Day 01 :

Fly from Kathmandu to the Gonggar airport of Lhasa,(90 Kilometers from the main city). This afternoon remains free for acclimatization. Early morning you are transferred to the airport to board the plane for the flight over the Himalaya to Lhasa. If the weather is clear there is a wonderful view of Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Makalu, Kanchenjunga and other peaks en route. On arrival at Gonggar airport (which is 90 km. from Lhasa), you meet your vehicle and drive east along the broad Yarlung Tsangpo valley to Tsedang (3400m.). After checking in to your hotel, you drive south to see the reputed oldest building in Tibet, the Yumbu Lakhang, a beautiful castle-like dwelling and monastery, dramatically perched on a spur looking out over the fertile valley below. If time permits you may be able to visit a small monastery close to Tsedang, or an interesting carpet factory where you can see the whole process of carpet making.

Day 02 :

This day you visit Potala Palace, Norbulinka, Jorkhang Temple & Barkhor street. One of the highlights is the visit to the symbol of Tibet; the Potala Palace set high on Red Hill, the winter home of the Dalai Lama until 1959. The most sacred temple in Lhasa is the Lokhang, where people come from all over Tibet to visit and pray in this spiritual heart of the country. It was used as a military kitchen during the Cultural Revolution but has now been beautifully restored, with many priceless thangkas and statues adorning the chapels, and magnificent gilded roofs.

Another great treasure is the Norbulingka – the old summer palace of the Dalai Lama. Now you visit Jorkhang Temple, the center of the Tibetan Buddhism and the sacred land of Buddhist followers where innumerable pilgrims come for worship everyday. The temple, built in 647, is the earliest wood-and-masonry structure still existing in Tibet. Surrounding the Jorkhang Temple is the bustling Barkhor Street which is the religious and social focus of Lhasa. Around the Barkhor street there are numerous stalls selling all sorts of handicrafts: brightly coloured boots and fur-lined hats, silver and turquoise jewelry, rosaries, prayer flags and charms, as well as beautiful Tibetan carpets and all manner of ordinary household ware.

Day 03 :

Drive to Gyantse via Yamdrok Lake, after visiting Kumbum & Pelku Chode, continuely drive to Shigatse. You stay overnight in Shigatse. Today is a full day picturesque drive crossing over a colorful Yamdrok Lake and Kambala Pass at 4,794 m and Karola Pass at 5,010m. In Gyantse you spend time visiting the Pelke Chode Monastery and and the 35m high famous Kumbum stupa inGyantse packed with exquisite Tibetan sculpture and paintaings, a stunning architectural wonder in Tibet With Gyantse just fades away from your sight, Shigatse becomes clearer because it's just 1 1/2 hours' driving (98km).

Shigatse is situated near the junction of the Ngang and Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) rivers, with many traditional low ceiling, flat roofed, mud brick Tibetan houses, but quite a lot of ugly modern Chinese buildings as well. It is home of the Tashilunpo monastery, traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, and one of the great centers of Tibetan Buddhism. Shigatse also has an interesting bazaar, where various traditional items can often be found at more or less reasonable prices. Shigatse has always been an important trade and administration center and also has political and religious significance, once being the seat of the Panchen Lama. The town is essentially divided into two parts: the old Tibetan style area in the city and the concrete, modern Chinese part of the town. The older streets and alleys here are very pleasant to wander and there are a few sights of interest to warrant a stay of a day or two..

Day 04 :

You drive from Shigatse to Rongbuk via Lhatse and Tingri. You stay overnight in Rongbuk Monastery. Leaving Shigatse you climb steadily to the top of a 4050m. pass, then follow valleys containing a few small villages before climbing to the Tsuo La (4500m.). From here the road drops steeply down towards Lhatse where the main road from western Tibet comes in. Another climb through virtually unpopulated high altitude moorland brings you to the summit of the Gyatso La (5220m.), the watershed between Tibet and the Indian sub-continent. After a long descent you arrive at Shegar or New Tingi. Scenically this is one of the most spectacular days of the trip. Leaving New Tingri you head towards Rongbuk.

Day 05 :

Excursion to Everest Base Camp by local carriage and return to Rongbuk, same day drive back to Shigatse. You stay overnight in Shigatse. It requires two hours trek from The Rongbuk Monastery to reach the base of the highest peak on earth The North Face of Mount Everest (8848m.) or Mount Quomolangma in Tibetan. Explore the base camp and The Ronghu Glacier. But the views are stupendous on a clear day, and as it exhibits the feature of a huge sweep of the Himalaya range including peaks over 8000, Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Gyachung and Cho Oyu. When you finally get to Base Camp, the first sight of the mighty Everest simply leaves you speechless. All the hardship you bear along the way makes sense at this while. You return to Rongbuk Monastery and drive back to Shigatse.

Day 06 :

Visit Tashilunbo Monastery and drive back to Lhasa via northern road. You stay overnight in Lhasa. Unlike most religious buildings in Tibet, the Tashilunbo monastery was largely untouched during the Cu