Chongqing Wulong Lhasa EBC Tour

The tour guide will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. If time permits, you can visit Ciqikou Ancient Town, which showcases bluestone streets, ancient architecture, and local snacks along the Jialing River, offering a glimpse into traditional Bayu culture. In the evening, you can go to Hongya Cave, with its stilt houses and neon lights, which provide stunning river views and a lively atmosphere, with restaurants and shops blending ancient and modern charm.

Stay overnight in Chongqing

After breakfast, you'll drive about 2.5 hours to Wulong Karst Geological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its canyon Karst landscapes. First, visit the Three Natural Bridges Scenic Area, home to the world’s largest natural bridge group, famous for its stunning Karst formations, featured in Transformers 4. Next, explore Longshui Gorge, a 5-km canyon with towering cliffs and clear waters, creating a picturesque natural scene. After dinner, enjoy the Impression Wulong Show, a live performance showcasing the history and culture of the Ba-Yu region.

Stay overnight in Wulong

In the morning, visit Fairy Mountain National Forest Park, named after a peak resembling a dancing fairy. At an average altitude of 1800m with over 90% forest coverage, it’s a popular summer retreat. Its alpine meadows, dense forests, and mesmerizing sea of clouds attract countless nature lovers.

In the afternoon, explore Furong Cave, one of the world’s top three caves and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Formed over 1.2 million years ago, this limestone cave is known for its stunning stalactites, stalagmites, and rock formations — true masterpieces of nature.

Stay overnight in Chongqing

We will pick you up from your hotel in Chongqing and then take you to the airport. Your flight will land in Lhasa in 3 hours. You may feel a few symptoms of altitude sickness, like headache, inability to exercise, fatigue, loss of appetite, etc., a few hours after you arrive in Lhasa. Take it easy. It’s normal as you suddenly get to a high-altitude place from a plain. Most travelers will recover in 2 days.

After resting one night, today you will recover sufficiently to launch your Lhasa city tour, with close contact with Lhasa, which is the political, economic, cultural, communication and tourism center of Tibet with a history of over 1,300 years.

At first, you will go to the Potala Palace, which is the symbolic place of Lhasa and also the winter palace of the Dalai Lama. It was built by the 33rd great king of Tibet - Songtsen Gangpo in the 7th century. The gilded burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and the meditation Cave of the 33rd great king are the most worth seeing in Potala Palace.

After lunch, you are going to Jokhang Temple, which was founded at the same time and by the same king as Potala Palace. From the outside, you can see many pilgrims prostrating in front of the temple. The most precious treasure of this temple is the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of 12.

Barkhor Street is the next destination that women love a lot. Because it’s a famous busy walking street where they can go shopping. There are many distinctive shops and stalls that sell different Tibetan stuff, like handicrafts, Thangka, and so on. Except for shopping, tourists can also join the Kora with pilgrims and locals, to explore Tibetan religious culture more deeply.

Optional:

You can go to visit the Tibetan handicraft art or Tibetan Traditional Medicine center if time is enough. You can also watch the Tibetan Culture Show in the evening for USD60 per person at your own expense.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

In the morning, you are heading to Drak Yerpa, the most famous meditation retreat near Lhasa. It's a monastery embedded in the cliff wall. Drak Yerpa is described as the "life tree" or spiritual axis of Lhasa. The site had strong spiritual power, having been visited by almost all great Tibetan masters. You can feel the power of the meditation caves here.

In the afternoon, you will pay a visit to Sera Monastery, which is one of the "great three" Gelug monasteries of Tibet. Monks debate from 3 pm to 5 pm. If the debate is not your type, you can also enjoy the three sand Mandalas and colorful rock paintings of Buddha. The sight here is splendid because you can see wild roses around. That's why people also call it "the Court of Wild Rose."

Stay overnight in Lhasa

You will go to Shigatse from Lhasa via Gyantse today. Firstly, you can have a glimpse of Yamdroktso Lake at Gampala Pass (4,790m), from there you will be amazed by the breathtaking view of the holy Yamdrok Lake with its turquoise color and snow-capped mount Nyenchen Khangsar in the distance.

Then you will see the Korala Glacier when we pass it on the roadside. After that, we will arrive in Gyantse. Here we'll visit Palkhor Chode monastery. This magnificent multi-door structure is the largest stupa in Tibet, not only well known for its architecture but also for its old sculptures and paintings all around its inner walls.

Stay overnight in Shigatse

Before driving to Lhatse to have lunch, you will visit the famous Tashilhunpo Monastery, the home of Panchen Lama.

After passing Tsola Pass (4,600m) and Gyatsola Pass (5,248m), you will enter the National Nature Reserve of Mt. Everest, with countless prayer flags flying in the wind. Then you will keep ascending to Gawula Pass (5,198m), where you can enjoy the panorama of the Himalayas.

And then you will go directly to Everest Base Camp (5,200m). You can see the amazing sunset of the Golden Everest Peak at the lodging area if the weather is good.

Stay overnight at a tent camp / Guesthouse

The great Sunrise of Everest Peak is far out of your imagination. Enjoy the peaceful and wonderful morning you’ve never had. After that, we will go to the Rongbuk Monastery, which is the highest monastery in the world. Then we may trek to EBC from the lodging area. You can have a good look at Mt. Everest from EBC and take clear photos of it. In the end, we will start to return to Shigatse.

Stay overnight in Shigatse

We will visit the last attraction of this itinerary today - Yungdrungling Monastery, a typical Bon religion monastery in Tibet. The monks here are very friendly to visitors. Some of them can even speak English. If you are lucky to meet the key holder, he can show you the large Dukhang (the assembly hall). Inside the house, there are the impressive thrones of the monastery's two resident Shiromo along the walls-look for the deity's characteristic swastika mace. There are also a couple of more behind the main hall that you can pay a visit to. Those chapels include the Namjya Lhakhang. Keep in mind that you should visit those chapels in an anticlockwise direction. And then, the driver will take you to your hotel in Lhasa.

Stay overnight in Lhasa