5. Tibet Overland Trekking & Tours (Lhasa-Kathmandu)

Trekking from Lhasa

Day 01 - Arrive Gonggar airport and transfer to Lhasa hotel.

Day 02 to 03 - two full day will be spend in Lhasa, the religious, cultural, and economic centre of Tibet.

Sightseeing will include Potala Palace, Norbulinka, Drepung Monastery, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor,

Sera Monastery and Ganden Monastery.

Day 04 Drive to Ganden (4500m)

We arrive at Ganden early in the day; it is only a 40 kilometre drive from Lhasa. We will spend the rest of that day exploring and acclimatising. Ganden was the first Gelugpa monastery and has remained the main seat of the order ever since. Of all the great monasteries of Tibet, it is Ganden that suffered most at the hands of the red guards.

Ganden is an interesting place to wander aimlessly about . The sheer ochre walls of many of the buildings make great backdrops for photographs. Don't miss the kora around Ganden! Hardly 5 minutes goes by without groups of stopping before a rock, shrine, or crevice in a boulder to perform unusual rituals that "test" their faith and help them earn religious merit, all in a carnival like atmosphere. This circuit begins at the south west corner of Ganden. A large rocky cleft draped with prayer flags marks the start of this scenic circuit, which takes at least one hour to complete.



Day 05 Trek to Yama Do (5 hours)

We start out following the well trodden trail heading south along the side of Angor Ri, the highest point on the Ganden kora .The trail gradually ascends for 1 1/2 hours before reaching a saddle. Near the saddle the trail comes close to the top of the ridge marked by cairns. From the saddle look west down the Kyi Chu valley towards Lhasa. We then traverse the west side of the ridge from the saddle; the trail now descends towards Hepu village. There are around 30 houses in Hepu. We continue from Hepu, the trail climbs towards the Shug La 3 ?hours away. One hour from Hepu we reach Ani Pagong, a narrow craggy bottleneck in the valley. A small nunnery used to be located above the trails. From Ani Pagong the trail steadily climbs for one hour through marshy meadows to Yama Do. Yama Do offers extensive campgrounds suitable for us and we will camp here as it is still a long walk across Shug La.

Day 06 Trek to Tsotup Chu Valley (4 to 5 hours)

One hour from our camp at Yama Do we leave the valley floor and ascend a shelf on the east (left) side of the valley to avoid a steep gully that forms around the stream. The Shug La (5250m) cannot be seen until we're virtually on top of it. It is marked by a large cairn covered in prayer flags and yak horns. We continue over the Shug La and descend sharply through a boulder field, losing a couple of hundred meters of elevation. The cairned rail gradually descends to reach the valley floor 1 ?hours from the pass. We cross the large stream, the Tsotup Chu, which flows through the valley. The pastures in the area support large herds of yaks, goats and sheep, and during the trekking season herders are often camped here. This is an ideal place for our camp and for us to meet the herders (drakpa in Tibetan).

Day 07 Trek to Herder's Camp (5 hours)

From Tsotup Chu, the main water course flows from the south-east and a minor tributary enters from the south-west. We start out following this tributary, which quickly disappears underground, steeply upwards for 30minutes until we reach a large basin and a broad. We follow this broad valley which son arcs south to the Chitu La. The pass can be seen in the distance, a rocky rampart at the head of the valley. As we approach the pass the trail switches to the east side of the valley. The terrain is not particularly difficult. The Chitu La (5100m) is topped by several cairns. Also on the summit is a small glacial cairns. We move to the west side of the pass to find the trail down and circumvent a sheer rock wall on its south flank. A short but steep descent will bring us into a basin with three small lakes. We drop down from the basin on the west side of the stream and we will hit the first place to set up camp in 30 minutes. Herders have carved out level places for their tents here. Below the herders' highest camp the valley is squeezed in by a vertical rock walls, forcing us to pick our way through the rock-strewn valley floor. We cross over to the west (right) side of the widening valley to recover the trail; soon we come to a flat and a seasonal herder's camp in the east side of the valley. At the lower end of the flat we return to the west side of the valley. Shortly, we reach another seasonal herders' camp inhabited for only a short time each year. A little further down camping places is now numerous and we camp here for the night.

Day 08 Trek to Wango (6 Hours)

From here the trail is now wide and easy to follow as it traces a course down the east side of the valley. We walk through the thickening scrub forest and we come to another stream entering from the east side of the main valley. The valley now bends to the right and the trail enters the thickest and tallest part of the scrub forest. The right combination of elevation, moisture, and aspect create a verdant environment while just a few kilometres away desert conditions prevail. The next two hours stretch of the trail is among the most beautiful of the entire trek. According to local woodcutters more than 15 types of trees and shrubs are found here, some growing 6 meters tall. Fragrant junipers grow on exposed southern slopes while rhododendron prefer the shadier slopes .The rhododendrons begin blooming in early May and by the end of the month the forest is ablaze with pink and white blossoms. The trail winds through a series of meadows. Further on forest rapidly thins and the first permanent village since Hepu pops up, Changtang. Named after the northern plains of Tibet, its inhabitants are predominantly engaged in animal husbandry just like their northern counterparts.

