10 Days Xining and Tibet Classic Tour from Guangzhou

This 10-day Xinning and Tibet tour starts from Guangzhou. You will first take a flight to Xining and visit the largest salt lake in China. Then take Qinghai-Tibet train to Lhasa. One can worship holy Potala palace, Jokhang temple– center of Buddhism and the largest Tibetan monasteries – Drepung monastery and watch monk debate in Sera monastery. You will arrive in Shigatse– Tibetan religious and political center, via Lhatse and Shegar, and then head to Mount Everest- majestic and highest mountain in the world, and appreciate the scenery of sunset and sunrise of next morning.

Highlights

  • Climb the dazzling Gyantse Kumbum, a monumental chorten with mural-filled chapels.
  • Marvel at the turquoise waters of Yamdrok-tso, one of Tibet’s most sacred lakes.
  • Go down into the bowels of the Potala, the impressive but spiritless citadel of the Dalai Lamas.
  • Join the shuffling, murmuring pilgrims around the shrines of the Jokhang, the spiritual heart of Tibet.
  • Follow monks, mendicants and fellow pilgrims around the Barkhor, Lhasa’s fascinating medieval pilgrim circuit.
  • Take in a prayer meeting or some monk debating at Sera and Drepung, two of the largest and most intact of Tibet’s great monasteries.
  • Train trip experience from Xining to Lhasa.

Brief Itinerary

Day 1 Guangzhou to Xining
Day 2 Xining Day Tour and Take overnight Train to Lhasa
Day 3 Sightseeing along the railway and arrive in Lhasa
Day 4 Lhasa
Day 5 Lhasa 
Day 6 Lhasa (3650m) to Shigatse (3900m) via Gyantse
Day 7 Shigatse (3900m) to Everest Base Camp(5200) via Lhatse and Shegar
Day 8 EBC (5200m) and return to Shigatse (3900m)
Day 9 Shigatse to Lhasa:Tashilunpo monastery
Day 10 Departure from Lhasa

Google Map

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive in Xining

Sightseeing and Activities:Arrive in Xining
Accommodation:Xining
Meals:none

Take a flight from Guangzhou to Xining. You will be transferred to your hotel after arriving in Xining airport. The rest of the time is at leisure. You can have a good rest or walk around in the city.

Stay overnight in Xining

Day 2 Xining-Lhasa by Train

Sightseeing and Activities:Xining Day Tour and Take overnight Train to Lhasa
Accommodation:
Meals:

Qinghai Lake in Haibei and Hainan of Qinghai

In the morning, you will first visit Taer Monastery, the most important monastery in Qinghai Tibetan Area. Next to Qinghai Lake, where you will see birds assembling in the bird island, which has become a very large sanctuary for the birds in spring and summer.

In the afternoon, drive back to Xining. Then, transfer to railway station for your overnight train to Lhasa.

Stay overnight in the train

Day 3 Lhasa Arrival

Sightseeing and Activities:Sightseeing along the railway and arrive in Lhasa
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:breakfast

You will spend a whole day on the train to Lhasa and enjoy fabulous scenery along the world famous Qinghai-Tibet railway, the highest railway in the world. Spectacular land of snows, boundless desert, vast grassland, grand ice mountains, and beautiful lakes will continually appear and strongly attract your heart. You will arrive in Lhasa in late afternoon or evening. Then transfer to your hotel.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 4 Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Barkhor Street
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:breakfast

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.

Then after lunch, you will head to Jokhang Temple which was founded by the 33rd great king of Tibet in the 7th century, in order to promote the Buddhist religion. Inside you can see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve, perhaps the only most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism. Around the temple is Barkhor Street where you can do kora (a religious circle of a building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals, in the meantime you can buy souvenirs.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 5 Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Drepung and Sera Monastery
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:breakfast

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

In the afternoon, head to the Sera Monastery which is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet, founded in 1419 by Jamchen chojey, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. The most popular attraction is the monk debate at around 3:00 – 5:00 in the afternoon.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 6 Lhasa (3650m)-Gyantse-Shigatse (3900m)

Sightseeing and Activities:Lhasa (3650m) to Shigatse (3900m) via Gyantse
Accommodation:Shigatse
Meals:breakfast

Today, we will drive from Lhasa to Gyantse. On the way, the group will pass over the Gampala pass (4790 m), and tourists will have a glimpse of Yamdrok-tso (4400m) .The Lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountain and in the distance you have spectacular views of Holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar, (7191m) the highest mountain near Lhasa .

We head westward along the lake and drive towards Gyantse. Gyantse was historically Tibet’s third largest city (after Lhasa and Shigatse). In Gyantse, we will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery and Gyantse Kumbum.

After one and a half hour’s driving, we arrive in Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet.

Stay overnight in Shigatse

Day 7 Shigatse (3900m)-Lhatse-Shegar-Everest Base Camp(5200)

Sightseeing and Activities:Shigatse (3900m) to Everest Base Camp(5200) via Lhatse and Shegar
Accommodation:Base Camp
Meals:breakfast,lunch,dinner

Tibet Hiking and Climbing Tour to Eastern Slope of Mount Everest-22

We’ll leave Shigatse after getting your Alien’s travel permit, and then drive to Lhatse. It is a small town where you can take lunch.
After that, you will drive to Shegar and if the weather is clear enough then on the way down to shegar you will view the Mt. Everest in the distance.

After 4 to 6 hours then you will arrive at Rongbuk monastery but on the way, you will pass one of the highest passes in Tibet (pang la pass height 5050m) from that’s pass you will view the whole five highest peaks in the world.

Stay overnight at tent or Rongbuk monastery guest house

Day 8 EBC (5200m)-Shigatse (3900m)

Sightseeing and Activities:EBC (5200m) and return to Shigatse (3900m)
Accommodation:Shigatse
Meals:breakfast

Tibet Hiking and Climbing Tour to Eastern Slope of Mount Everest-14

In the morning, you can see the sunrise appearing on the top of Mt. Everest, and have a full view the magnificent Mt. Everest standing like a snow-capped pyramid in front of you at Rongpuk, which is the vantage point for watching Mt. Everest. Then, tourists can visit Rongphu Monastery which is the highest monastery in the world (5000m) and belongs to Nyingma sect. After that drive back toShigatse.

Stay overnight in Shigatse

Day 9 Shigatse-Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Shigatse to Lhasa:Tashilunpo monastery
Accommodation:Lhasa
Meals:breakfast

Before spending about 4 hours driving back to Lhasa from Shigatse, we will visit the largest Monastery in west Tibet, the Tashilhunpo Monastery which is one of the six great Gelukpa institutions and was founded in 1447 by a disciple of Tsongkapa, contains the world’s largest gilded copper image (26m high) of future god Jampa. Drive along the Friend-ship Highway back to Lhasa.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 10 Departure from Lhasa

Sightseeing and Activities:Departure from Lhasa
Accommodation:none
Meals:breakfast

Transfer to Kunming airport for departure.

Recommended Hotels

City 5 Star 4 Star 3 Star

Quotations

Group size(person) 5 Star ($) 4 Star ($) 3 Star ($)

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.