5 Days Lhasa & Yamdrok Lake 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 in Lhasa. 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 31 Dec 2 Jan 2027New Year
farewell 7 Jan 27 Mar 2027Easter weekend
farewell 1 Apr 29 Apr 2027Spring
farewell 4 May 16 Jun 2027Saga Dawa in Lhasa
farewell 21 Jun 28 Aug 2027Shoton Festival
farewell 2 Sep 9 Oct 2027October
farewell 14 Oct 26 Dec 2027Christmas & New Year
farewell 31 Dec
Overview
Five days is the shortest tour that takes you out of Lhasa and into the open country, and Yamdrok Lake is the place to go. After three days in the city — the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple, the monks' debate at Sera and an evening with a Tibetan family — you climb the Gampala Pass on Day 4 and see the lake spread out below you, a long curve of turquoise closed in by snow ridges.
Most tours stop at the pass for photographs and turn back. This one goes down to the water and keeps going along the quiet east shore, with a walk by the lake, lunch in a shore village, and the road home over a second pass, so you never drive the same road twice. Tibetans count Yamdrok as one of the three holy lakes of Tibet. The pace is easy, the altitude is handled by three nights in Lhasa first, and there is no hiking.
Tour highlights
- ✓Yamdrok Lake from the Gampala Pass (4,794 m), then a walk along the shore — close to the water, the grass and the yaks
- ✓The east shore road, which the day-trip coaches never take, and lunch in the village of Dongla
- ✓Back to Lhasa over the Zhila Pass (5,022 m) — one loop, no road driven twice
- ✓Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and the Barkhor pilgrim circuit
- ✓The afternoon monk debate at Sera Monastery and the Tibet Museum
- ✓Butter tea and conversation at a Tibetan family home in Lhasa
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1Arrive in Lhasa — rest and acclimatise
Your guide meets you at Lhasa Gonggar Airport or the railway station and drives you to the hotel. The rest of the day is free: drink water, walk slowly, and let your body get used to 3,650 m. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: none
Day 2Tibet Museum · Nanshan Park · Jokhang Temple · Barkhor Street
The Tibet Museum in the morning is the best short introduction to the land and its people. From Nanshan Park on the south side of the city you look across the river to the Potala Palace. In the afternoon, the Jokhang Temple, the holiest temple in Tibet, and a walk around the Barkhor with the pilgrims. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 3Potala Palace · Sera Monastery monk debate · a Tibetan family
The Potala Palace in the morning, on the timed ticket your guide has booked. After lunch, the monks' debate in the courtyard of Sera Monastery (daily except Sundays, 3–5 pm). In the evening you visit a local family for butter tea, tsampa and conversation, with your guide translating. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 4Gampala Pass · a walk along Yamdrok Lake · the east shore · Zhila Pass
Leave Lhasa early and drive south along the Lhasa River. The road climbs to the Gampala Pass at 4,794 m, and from the top the lake appears all at once below you: a long curve of turquoise water with snow ridges on three sides. Yamdrok is one of the three holy lakes of Tibet, and pilgrims have walked around it for centuries.
Here most tours turn back. We drive down to the shore and keep going east, with the lake beside the road for most of the day and hardly anyone else on it. The group stops for a walk along the water — as long as you like; those who prefer can stay by the vehicle and enjoy the view. Lunch is in Dongla, a small village on the eastern shore where the lake narrows and the far ridges come close.
After lunch the road climbs into the hills behind the lake and crosses the Zhila Pass, 5,022 m, the highest point of the tour, with the whole lake spread out behind you. Then it runs down past Gonggar Airport and back to Lhasa. One loop, and no road driven twice. If snow closes the road in winter, we return to Lhasa the way we came — the same lake and the same walk, without the loop. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 5Lhasa departure
Breakfast, then your guide takes you to the airport or railway station in time for your flight or train. If you leave in the afternoon there is time for one last hour on Barkhor Street.
Meals: breakfast
What's included
✓ Tibet Travel Permit and all other permits
✓ English-speaking Tibetan guide
✓ Tourist vehicle with driver for the whole tour
✓ 4 nights in a Lhasa hotel, twin share, with breakfast
✓ Entrance fees for every sight in the itinerary
✓ Lhasa airport or railway station pick-up and see-off
✓ Welcome dinner with the family visit; drinking water daily
✓ Oxygen in the vehicle and an oxygen canister per person; travel accident insurance
✗ Flights or trains to and from Lhasa
✗ Lunches and dinners not listed
✗ 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 fit do I need to be for the Yamdrok Lake tour?
Not very. There is no hiking; the walk along the lake is on flat ground and you choose how far to go. Day 4 crosses two high passes by road, the Gampala Pass at 4,794 m and the Zhila Pass at 5,022 m, so anyone with a heart or lung condition should check with a doctor first. Three nights in Lhasa before the lake day give your body time to adjust. See our altitude advice.
When is the best time for Yamdrok Lake?
Mid-May to the end of June and the autumn months have the clearest skies and the strongest colour on the water. July and August bring afternoon showers to Lhasa, but the lake road is usually fine. In winter the days are sunny and the lake can partly freeze; if the famous turquoise is what you want, choose the warmer months. Whatever the season, bring a warm layer: the difference between day and night is large all year.
How many people are in the group, and who are they?
Between 3 and 8 travellers, usually from several countries, in one minibus 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.
What if my dates do not match a departure exactly?
If you are a day or two early or late, you can join the group for the days that overlap and we arrange a guide and vehicle privately for the days you miss, so you still see everything. If no date fits, the whole tour runs as a private trip on your own dates; ask us for a quote.
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; we arrange the permit for you and it is included in the price. The rest is paid later, as explained on our how to book page.
How do I get to Lhasa for Day 1?
Most guests fly in from Chengdu, which has more flights to Lhasa than any other city; we book that flight for you together with the permit, because the airline needs the permit to issue the ticket. If you prefer the train, board in Xining the day before — the journey takes about 20–21 hours — and we meet you at Lhasa Railway Station. Your guide meets you at arrivals with a name board.