Shanghai Lhasa Gyantse Shigatse Mt. Everest Tour

When you arrive at the airport in Shanghai, your tour guide and driver will greet you by holding your name sign at the exit, then drive you to the hotel. The rest of the day is yours to recover from the jet lag.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

Today, you are going to Tongli Water Town. We will set out from Shanghai to Tongli Town in the early morning, which takes about 1.5hrs. We will visit the Tuisi Garden first. Although the scale of Tuisi Garden is not large, it is extremely exquisite with an elegant main hall, winding corridors, chic gardens, and poetic architecture. Then Take a Wu Peng boat to glide in the river and cross ancient bridges. The ancient town seen in that way will have a different perspective and make the trip easy.

In the afternoon, you are driving 1hr to Suzhou to visit Humble Administrator Garden, also known as Zhuozheng Garden, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the Ming dynasty, the Humble Administrator Garden is the largest and most renowned classical landscape garden in Suzhou which contains lots of pools, meandering rock paths, little hills, old trees, and flowers. Such a beautiful place can make you feel away from the busy world. Taking a rickshaw ride in Suzhou is regarded as the best activity for tourists, Therefore, you can take a half-hour rickshaw ride in Suzhou. Finally, you will drive back to Shanghai.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

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Today, you are setting out to Lhasa. Your driver and tour guide will send you to the airport. Then you are taking a flight from Shanghai to Lhasa. It will take about 7-9 hours from Shanghai to Lhasa including a stopover in Xián.

Our staff will greet you at Lhasa Gonggar Airport to transfer you to the hotel. From Lhasa Airport to downtown Lhasa, it usually takes abt 1.5hrs. After transferring to the hotel, the rest of the day is yours and you can wander around the city on your own but try not to overtax yourself. The first day's well-rest is crucial to acclimatize the high altitude. Remember to drink lots of water, eat light, and not to shower if you can help it.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

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 1300 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

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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

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You will go to Shigatse from Lhasa via Gyantse today. Firstly, you can have a glimpse of Yamdroktso Lake at Gampala Pass (4790m), 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

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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

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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