Tibet Trekking Itinerary

Day 1: You can arrive in Beijing any time this day. We will provide you with information to transfer by taxi from the airport to our downtown hotel. For those arriving in time, we will have a welcome dinner and initial discussion about altitude at a local Chinese restaurant.

Day 2: After a buffet breakfast in our hotel we depart Beijing for Lhasa with a connection in Chengdu; the flight is not included in your tour price but we will arrange it for you.  Arriving in Lhasa, we shuttle from the airport to downtown and our hotel right in the center of the Tibetan district.  We enjoy a walk around the Barkhor religious circuit before settling down to our first Tibetan dinner.  This is a rest day to allow you to get used to the altitude.

Day 3: We start the day with a walk through the Jokhang, Tibet's most religious building. We then walk through Lhasa to the Potala Palace, Lhasa's main landmark and the original seat of the Dalai Lama's government. After a tour of the palace and a quick lunch, we shuttle to Sera Monastery on the outskirts of the city, where we see an incredible display of monks in the process of "debating" their spiritual and philosophical teachings.

Day 4: We visit the Drepung Monastery, once one of the largest working monasteries in Tibet, and take a hike in the nearby hills. In the afternoon, we visit a seldom-visited nunnery where we actually have the chance to see how the nuns live and work.  Dinner tonight is at an exceptional Tibet restaurant where we taste the best of the local cuisine.

Day 5: We drive to the town of Shigatse, where we check into our hotel and visit the Tashilhunpo monastery, the largest working monastery in Tibet today.  Afterward, we follow the prayer flags, prayer wheels, and pilgrims on the religious "kora" circuit around the monastery with an optional side trip up to the old fort above town.  Tonight we eat spicy noodles in a Moslem restaurant.

Day 6: We visit the Shigatse outdoor market in the morning, an excellent place to shop for souvenirs. We then shuttle two hours to Gyantse, where visit the local monastery with its renowned Kumbum seven-story tower before hiking up to the local fort. We return to Shigatse in the afternoon.

Day 7-10: The trek! We transfer in the morning to our trek location and have a short, flat hike along a river to our first camp, next to our favorite "Shangri La" village. This evening will be your first night in a tent, your first chance to swap stories with your local guides after a fantastic dinner, and your first chance to spend an extra 15 minutes gazing at the stars before retiring for the evening. After the four days of our trek, we return to Lhasa on the evening of Day 10.

Day 11: This is a transportation day. You will have the morning to visit Lhasa once last time before we fly back to Beijing, arriving in the evening.

Day 12: Our final meal is breakfast at our Beijing hotel. Many participants choose to stay in Beijing a few days after the tour ends.  You will likely not be ready to return to reality!