16 Days Everest · Kailash · Guge Kingdom Small Group Tour
Fixed dates, guaranteed to run
The group meets in Lhasa on the date you choose below and travels with one Tibetan guide and one vehicle, never more than 8 people. Holding a seat is free; you pay the US$100 permit fee only when you confirm, 30 days before departure. The same tour also runs as a private trip on your own dates.
Hold a seat — no deposit →2027 departure dates
Each date is Day 1, the day the group meets. Fly in from Chengdu that day, or board the train in Xining the day before. Click a date to hold a seat on it.
farewell 27 June 2027 14 Aug 2027Mid-August Departure
farewell 30 August 2027
Overview
Everything western Tibet has, in one journey. Lhasa first, then Yamdrok Lake, the Karola Glacier and the Kumbum of Gyantse, a night at Everest Base Camp, the road west past Shishapangma and Pelkhu-tso to Saga and Lake Manasarovar, and the three-day kora around Mount Kailash over the Dolma La.
Then the part most Kailash tours never reach: the ruins of the Guge Kingdom and the eroded canyons of the Zanda earth forest. The way home runs along the G219 to Sakya Monastery and Tashilhunpo in Shigatse — a different road from the way out. The 11 June date puts you at Tarboche on Day 8, the Saga Dawa full moon, when the great flagpole is raised.
Tour highlights
- ✓A night at Everest Base Camp (5,200 m) and the full 52 km Kailash kora over the Dolma La (5,630 m)
- ✓Lake Manasarovar and the Saga Dawa flagpole at Tarboche on the 11 June date
- ✓The Guge Kingdom ruins and the Zanda earth forest
- ✓Shishapangma (8,012 m) and Pelkhu-tso on the road west
- ✓Sakya and Tashilhunpo monasteries on a different road home
- ✓Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, the Sera debate and a Tibetan dinner in Lhasa
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1Arrive in Lhasa — airport pick-up
Your guide meets you at the airport or railway station and drives you to the hotel. The rest of the day is for rest. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: none
Day 2Lhasa culture day — traditional handicraft centre, Sera Monastery
A morning at the Lhasa Traditional Handicraft Art Centre, trying incense-making, calligraphy and block printing. After lunch, the monks' debate at Sera Monastery (3–5 pm, not on Sundays). Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 3Lhasa city day — Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street, Tibetan dinner
The Potala Palace on a timed ticket, the Jokhang Temple and the Barkhor pilgrim circuit. A Tibetan-style dinner with the group in the evening. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 4Lhasa → Yamdrok Lake → Karola Glacier → Gyantse Kumbum → Shigatse
Over the Gampala Pass (4,794 m) for the view of Yamdrok Lake, one of the three holy lakes of Tibet, past the Karola Glacier to Gyantse and its nine-storey Kumbum stupa, and on to Shigatse for the night.
Meals: breakfast
Day 5Shigatse → Gyawula Pass → Rongbuk Monastery → Everest Base Camp
South-west over the Gyawula Pass, with five of the world's highest peaks in one view on a clear day, to Rongbuk Monastery, the highest in the world at 4,980 m, and on to Everest Base Camp (5,200 m) for the night, with a hot-pot dinner under the stars.
Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 6Everest → Shishapangma reserve → Pelkhu-tso → Saga
After the Everest sunrise, west along the old Tingri road with Everest behind and Shishapangma (8,012 m) ahead, past the deep blue Pelkhu-tso (4,600 m) to the small town of Saga for the night. Saga guesthouse.
Meals: breakfast
Day 7Saga → Drongpa → Lake Manasarovar → Lhanag-tso → Darchen
Across the empty plains past old and new Drongpa, with a stop at the old monastery where yak skulls are carved with mantras. Then Lake Manasarovar (4,588 m), the holy lake below Kailash, and its dark twin Lhanag-tso, to Darchen, where the kora begins. Darchen guesthouse.
Meals: none
Day 8Kailash kora day 1 — Darchen → Dirapuk Monastery
The 52 km kora begins. From Darchen (4,560 m) north up the Sarshung valley, among nomads and pilgrims, with the mountain growing all day, to the Dirapuk guesthouse (4,920 m) below the north face. On the 11 June departure this is 18 June, the Saga Dawa full moon, and the morning starts at Tarboche, where thousands of pilgrims watch the great prayer flagpole raised. Yaks and porters can be hired in Darchen (not included).
Meals: none
Day 9Kailash kora day 2 — Dirapuk → Dolma La Pass (5,630 m) → Zutulpuk
The hard day: nearly 800 m of climb to the Dolma La, the top of the kora, slowly and steadily, then the steep descent past the lake of Gauri Kund into the Lhachu valley and on to Zutulpuk, the cave where Milarepa meditated, for the night.
