16 Days Tibet Kailash Xinjiang Land Trip

Upon your arrival at Lhasa Gonggar Airport or Lhasa Railway Station, you will be greeted by our guide and escorted to hotel in Lhasa downtown. Then, you can take a good rest in hotel to acclimatize to the high altitude.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today, you will visit the famous Potala Palace to watch the grandest chapels of its kind, the jeweled burial chorten of past Dalai Lamas, statuary, frescoes, and paintings. Then you will visit Jokhang Temple, the holiest temple in Tibet worshipped by numerous pilgrims all over Tibet. You can see the stature of Sakyamuni at the age of 12 in the temple. Afterward, you can visit Barkhor Street, the biggest bazaar in Lhasa where a variety of Tibetan handicrafts, ambers, jewelry, and costume can be found. The stroll around Barkhor is the well-known pilgrimage circuit circumambulating Jokhang Temple.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today, you will visit two important monasteries in Lhasa, the Drepung and the Sera. Drepung Monastery, the largest monastery in Tibet which used to be home to more than 10,000 monks, was founded by Jamyang Choeje in 1416. Situated at the foot of Gebeiwoze Mountain, it is divided into two different colleges, Drepung Loselling and Drepung Gomang College.

After having lunch, you’ll continue to visit the Sera Monastery, which was founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa's disciple Jamchen Choeje. The monastery includes Sere “jhe” and Sera “may”, but all monks assemble at “Tsokhang chenmo” and pray together there. The highlight of Sera is the monks debate in the courtyard in the afternoon. Besides, you can also try Drepung and Sera Monastery kora if you don’t feel tired.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today, we will drive from Lhasa to Shigatse via Gyantse. On the way, you will cross over the Gampala Pass (4,700m) and have far view of Yamdrok Lake glimmering in fabulous shade of turquoise. Later, you can admire Korola Glacier on the roadside. When in Gyantse, you can visit Pelkor Monastery and the 35 meters high Kumbum Stupa with its white layers trimmed with decorative stripes and its crown-like golden dome. At last, you’ll arrive at Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet.

Stay overnight in Shigatse.

Drive along the asphalt road from Shigatse to Saga.

Stay overnight in Saga.

You will pass by Drongpa County, a region around the source of Brahmaputra River about 167km from Saga, and you can see guesthouses, restaurants, and Old Drongpa Monastery along the way. Then you will pass by New Drongpa and Paryang before reaching Lake Manasarovar.

Camp.

You can walk around the lake and appreciate the snow-capped mountains on the background. You can also see Tibetans and Hindus praying and circling around the lakeshore. In summer, flocks of birds gather on the lake, making this holy place more lively than usual.

Stay overnight in Darchen.

The outer circuit of Mt. Kailash Kora is about 52km. It starts and ends in Darchen with the highest point at Dolmala Pass on the second trek day. A few kilometers from Darchen, you will arrive at Sarshung Valley to meet porters, yaks, and horses. After 2 hours, you can come across a grassy plain populated by nomads and have sweet tea there. Trek for another 2 hours or more to reach Drirapuk (4920m). You can camp or rest in the monastery's guest house made from cement with better facilities than others in Drirapuk.

Camp or stay overnight in guesthouse.

Today is the most challenging day of the Mt. Kailash Kora because you need to climb over Dolmala Pass (5630m), which is about 6.4km away but 762m higher than Drirapuk. After taking a rest on the peak of Dolmala Pass, you will trek about 1.5 hours to Lhachu Valley via staircase. Then trek about 4 hours to today's final destination Dzultripuk (miracle cave of Milarepa). You are advised to start the trek early so as to arrive at Dzultripuk earlier because this is the only lodging area with limited rooms.

Camp or stay overnight in guesthouse.

After visiting the caves, temple and shrines built around Milarepa’s cave with tour guide, you will trek for about 3 hours to the exit of the valley, and take a car ride to Darchen.

Stay overnight in Darchen.

Today, you will enter Stujey Valley and arrive at Zanda County to visit Guge Kingdom and Tholing Monastery. Zanda County is the current name for the region of Guge Kingdom, and the county's capital is Tholing. Tholing Monastery, the oldest monastery in the Nagri Prefecture, was founded by Richen Zangpo in the 10th century. It was also the main religious center of Guge Kingdom after inviting the great Indian master ATISHA.

Stay overnight in Zanda.

Today you will traverse among the vast Ngari Prefecture to Pangongtso Lake. You can appreciate the mysterious view of Pangongtso Lake, one part of which is inside Tibet while the other part is in Indian Territory.

Camp by the lakeshore.

The road condition to Domar is bad and becomes worse after passing it. After passing Tialongtan-la Pass which is more than 5000 meters above sea level, it still takes 7-8 hours to get to Dahongliutan.

Stay overnight in Dahongliutan.

The driving time of this section depends on the road and weather conditions. On the way, you will enjoy the awe-inspiring Kunlun Mountain Ranges on the right side and the Karakorum Mountain Ranges on the left side. After passing by Mazar and Chiragsaldi Pass, you will arrive in Yecheng. Situated at the edge of the Taklamakan, Yecheng is a city with a pretty Bazaar inhabited by Uigur and Han Chinese.

Stay overnight in Yecheng.

Kashgar is the largest oasis of China. Driving along the smooth asphalt road, you can admire the characteristic landscape of Taklamakan Desert composed of grey-black rocks and sand dunes. If you arrive in Kashgar on Sunday, you can experience its famous Sunday Market, one of the largest weekly markets in Asia. You can see full-load donkey trucks carrying vegetable, fruits vendors, children and women in the market.

End tour in Kashgar.