Not-so-touristy Tibet Tours

Here we would like to recommend some not-so-touristy trekking tours to you! We have already arranged a lot of travelers to take these tours and they LOVE it!

1. 9 days Tibet Trekking Tour:

Day 1: Arrival in Lhasa
Day 2: Lhasa
Day 3: Lhasa
Day 4: Lhasa-Yamdrok Tso Lake-Langkatse-Karola
Day 5: Karola drive to Mongdala
Day 6: Mongdala trekking to Pumoyongtso
Day 7: Pumoyongtso trekking towards to Karola
Day 8: Onward to trekking to and when getting there, driving to Lhasa
Day 9: Lhasa exit

In this itinerary, you can either driving or trekking. No need of yaks or horses.

::: I'm interested in this tour.

2. 11 nights - 12 days Ganden to Samye trekking

Overview:

The itinerary has a rich variety of scenery: from high snowy passes to lush alpine meadows to the desert-like environs of Samye Monastery. Camping along the way is excellent. En route, near the passes, are secluded valleys whose only inhabitants are the high-altitude nomads and their yaks. This pilgrimage route is well used by Tibetans, who find it convenient to combine a visit to Ganden, the principal monastery of the Gelugpa, with a reasonably direct, albeit hard walk to Samye, Tibet’s ‘first monastery’. The trek, if taken slowly and spaced out with one or two rest days, is wonderfully pleasant. Its two passes are not exceptionally onerous; new visitors to Lhasa should be able to attempt the walk without undue worry about physical conditioning (acclimatize in the city for at least a few days before starting.)

Day1 Fly to Lhasa from Chengdu

Taking the flight into Tibet upon your arrival. Local guide will meet you and transfer you to Lhasa. On the way, you can enjoy the heart-beating highland view along the Yarlong Tsangpo river( the longest river in Tibet). The rest time is free for relax and more oxygen.

Day2 Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor street

The first day of sightseeing starts from Lhasa's cardinal landmark- Potala Palace, a structure of massive portions. Its towering image already appearing on various occasions, but your first sight of the Potala will still be an awe-inspiring moment. It takes at least a good 2-hour to visit those rooms, halls and chapelsIn the afternoon, we will drop a visit of the Jokhang Temple, the spiritual center of Tibet. Everyday, pilgrims from every corner of Tibet trek a long distance to the temple. The temple is the product of Han, Tibetan and Nepalese architectural techniques. Then we will visit Barkhor, the oldest street in a very traditional city in Tibet

Day3 Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastey

About 8km west of central Lhasa is the Drepung, once world's largest monastery with about 10,000 monks. This day's sightseeing begins with these white monastic buildings piled up on the hillside. Walking up to the hill is a pleasant thing, an easy break from the solemn ambience inside the halls and chapels. At the plat roof of hillside, you can have very good views of the whole Lhasa city and the distant mountains.

Drepung is one of Lhasa's two great Gelugpa monasteries, the other is Sera. Around 5km north of central Lhasa, Sera may not be as grandiose as Drepung, but is more serene surrounded by many small temples. The 'Buddhism Scriptures Debating' in Sera is very famous.

Day4 Rest in Lhasa

Day5 Start Trek from Ganden Monastery: GANDEN-HEPU - (5.5 HRS)

In the morning we visit the Gandan Monastery and our trek begins from here. The trail gradually ascends for 1.5 hrs before reaching a saddle marked by a cairn with views of Kyichu valley to Lhasa. Traversing the west side of the ridge from the saddle, the trail reaches a spur surmounted by a cairn, a spring and then the village of Hepu in 2 hrs. 1 hr from Hepu reach Ani Pangong, a small nunnery. The trail climbs steadily for 1 hour through marshy meadows to Yama Do.

Day6 YAMA DO- TSOTUP CHU VALLEY (4-5 HRS)

In 2 hrs past Yama Do we ascend Shug-la pass (5250 m). It takes at least 1.5 hrs from the basin negotiating boulders and lumpy ground along the final steep climb to the pass. The route continues over the Shug-la pass following the cairned trail descending gradually and reaching the valley in 1.5 hrs from the pass. Cross the Tsotup Chu. Nomad herders with their herd of yaks, goat and sheep can be found here.

Day7 TSOTUP CHU-HERDERS'S CAMP (5 HRS)

From the Tsotup Chu valley, follow a small tributary entering from the south-west. The route follows steeply upwards for 30 mins until you reach a large basin. The terrain is not particularly difficult to reach Chitu-la pass (5100 m) which is marked by several cairns. A short steep descent will bring you into a basin with three small lakes. The trail at many points is not clearly marked and goes past several seasonal camping sites before it reaches the valley floor.

Day8 HERDER'S CAMP-YAMALUNG (5-6 HRS)

The trail is now wide and easy to follow and goes through forest of shrubs and rhododendrons for 3 hrs. The trail winds through a series of meadows before reaching Gen Do, a place with a ruined stone structure. The forest thins rapidly and we reach the first permanent village of Chantan (4020 m) after leaving Hebu.. In 30-40 mins we arrive at the turn off at Yamalung Valley. Yamalung Hermitage is another 1 hour steep climb from the valley floor. (B+L+D)

Day9 YAMLUNG-SAMYE (4 HRS)

From Yamalung Valley it takes 3.5 - 4 hrs to Samye. We go past the villages of Nyango, Wango and Pisha. From Pisha the entire lower valley of Samye and the golden spires of Samye Monastery can be seen. En route there are several nice meadows for camping.

Day10 Samye Monastery.

Today we visit Samye Monastery and surrounding area.

Day11 Samye to Tsetang

Today we will visit Yongbulakhang. Sacred texts are said to have miraculously fallen on the palace roof, heralding the first appearance of Buddhism in Tibet. Then we will visit the Trundrok Monastery.

Day12 Tsetang to airport, fly to Chengdu

Today is the end of our tour and we will depart for Gongar airport to catch the flight to Chengdu.

::: I'm interested in this tour.