Meals: none
Day 10Kailash kora day 3 — Zutulpuk → Darchen → Zanda
The last gentle section past the caves and shrines around Milarepa's cave and back to Darchen, about three hours, where the circle closes. Then the drive west to Zanda for the night.
Meals: none
Day 11Zanda → Guge Kingdom → Zanda earth forest → Toling Monastery → Darchen
The ruins of the Guge Kingdom, which ruled western Tibet for centuries, climbing a whole hillside of caves, temples and palaces. Then the Zanda earth forest, canyons and pillars carved by water out of an old lake bed, and the ancient Toling Monastery, before the drive back to Darchen for the night.
Meals: none
Day 12Darchen → Saga
East across the windswept plateau, past small towns and nomad camps, back to Saga for the night.
Meals: none
Day 13Saga → the Sakya area on the G219
A long drive east on the G219, Tibet's great western highway, across open plains with the Himalaya to the south, towards Sakya.
Meals: none
Day 14Sakya Monastery
Sakya Monastery, founded in 1073, with its fortress walls striped grey, white and red, its courtyards and one of the largest libraries of old Tibetan texts and thangkas in the world. Seat of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Meals: breakfast
Day 15Sakya → Shigatse → Tashilhunpo Monastery → Lhasa
To Shigatse for Tashilhunpo Monastery, founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama and the seat of the Panchen Lamas since, with the 26-metre gilded statue of the future Buddha, the tombs of past Panchen Lamas and the courtyards where the monks live and study. Then back to Lhasa by tourist bus or train. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 16Lhasa departure — airport transfer
Your guide takes you to Lhasa airport or the railway station for your onward journey.
Meals: breakfast
What's included
✓ Tibet Travel Permit and all other permits for the route
✓ English-speaking Tibetan guide
✓ Tourist vehicle with driver for the whole tour
✓ 15 nights: Lhasa 4, Shigatse 1, Everest 1, Saga 2, Darchen 2, Dirapuk 1, Zutulpuk 1, Zanda 1, Sakya area 2, twin share (breakfast in hotels; simple meals available at the guesthouses)
✓ Entrance fees for every sight in the itinerary
✓ Lhasa airport or railway station pick-up and see-off
✓ Oxygen in the vehicle and an oxygen canister per person; travel accident insurance
✓ Military permit for the Ngari (Kailash) region
✓ Guesthouses in the west and on the kora (basic, shared rooms at Dirapuk and Zutulpuk)
✓ Tibetan dinner on Day 3 and dinner at Everest; drinking water daily
✗ Flights or trains to and from Lhasa
✗ Lunches and dinners not listed, especially in the west (about US$3–15 each)
✗ Yak or porter hire on the kora, arranged in Darchen
✗ Single room supplement (free for 5 rooms or 10+ travellers)
✗ Tips for the guide and driver
✗ Personal expenses and anything not listed
Questions travellers ask
How hard is this tour?
The kora is the hard part: three days on foot at 4,500–5,630 m, about 20, 22 and 10 km, with a steep climb to the Dolma La on day 2. Everything else is by vehicle. Seven days of gradual altitude come before the kora, which helps a great deal. Anyone with a heart or lung condition should see a doctor first; if you are unsure, ask us.
Which permits are needed?
Four, all included and arranged by us: the Tibet Travel Permit, the Alien's Travel Permit, the Border Defence Permit for the Everest and border areas, and the military permit for Ngari. Allow about 15–20 days; book four to six weeks ahead.
What is special about the 11 June date?
It reaches Darchen on 17 June, so the first kora day is 18 June, the Saga Dawa full moon, when the great prayer flagpole is raised at Tarboche in front of thousands of pilgrims. The 14 August date is for the green high-summer plateau.
Why is this tour 16 days?
Because it does three things that each need time: Everest, the Kailash kora, and the Guge Kingdom in the far west, and it returns by a different road through Sakya. Shorter Kailash tours skip Everest and Guge; see our 11-day kora pilgrimage.
How many people are in the group, and who are they?
Between 3 and 8 travellers, usually from several countries, with one Tibetan guide and driver for the whole tour. The same dates and prices are offered on our sister site tibettravel.com, run by the same office in Lhasa, so guests from both sites travel together in one group.
Do I pay a deposit to hold a seat?
No. Holding a seat is free. To confirm it, you pay the US$100 permit fee at least 30 days before departure, which starts your Tibet Travel Permit; the permit is included in the price. The rest is paid later, as explained on our how-to-book page.