9 Days Central Tibet Tour with Premium Cultural Destinations

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 their way to Lhasa.

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. And then we’ll go to explore the old market and you may have chance to see the traditional jewelry trading between people from different part of Tibet.

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.

Optional:
After finishing the sightseeing, if time allows, you may go with tour guide to visit Tibetan Handicraft Art Center or Tibetan Traditional Medicine Center. Besides, you can also choose to upgrade your tour to enjoy Tibetan Culture Show in the evening (fr. 60USD).

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.

You will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery and Kumbum Stupa. Here you can catch the far view of Gyantse Fortress. In the afternoon, take a car ride to Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. You can go to see Local Tibetan Market in Shigatse.

Stay overnight in Shigatse.

In the morning, we will visit the home of Panchan Lama - Tashilunpo Monastery. It is largest monastery of the Gelug Sect in Rear Tibet, and the main stage where generations of Panchen Lamas carried out religious and political activities. Then we’ll follow Yarlong Valley back to Lhasa and drop you off at hotel in Lhasa.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

The driver will take you to airport or train station.

Service end.