8 Days Tashilhunpo Thangka Festival Tour 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
Every summer Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse unrolls three giant thangkas on three mornings — a Buddha of the past, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya the Buddha of the future — on the great stone wall above the monastery, with monks chanting, long horns sounding and thousands of pilgrims throwing khata scarves. Lhasa's Shoton festival shows one thangka; Shigatse shows three.
This tour spends three nights in Shigatse so you are at the wall on all three mornings, with the afternoons for the monastery itself, the old town and a farming village family. Out by train, back by road past Gyantse, the Karola Glacier and Yamdrok Lake. The dates, expected 16–18 July 2027, are reconfirmed with the monastery before you book flights.
Tour highlights
- ✓All three giant thangkas at Tashilhunpo — three mornings, three Buddhas
- ✓Three nights in Shigatse: the old town and a farming village family visit
- ✓Tashilhunpo Monastery inside, at an easy pace
- ✓Out by train, back by Gyantse, the Karola Glacier and Yamdrok Lake
- ✓Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and the Sera debate in Lhasa
- ✓A night in Gyantse below the old fortress
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1Arrive in Lhasa (3,650 m) — a quiet first day
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 2Potala Palace · Jokhang Temple · Sera debate · Barkhor Street
The Potala Palace in the morning on a timed ticket, the Jokhang Temple, the monks' debate at Sera Monastery in the afternoon and Barkhor Street in the evening. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 3Train to Shigatse — an easy stroll through the city
A short train ride west along the Yarlung Tsangpo valley to Shigatse. The afternoon is free for an easy stroll — the market, the old streets below the fortress, a cup of sweet tea — and an early night before the first thangka morning. Shigatse hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 4Thangka day one — a Buddha of the past · Tashilhunpo Monastery
Early to Tashilhunpo, where the first giant thangka, a Buddha of the past, is unrolled on the stone wall. Monks chant, the long horns sound and thousands of pilgrims throw white scarves and make offerings; the thangka is rolled up again in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, the whole of Tashilhunpo with time inside: the 26-metre Maitreya, the tombs of the Panchen Lamas and the courtyards where the monks live and study. Shigatse hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 5Thangka day two — Shakyamuni · old town and a farming village
The second morning at the wall: today Shakyamuni, the Buddha of the present, the busiest of the three days. In the afternoon the old town of Shigatse, then out to a farming village nearby, the barley fields green in July, for butter tea and a chat with a family about the farming year. Shigatse hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 6Thangka day three — Maitreya · on to Gyantse
The last morning at Tashilhunpo: Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, Jampa in Tibetan. Then east along the farming valley to Gyantse, with time for the Kumbum stupa and the old town below the fortress. Gyantse hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 7Gyantse → Karola Glacier → Yamdrok Lake → Lhasa
Over the Karola Glacier and along Yamdrok Lake, one of the three holy lakes of Tibet, then over the Gampala Pass to Lhasa, a different road from the train ride out. A free evening in Lhasa, a last walk around the Barkhor if you like. Lhasa hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Day 8Departure 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
✓ 7 nights: Lhasa 3, Shigatse 3, Gyantse 1, 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
✓ Train ticket Lhasa → Shigatse
✗ 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
When is the Tashilhunpo thangka festival?
On the 14th, 15th and 16th days of the fifth Tibetan month, usually in June or July. For 2027 we expect around 16–18 July; we reconfirm the dates with the monastery before you book flights, and if they move by a day we move the Shigatse days with them.
Will I see all three thangkas?
Yes. The tour stays three nights in Shigatse so you are at the wall on all three mornings: a Buddha of the past, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya.
How do we get to Shigatse?
By train from Lhasa, a short easy ride; the ticket is included. The way back is by road through Gyantse, the Karola Glacier and Yamdrok Lake, so you never travel the same road twice.
How is this different from the Shoton festival in Lhasa?
Shoton shows one giant thangka on one morning above Lhasa. Tashilhunpo shows three different thangkas on three mornings, and the crowd is almost entirely Tibetan pilgrims. Our 28 August departure is timed for Shoton if you prefer Lhasa.
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.