Lhasa Nyingtri Tsetang Tour

This is the first day in Tibet. Your guide will greet you at Lhasa Gonggar Airport/Railway Station and transfer you to your hotel. It usually takes around 1 hour to drive from Lhasa Airport to downtown Lhasa and takes about 20 minutes from Lhasa Railway Station. Tourists could have a look at the Yarlung Tsangpo River, the largest and longest river in Tibet on their way to the hotel. After check-in, you can have a good rest first. And if you feel like going out, you can wander around the city. But just remember that don't take too much stuff, try to go with a light pack. Meanwhile, drink some more water, and do not move strenuously. It’s really useful to get acclimatized to the high altitude.

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In the morning our guide will meet you at the hotel and first take you to visit the famous Potala Palace, the cardinal landmark of Tibet and the masterpiece of Tibetan architecture. It was first built by the 33rd King - Songtsen Gangpo in the 7th century and rebuilt later by the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century. Now it's a museum and world heritage site. 

In the afternoon, we will go to visit Jokhang Temple in the center of the Lhasa old town. Jokhang Temple is the most sacred temple in Tibet and it is always bustling with earnest local pilgrims since the early days. After that, you will take a walk around the Barkhor Street - one of the most devotional circuits as well as a crowded central market of Lhasa. Barkhor Street is a very ancient round street surrounding the Jokhang Temple and the locals are always proud of it. As a symbol of Lhasa, it‘s also a must-see place for visitors.

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In the morning, we will visit Norbulingka, which is a typical Tibetan-style royal garden, the summer resort of the Dalai Lama. There are a lot of towering trees, exotic flowers and plants in the garden, as well as many collections of cultural relics, Buddha statues, pagodas, thangkas, murals, etc. They are all very precious treasures.

In the afternoon, you are heading to Drepung Monastery, which means Monastery of Rice Heap in the Tibetan language. The entire monastery is large in scale and the white buildings cluster and cover the hillsides. Drepung monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery, also the highest-ranking monastery in the Gelug Sect.

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Today we will depart from Lhasa via the G318 national highway, then enter the Lhasa-Nyingchi Expressway and proceed along a canyon. We will visit the national forest park, 5A scenic spot Draksumtso Lake, which means "green water" in Tibetan. The lake is surrounded by snow-capped mountains, and there are Tibetan-style temples on the islands in the lake. It is a famous sacred lake and holy place of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

After visiting Draksumtso, continue to Bayi Town (Nyingchi), at an altitude of only 2,500 meters. You can enjoy the Southern Niyang River Valley along the way.

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Lulang means “Loong King Valley” in the Tibetan language, or “a place that will make you forget your home”. It is located about 80km from Nyingchi.

In the afternoon, we will drive 2km from Lulang to Tashigang Village, which a gorgeous tiny rural village at the foot of Lulang forest. Here the cattle and sheep graze freely and walk by you calmly. Some people say that this is probably China's Switzerland!

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After breakfast, we will start from Tashigang village to Tsetang, known as the "Birthplace of Tibetan Culture", All the way, the beautiful scenery on both sides of the Niyang River is accompanied. The distance is over 600 kilometers and the estimated travel time is 8 hours or so.

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Visit the major sights of Yarlung Valley in Tsetang today, which is considered the cradle of Tibetan civilization. We will go to Trandruk Monastery in the early morning. It's also one of the earliest Monasteries in Tibet. The Pearl Thangka is the highlight of this visit. Then we will head to Yumbulagang Palace, which was the first palace in Tibetan history. The scale of the temple is small, but it's very spectacular as it's towering over the hill and condescending on the top.

It was from the Yarlung River Valley that the early Tibetan kings unified Tibet in the 7th century and the massive Tibetan King Burial Mounds still dominate the area around Chongye. 

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After breakfast, we’ll drive back to Lhasa. On the way, we’ll go to visit the Samye Monastery which is located abt 30km from Tsetang. It is the first temple to be built in Tibet and the first complete with the three Buddhist jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. With these unique features, this splendid temple has become an attraction for visitors from near and far. The best shooting location for Samye Monastery is on the Haiburi Holy Mountain that is ahead of Samye Township. Or you also can choose to take pictures at a pagoda of the hillside if your energy is limited.

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