful roads in Tibet on our drive to Shigatse.

Be prepared to take photos of the breathtaking views as we go up to the highest point of the day – Kamba La Pass (almost 4,800 meters / 15,750 ft).

Our next stop will be at Yamdrok Lake. It is one of the holy lakes in Tibet, and it is famous for its turquoise colored water.

After that, we will head towards Gyantse. On the way there, we will make a stop to see the spectacular glaciers.

In Gyantse, we will visit the Pelkor Chode Monastery and Kumbum – the biggest stupa in Tibet.

Finally, we will reach Shigatse late in the evening and stay there overnight.

Driving to the Mount Everest: Night by the Everest

Today we will be driving through towering mountain ranges, and going through several high passes and Everest viewpoints. We will reach a tent camp near the Everest Base Camp in the evening.

Depending on the traffic and weather conditions, we might have time to visit the Rongbuk Monastery – the highest monastery in the world.

We will stay in a tent for the night. You can order dinner and breakfast there as there is an English menu available.

Driving to Saga

On the way to Saga, we will see the Phelku Tso lake surrounded by snow peaked mountains. You can also see Shishapangma mountain, one of the mountains above 8,000 meters (8027 m).

After that, we are driving up to the high pass to get the view of the grasslands.

We arrive at Saga in the evening to have dinner and check into the hotel.

Saga to Manasarovar Lake

On the way to the Manasarovar lake, we visit the 7th-century local temple. We will also stop at the desert area filled with sand dunes (an unexpected change of landscape!).

We will see Rakshas-Tal lake. It has a very beautiful bright color, but it is so salty that it is called the “dead lake”.

In the evening you can spend some time by the lake, walk by its shore.

Alternatively, you can visit a hot spring (approximately 10 min walk). The hot spring provides bathtubs and clean facilities.

We are staying at the guesthouse overnight. The guesthouse has dormitory rooms.

Manasarovar Lake to Darchen

In the morning we will visit 8th century Chui monastery. The monastery houses an important meditation cave where Padma Sambhava was meditating. Unlike most of the monasteries that we visited earlier, Chui monastery belongs to the Red Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism and the statue of Padma Sambhava is the main one there.

After the visit, we are driving to Darchen. It is a short drive (approximately 40 minutes). Darchen is located on the Southern side of Mount Kailash. We have enough time to walk around the city and take photos of Kailash and prepare for the trek.

Staying in the hotel overnight.

Driving from Darchen to Saga

Today we will be driving from Darchen to Saga. We will make some stops along the way to take photos.

First, we will drive approximately 4 hours to Parayang. From there you can enjoy the view on the mountains in the distance, yaks herds. Sometimes, we can spot wild donkeys or antelopes grazing in the grasslands.

After lunch, we continue to Saga. We are driving through vast grasslands, where many nomads set up their tents.

We are staying overnight in Saga hotel.

Saga to Shigatse

We will be driving back from Saga to Shigatse, making a stop at Langtso Lake.

We will be staying in a hotel in Shigatse.

Shigatse to Lhasa

In the morning we will visit Tashilumpo Monastery, the seat of Panchen Lamas. This monastery was founded by the first Dalai Lama, and it is one of the most important monasteries in Tibet. You can take photos in some of the chapels for an additional fee.

We will take the Friendship Highway on the way back to Lhasa. It is the most direct route and usually takes around six hours to reach the capital. We will make several stops on the way in order to enjoy the views of the Brahmaputra River. In the afternoon, you might have some free time to prepare for your departure the next day.

Departure From Lhasa

Please prepare in advance for your departure. It takes approximately one hour to drive to the airport and around thirty minutes to reach the train station. We will arrive at the airport three hours before your departure flight if you are traveling to Nepal and two hours before any domestic flight.