8 Days Tibet Tashilhunpo Festival Tour

Tour Overview

Tashilhunpo Festival, also known as Buddha Exhibition Festival in Tashilhunpo Monastery enjoys high popularity among local Tibetans and tourists. The festival lasts for three days in the middle of...

Code of Tour: YCT0000001828

Length of Travel: 8 Day

Destinations of Tour: Lhasa - Gyantse - Shigatse - Tsedang-Lhasa

Departure City: Lhasa

Price of Tour: Request

Type of Tour:

Features of Tour: Culture History Minority Landscape Festival

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Tashilhunpo Festival, also known as Buddha Exhibition Festival in Tashilhunpo Monastery enjoys high popularity among local Tibetans and tourists. The festival lasts for three days in the middle of the fifth lunar Tibetan month. Events reach its climax with the unveiling of a huge four-storey-tall thangka (religious painting) on a tower behind the monastery.This 8 Days Tibet Tshilhunpo Festival Tour centers around the Lhasa city and its surrounding scenic spots and tourists head to Tashilhunpo Monastery where you can participate various religious events that can only be seen during the big festival. 

Brief Itinerary

• Day 1: Lhasa Arrival
• Day 2: Lhasa
• Day 3: Lhasa
• Day 4: Lhasa-Shigatse
• Day 5: Shigatse
• Day 6: Shigatse-Samye-Tsedang
• Day 7: Tsedang
• Day 8: Tsedang Departure

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive in Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Arrive in Lhasa
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:None

Upon your arrival at Lhasa airport or train station, you will be greeted by your Tibetan guide and escorted to your hotel in Lhasa. If you take the train to Lhasa, normally you will arrive in the late afternoon or evening, 20 minutes drive will take you to your hotel in Lhasa city.

Day 2  Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Potala Place, Johkang Temple, Barkor Street
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:Breakfast, Lunch

Today’s tour will first bring you to the Potala Palace which is the winter palace of the Dalai lama. It was put to use since the 7th Century by the 33rd great king of Tibet. The most valuable collections of Potala Palace are the gilded burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and meditation Cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet.

Day 3 Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Lhasa Tour – Drepung and Sera Monastery (B)
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:Breakfast, Lunch

In the morning ,you are going to visit Drepung Monastery which is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet, founded in 1416 by Jamyang choge, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. Ganden palace used to be Dalai lama’s palace in the Drepung before he moved to the Potala palace.

Day 4 Lhasa-Shigatse

Sightseeing and Activities:Lhasa – Gyantse – Shigatse (360 km)
Accommodation:Shigatse
Meals:Breakfast, Lunch

We will leave Lhasa for Yamdrok Lake through Gambala Pass (4780m) after breakfast. Yamdrok Lake is one of the three most famous holy lakes in Tibet. It covers an area of 638 square kilometers with an altitude of 4441 meters. The landscapes of mountains and lakes here tops in southern Tibet.

Day 5 One Day Tour for Tashilunpo Festival

Sightseeing and Activities:One Day Tour for Tashilunpo Festival
Accommodation:Shigatse
Meals:Breakfast, Lunch

We will make a visit to Tashilhunpo Monastery and experience the Buddha Exhibition Festival in the morning. The Buddha Exhibition in Tashilhunpo Monastery has a history of more than 500 years and is different from Buddha exhibitions in other monasteries. The Buddha Exhibitions in Tashilhunpo and Drepung are most famous and solemn ceremonies in Tibet. The Buddha Exhibition Festival of Tashilhunpo Monastery lasts from May 14 to May 16 in Tibetan Calendar. Thousands of Buddhism followers would come here to show their respects to the Buddha and tourists can watch the grand Buddha Thangka unfolding which lasts for two days and many pilgrims would do the religious circling around the gigantic Buddha and Tashilunpo monastery.

Day 6 Shigatse – Samye – Tsedang

Sightseeing and Activities:Samye Monastery
Accommodation:Tsedang
Meals:Breakfast, Lunch

We will drive to Tsedang after breakfast along the Sino-Nepal Highway. We can appreciate the particular natural landscapes of Yarlung Zangbo River Valley and take ferry to corss Yarlungzongpo River to visit Samye Monastery on the way. The Samye Monastery is the first temple to be built in Tibet and the first complete with the three Buddhist jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. With these unique features, this splendid temple has become an attraction for visitors from near and far. Stay overnight in Tsedang .

