18 Days Tibet and Nepal Culture and Nature Tour

When you arrive in Lhasa, your tour guide will hold a board with your name on it at the exit to welcome you. A private car will take you to the reserved hotel. You may view the Yarlung Tsangpo River/Bhamaputra River (the longest and largest river in Tibet) and Lhasa River on the way from airport to Lhasa. Then, you can take a good rest at hotel to acclimatize to Tibetan plateau environment.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today, you’ll pay a visit to the famous Potala Palace, the world culture heritage. You can explore its audience halls, the jeweled and golden burial chortens (stupa tombs) of past Dalai Lamas, and tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, thangkas, combinations of mandala, etc.

Then tourists will head to the holiest temple in Tibet, the Jokhang Temple, built during Songtsen Ganpo's reign by Princess Wencheng of Tang dynasty, 647 A.D. Here you can observe sincere pilgrims making prostration in front of Jokhang Temple. While entering inside the temple, you can see the holiest statue of Buddha. Around the monastery is the famous Barkhor Street, where you can do the kora with pilgrims and locals.

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, was founded by Jamyang Choeje in 1416. Situated at the foot of Gebeiwoze Mountain, it was once home to more than 10,000 monks. Here you can see the biggest monastery kitchen inside and then pay a visit to the Buddhist Sculpture Carving Workshop near Drepung.

After having lunch, you’ll continue to visit the Sera Monastery, which was founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa's disciple Jamchen Choeje. The most interesting thing is to see monks debating in the courtyard at around 3-5 pm in the afternoon. Besides, you can also see the colorful Rock Painting of Buddha and the three sand Mandalas and then visit the Tibetan religious text printing house.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today, we will drive to Tsedang to visit Samye Monastery. Built in 8 century, it is the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Then we drive to Tsedang, the capital of Shannan Prefecture, located in Yarlung Valley.

Stay overnight in Tsedang.

Today, we will enjoy a full day tour in Tsedang, the cradle of Tibetan civilization. After breakfast, we will first visit Yungbulakang Palace, which is the first Palace in Tibet. Since the palace is situated at the top of a hill, you can reach the palace either by walking or a horse ride.

Then, we will visit Tradruk Temple, one of the earliest Buddhist temples in Tibet, to appreciate the valuable Thangka painting that makes of precious pearls.

Stay overnight in Tsedang.

Today, we will drive to Gyantse. On the way, we’ll drive over the Gampala Pass (4,790m) to view Yamdrok Lake and Mt. Nyenchen Khangsar. Besides, you can also appreciate Korola Glacier on the roadside. At Manak Dam Lake, tourists can hang prayer flags at Simila Mountain Pass. Then we’ll go to the heritage town Gyantse, historically Tibet's third largest city after Lhasa and Shigatse.

Stay overnight in Gyantse.

In the Morning, take the car ride to Shigatse. There, you will visit the famous Tashi Lhunpo Monastery where you can worship the well-preserved largest statue of Jampa (Future Buddha) in the world. As the largest monastery of the Gelug Sect in Rear Tibet, Tashilunpo Monastery is the seat of Tibet's second highest incarnation, the Panchen Lama.

After lunch, you will head to Sakya County to visit the famous Sakya Monastery. Founded in 1073, Sakya Monastery was the principal monastery of the Sakya Sect of Tibetan Buddhism and has an invaluable collection of sacred Buddhist scripts.

Stay overnight in Sakya.

You will cross Tsola Pass (4600m), Gyatsola Pass (5,248m) and Gawula Pass (5180m) on the way to EBC. At Gawula Pass, you can view the top 4 highest peaks in the world, namely, Mt. Everest (8844m), Cho Oyo (8201m), Lhotse (8516m), and Makalu (8463m).

Continue to traverse along the new zigzag road to Everest Base Camp and get closer to Mt. Everest peak. You are lucky enough to catch the sunset of golden Everest peak if time and weather permits at the lodging area.

Tips: Our Tibetan guide will pay close attention to your response to altitude ascent and provide timely help when needed. 

Stay overnight at tent or Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse.

Today, you will take the car ride to Gyirong. You can appreciate the beautiful scene of Himalaya and Gangdise Mountain Range along the way.

Stay overnight in Gyirong Town.

Today, our Tibetan guide will drop you off at Gyirong Port, after passing China Customs and walking across the 50-meter-long border bridge, you need to check in Nepal side and get the Nepal Visa upon arrival with 30 USD and one passport-sized photo. Our Nepali guide will wait for you and drop you off at your hotel in Kathmandu.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu.

You will also get to go further afield in Nepal, to visit the ancient Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, and Boudhanath. Set on the banks of the Baghmati River, Pashupatinath is one of Nepal’s famous UNESCO sites, and the sunset over the temple roofs is spectacular. Boudhanath, located on the ancient trade route, is a place of meditation and part of the spiritual journey around Kathmandu. With one of the largest stupas in the world, it has been the site of many Tibetan prayers over the centuries. 

You then continue the tour with a visit to the Swayambhunath Pagoda, which is one of the oldest Buddhist sites in Nepal. Swayambhunath is a huge golden stupa festooned with prayer flags that flutter in the breeze, on a hill that overlooks the entire city.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu.

After breakfast, take the car ride to Chitwan early in the morning. On the way, you can appreciate the overwhelming view of rocky hills along the Trishuli River, pass through Kurintar (cable car station to Manakamana Temple), Muglin Bazaar before reaching Narayangadh.

After lunch, you will explore Sauraha and the surrounding of Chitwan, and watch Tharu- Cultural Dance in Tharu Village.

Stay overnight in Chitwan.

After breakfast, we proceed to enjoy jungle activities, including Elephant Safari to see one horned Rhino and many more dangers and endangers animals and birds. If you are lucky enough, you will see many amazing creatures such as royal Bengal tigers, leopards, monkeys, many types of deer and reptiles. Make sure you bring the right camera gears, preferably with a telephoto lens and you will not miss any shots.

Stay overnight in Chitwan.

It takes about 4 hours to drive from Chitwan to Lumbini. There you will visit the Mayadevi temple which is believed to be the exact site of the birth of the Buddha. Then, you move to Ashoka's Pillar erected by Emperor Ashoka (249 BC) on the spot of Buddha's birth which also has the oldest inscription in Nepal. Next, you can explore Shanti Deep (Peace Flame), Lumbini Museum, and various Buddhist Temples founded by the devotees from different countries: they include Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese and Burmese, Korean, etc.

You can pray in the Temples, appreciate the architecture of the temples, and explore the surrounding of Lumbini Village and preserved area.

Stay overnight in Bhairahawa.

Today, you will visit Tilaurakot, the homeland of Siddhartha and the holy place for all the Buddhists. After the sightseeing in Tilaurakot, you will travel to Pokhara via Butwal, Palpa, and Syangja. On the way, you can appreciate the scenic landscape along the Siddhartha Highway.

Stay overnight in Pokhara.

Today, you will go for hiking to Sarangkot Hill. You can have fantastic view of the city and experience paragliding in Sarangkot.

Then, you go back to Pokhara and explore Mahendra Cave, Mahadev Cave, Chamere Cave, Davis Falls, Gorge of Seti River, and other sites during the day.

Stay overnight in Pokhara.

You will stop over Damauli to explore the bazaar on the way from Pokhara to Kathmandu. You will arrive at hotel in Kathmandu in the afternoon. Then you can have a rest in the hotel or walk around if you like.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu.

Your guide will pick you up from your hotel in a private car, take you to Tribhuvan Airport, and help you with your luggage and checking in for your flight from Nepal.