5 Days Tibet New Year Festival Tour

5 Days Tibet New Year Festival Tour

Tour Overview

This 5 days Tibet New Year Festival Tour will take you to experience the grandest festival to Tibetans(also known as Losar). You will join locals’ family, and eat traditional food...

Code of Tour: YCT0000003185

Length of Travel: 5 Day

Destinations of Tour: Lhasa

Departure City: Lhasa

Price of Tour: Request

Type of Tour:

Features of Tour: History Minority Landscape Festival

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This 5 days Tibet New Year Festival Tour will take you to experience the grandest festival to Tibetans(also known as Losar). You will join locals’ family, and eat traditional food such as “Gutu”, i.e. dough drops, visit monasteries including Potala Palace and Ganden Monastery, and circle around religious sites. During the festival, people celebrate by some ancient ceremonies which represent the struggle between good and evil, dancing, singing, and merrymaking. Lamas are chanting and passing fire torches through the crowds to exorcise the evil spirits.The entire celebration is expected to last 15 days. As the Losar is celebrated in winter, when there will be no too many crowds. So, it’s a great chance to join in some events and you will have ample time to experience various aspects of New Year Celebration, like praying in monastery, and circling religious route with your tour guide.

Highlights:

  • Take part in the grandest festival in Tibet-the Tibet New Year Festival.
  • Experience Tibetan Buddhism in significant monasteries in Lhasa city and along the way.
  • Meet the tranquil lakes, white snow mounatians, shimmering rivers and rare animals in Lhasa.
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Brief Itinerary

  • Day 1: Lhasa Arrival
  • Day 2: Lhasa
  • Day 3: Lhasa 
  • Day 4: Lhasa
  • Day 5: Lhasa
  • Day 6: Lhasa Departure

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. Then check in at the hotel, and have a good rest to acclimatize the high altitude.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day 2 Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Potola Palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:Breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, we will visit the famous Potala Palace in which you can see tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, thangkas, combinations of mandala.

In the afternoon, tourists are expected to pay a visit to the holist temple in Tibet, the Johkang Temple, built during Songtsen Gonpo’s reign by princess Wencheng of Tang Dynasty, 647 A.D, and experience the religious circling around Barkhor Street.

Later, we will visit local Tibetans’ family and learn to make traditional new year’s food “Gutu”, i.e. Dough drops with them and have dinner with them. Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day 3 Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Norbulingka, Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:Breakfast, Lunch

Norbulingka Park in Lhasa

After breakfast, you are driven to visit the Norbulingka Park, the former summer palace of Dalai Lama and explore the beautiful gardens and one of the most holy sites in Tibetan Buddhism.

Next, come to Drepung Monastery, which was once the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery housing 10,000 monks in its heyday. Learn about the lives of Tibetan monks.

After lunch, continue to visit the Sera Monastery, founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa’s disciple Jamchen Choeje. The most dramatic scene is its monks’ debate held in the courtyard mostly around 4:00 – 5:30 in the afternoon. As it is in new year’s celebration, They dress up in their best clothes with grandest ornaments on to pray for good luck in the coming year. Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day 4 Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Ganden Monastery and Wetland Wild Birds 
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:Breakfast, Lunch

Today drive to the Ganden Monastery. It is about 60 kilometers east of Lhasa and is one of the “Great Three” Gelugpa monasteries of Tibet, founded by the Great Tsongkhapa in 1409.The main sight is Serdung, which contains the tomb of Tsongkhapa. Ganden monastery is situated on the Wangpori mountain with an elevation of 3800m above sea level. It is very interesting to trek Lingkor (circle) around the monastery and you can also see the Great Tsongkapa’s meditation cave and many religious figure statues and the beautiful view of Lhasa valley. Scenery that can only be seen in winter is migratory wild birds in the wetland around Lhasa river.

On the way to Ganden Monastery are a number of large wetland, you can watch many wild birds, like wild ducks and cranes. Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day 5 Departure from Lhasa

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

After spending several happy days in Tibet, you will be driven to Gonggar airport for your flight.

Recommended Hotels

Destination 5 Star 4 Star 3 Star
Lhasa Luxury St. Regis Lhasa Resort Lhasa Gang Gyan Hotel Lhasa Xiongbala Hotel

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).
  • Tips and gratitude to tour guide and driver;
  • 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.

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.)

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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).

  1. 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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