7 Days Yamdrok Lake Inner Kora 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.
Overview
A kora is a circle walked clockwise around a holy place, ending where it began. The inner kora of Yamdrok Lake goes around the mountainous peninsula in the south of the lake, about 110 km, with the water on one side and the mountains on the other, through herders' camps and past Samding Monastery, the only monastery in Tibet led by a female reincarnate lama.
On this tour you walk the finest stretches, two to four hours a day, and the vehicle carries you over the rest, so the circle closes in three days and you sleep in a hotel in Nagarze. The date is Saga Dawa, the holiest month of the Tibetan year, when Tibetans walk the kora around all their holy places.
Tour highlights
- ✓The full inner kora of Yamdrok Lake, clockwise from Nagarze and back
- ✓Walk two to four hours a day on the best stretches of shore; ride the rest
- ✓Samding Monastery on its hill above the lake
- ✓Three easy days in Lhasa first: Potala, Jokhang, Barkhor, Sera, Tibet Museum
- ✓Saga Dawa, when the Barkhor and the lake are full of pilgrims
- ✓Herders' camps, yaks and wide water on the quiet side of the lake
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1Arrive in Lhasa (3,650 m) — a quiet first day
Your guide meets you at the airport or railway station with a white khata scarf and takes you to the hotel. The rest of the day is for rest. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: none
Day 2Lhasa — Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor kora
The Potala Palace in the morning, then the Jokhang Temple, the holiest temple in Tibet. In the afternoon walk the Barkhor, the kora around the Jokhang, clockwise with the pilgrims and their prayer wheels; in Saga Dawa it is full of pilgrims from all over Tibet. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 3Lhasa — Sera Monastery and the Tibet Museum
Sera Monastery with the monks' debate in the afternoon (not on Sundays), and the Tibet Museum. A third easy day in Lhasa means your body is ready for the lake, about 800 m higher. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 4Lhasa → Gampala Pass → Nagarze → inner kora day 1: the western shore
Over the Gampala Pass (4,794 m), where the turquoise lake first appears below, to Nagarze, where the kora begins. Set off clockwise, north along the western shore of the peninsula past the lake viewpoint and Kongmo Tso. Walk the loveliest stretch for two or three hours; the vehicle carries you to the end of the day's section and back to Nagarze. Nagarze hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 5Inner kora day 2 — the northern and eastern shores
The quietest part of the circle, where the peninsula reaches far into the lake: herders' camps, grazing yaks and wide views over the water, the lake on one side and mountains on the other. Walk three or four hours where the shore is finest and ride the rest, then back to Nagarze across the peninsula by the village of Kalung. Nagarze hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 6Inner kora day 3 — Samding Monastery → Nagarze, the circle closes → Lhasa
Back to where yesterday's walk ended and on along the southern shore to Samding Monastery, founded in the 14th century on a hill at about 4,450 m. Walk the last stretch into Nagarze, where the circle closes, then over the Gampala Pass to Lhasa. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 7Departure from Lhasa
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 for the route
✓ English-speaking Tibetan guide
✓ Tourist vehicle with driver for the whole tour
✓ 6 nights: Lhasa 4, Nagarze 2, twin share, with breakfast
✓ 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
✓ Two nights in a hotel in Nagarze
✗ Flights or trains to and from Lhasa
✗ Lunches and dinners
✗ 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
What is the inner kora of Yamdrok Lake?
A pilgrims' circuit of about 110 km around the mountainous peninsula in the south of the lake, made clockwise and ending where it began, in Nagarze.
Do I have to walk the whole kora?
No. You walk the finest stretches, two to four hours a day, and the vehicle carries you over the rest, so the circle closes in three days. Nights are in a hotel in Nagarze.
Why Saga Dawa?
It is the holiest month of the Tibetan year, with the full moon expected around 18 June 2027. Tibetans everywhere walk the kora around their holy places then, and good deeds are said to count many times over. On this date the Barkhor in Lhasa is full of pilgrims too.
What is Samding Monastery?
A monastery founded in the 14th century on a hill above Yamdrok Lake, on the southern side of the inner kora. It is the only monastery in Tibet led by a female reincarnate lama.
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.