Day 7 Tsedang

Sightseeing and Activities:Yambulakhang Palace and Tadruk Monastery (B)
Accommodation:Tsedang
Meals:Breakfast, Lunch

Tsedang is known as the capital of the ancient Yarlung Kingdom. Today, we drive 7kms to visit Yambulakhang Palace, the first building of Tibet which is built in 2nd century for Tibetan Kings. It is situated on a summit of a small hill on the east bank of the Yarlung River.

Day 8 Departure from Tsedang

Sightseeing and Activities:Departure from Tsedang
Accommodation:None
Meals:Breakfast

Transfer to the airport(90km, 2 hrs) for your flight back to home.

Recommended Hotels

Service Included:

• Tibet travel permit and all other necessary permits to Tibet;
• All entrance ticket fees for all tourist sites listed in the itinerary;
• Personal knowledgeable English-speaking Tibetan local tour guide;
• Personal comfortable, clean and safe vehicle with reliable Tibetan local driver; vehicle ranging from 4WD land cruiser to minibus depending on your group size;
• All lodging listed in the itinerary; it’s your decision about the accommodation class: luxury 5-star international hotel, comfortable 4-star hotel, economic 3-star hotel or budget hostel, guesthouse or tent. Please tell us your accommodation preference when submitting the enquiry; we will arrange the best-value hotels for you.
• Domestic flight/train tickets listed in the itinerary;
• All meals listed in the above itinerary.

Service Excluded:

• International flight to and out of China;
• Chinese visa (Note: we could help you with the Chinese visa application, like providing the invitation letter, presenting the hotel or domestic flight reservation copies, etc that you may need. )
• Domestic flight/train not listed in the itinerary. (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.)
• Meals not specified in the itinerary; usually it costs about USD3-15 per person for one meal in TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region).

• Travel Tips:

  1. Tibet Permits

  There are several permits required to visit Tibet. Tibet Entry Permit, issued by Tibet Tourism Bureau, is the most important one which has to be obtained before your trip because you must have it to take your flight/train to Tibet. To get the permit, you have to book a Tibet tour with us, and send us your passport and Chinese visa about 20 days in advance, and then let us apply for the permit (all Tibet permits can only be applied by travel agency). If you travel to other prefectures like Shigatse, Nyingchi, Shannan, etc, you also have to obtain an Alien Travel Permit. If you travel to Mount Everest, you have to obtain a Border Permit. (Tibet Discovery, with office in Lhasa, has always kept up with the latest news on Tibet Permits. Traveling with us, all your permits are guaranteed as long as you are qualified to the requirements.)

  2. Available Months to Visit Tibet

  Generally speaking, May to early October is the best time to for a Mount Kailash trip. July and August are the peak season and rainy season. It may be too cold to travel in Kailash area from November to March. There is usually heavy snow. The conditions in Namtso Lake and Mount Everest area are quite similar with Kailash. While other places like Lhasa, Gyantse and Shigatse are suitable for travel all year around.

  3. High Altitude Sickness

  The average altitude of Tibet is about 4000 meters above the sea level (Lhasa: 3700m; EBC: 5200m; Namtso: 4718m). You may suffer a bit from High Altitude Sickness in the beginning days of your Tibet trip if you haven’t had rich high plateau travel experience. But don’t worry too much, the high altitude can be acclimatized usually in 2~3 days. Our suggestion is to take a physical examination and get suggestions from your doctor, and also bring some medicines to prevent from High Altitude Sickness before your trip. While in Tibet, you should keep warm all the time, avoid strenuous activities, drink more water and eat more vegetables and carbohydrates. You’d better not take showers during the first two days after your arrival at Tibet. If you don’t feel well, get help from your tour guide or go to the hospital without any delay.

  4. How to Go to Tibet

  Basically you have two options – flight and train. Currently, you can take a flight to Lhasa from Beijing(4.5hrs), Xian(3.7hrs), Chengdu(2.5hrs), Chongqing(3hrs), Kuming(3hrs), etc. Among all these cities, Chengdu and Xian have more frequent flights to Lhasa. Kathmandu also has several flights to Lhasa each week.

  If you a train travel, you can take a train to from Beijing(40.5hrs), Xian(32hrs), Chengdu(43hrs), Shanghai(47hrs), Chongqing(42hrs), Lanzhou(25hrs), Xining(22hrs), Guangzhou(54hrs).

  5. Packing and Wearing Ideas

  Firstly you can’t forget your passport and Chinese Visa. A large backpack and a smaller one are recommended (the smaller one can be used for daily activities). Also bring the necessary medicine you need. Other stuffs like sunglasses, snow glasses, hats, lip balm, sun block are recommended. As for wearing, you are suggested to dress in layers (both thin and thick jackets). Down jacket is necessary in Spring and Autumn. A pair of durable and comfortable shoes is necessary.

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