Look south to the distant mountains; this is the range on the far side of the Yarlung Tsangpo valley. Thirty-five minutes down the valley is the turn -off for the Yamalung Hermitage. It is nearly an one hour steep climb to the hermitage. Members of parties not interested in making the climb can wait near the bridge. Yamalung (also called Emalung) is where Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated and received empowerment from the long life deity Amitayus (Tibetan: Tsepame). Consisting of several small temples, a few monks live here. Below the temple complex are scared spring and an old relief carving in stone of Guru Rinpoche, King Trisong Detsen and Indian pundit Shantarakshita, all of whom lived in the 8th century. The cave Guru Rinpoche meditated in is enshrined by the Drup Pug Mara handprint of the saint said to have been created when he magically expanded the size of the cave.

In about one hours walk we come to the village of Nyango with its substantially built stone houses. A big tributary streams, entering from the north-west, joins the Samye valley here. The old trade route from Lhasa to Samye via the Gokar La follows this valley. In the lower half of Nyango are four small shops selling soda and cigarettes. We make camp on a meadow between Wango and Pisha, not much further down towards Samye.

Day 09 Trek to Samye (2 Hours), Drive to Tsetang

From the lower end of Pisha, a hill can be seen in the middle of the mouth of the Samye valley. This is Hepo Ri, one of Tibet's most sacred mountains. The entire lower Samye valley can be seen from Pisha; a tapestry of fields, wood and villages. Not far past Pisha a ridge spur called Dragmar meets the trail. On the summit is the partially rebuilt palace where King Trisong Desten is said to have been born. Formerly a lavish temple it now stands empty. Below, just off the road, is a small red and white temple enshrining the stump of an ancient tree. Legend has it that a red and white sandalwood tree grew here, nourished by the buried placenta of King Trisong. In the Cultural Revolution the tree was chopped down. Another short walk down the trail is Sangbu village from where there are good views of the golden spires of Samye. The route follows the jeep track directly to Samye along the margin of woods and desert. The closer we get to Samye the hotter the valley can become; in May and June it can even be fiery hot. If the heat gets too much we will flee to the stands of willows and poplars not far from the road .The gilt roofs gets ever brighter as we approach the monastery.

Samye Monastery is designed to represent the Buddhist universe and many of the buildings in the courtyard are cosmological symbols, we have plenty of time to take a look around before we get in the jeep and drive to Tsetang, the third largest city in central Tibet. In Tsetang we will check into our guest house and have a deserved shower?

Day 10 Explore the Yarlung Valley

Today we spend the day visiting the Yarlung valley, which is also know as the valley of tombs. Yarlung is considered the cradle of Tibetan civilisation. Creation myth locates the valley as the origin of the Tibetan people, and it was from Yarlung that the early Tibetan kings unified Tibet in the seventh century. We see the massive burial mounds of these kings in Chongye.

Yumbulakhang, is another major attraction of the area we see today, it is perched on a crag like a medieval European castle and is considered the oldest building in Tibet. After a full days exploring in the Yarlung valley we return to Tsetang for the night.

Day 11 Drive to Gyantse 340km and visit Kumbum Monastery. Night in Gyantse

Day 12 Drive to Xigatse visit Shalu Monastery on the way and visit Tashilungpo Monastery when reach Xigatse. overnight Shandong Masion in Xigatse

Day 13 Drive to Xegar

Day 14 Drive to Rombuk Monastery

Day 15 Trek up to Everest Base Camp then drive to Nyalam

Day 16 Drive to Kathmandu

 INCLUDED

Hotels on BB basis - tourist standard in Lhasa and where possible enroute, full board trek services supported by Tibetan crew, transportation, Tibetan guide, entry fees, travel permits.

EXCLUDED

lunch and evening meals during hotel stays, rescue and medical expenses, personal expenses, personal travel insurance, Flight to or from Lhasa(US520/round way, book through us only US480/p.p.) Visa, (please bring your China Visa before come to Kathmandu, China Visa your clients can get it in their own country Chinese Embassy, mentioning a trip to Beijing or Shanghai... but not Tibet, Normally they can get a one month Visa on their passport), expenses not mentioned above. if they have problem for getting visa in their own country then we can help them out in Kathmandu, but we need their originaly passports with 3 working days time. and we will charge US100/p.p. for this service.

Tibet Trekking & Tours

1.Tibet Overland Tour  - Tsedang, Lhasa, Gyantse out to Nepal

2.Xixapangma Base & Lhasa (May Sept)

3.Kailash Mansarovar - Mt. Kailash and Manasarovar Pilgrimage

4.Kanshung Face -Kharta to Everest Trek

5. Tibet Overland Trekking & Tours (Lhasa-Kathmandu)