5-Day Tibet Tours
Five days gives you Lhasa and one day beyond it: the turquoise Yamdrok Lake, Namtso Lake on the northern grassland, Ganden Monastery on its ridge, or Samye and the Yarlung valley to the south.
Private · choose your routeChoose your 5-day journeyCompare all 5-day private Tibet tour options: 3 days in Lhasa, then one full day at Namtso Lake, Yamdrok Lake, or the ancient Shannan (Tsedang) valley.Price on requestSee this tour →
Private · your dates5 Days Lhasa & Namtso LakePrivate 5-day Tibet tour: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple & Sera Monastery in Lhasa, then a full-day drive to sacred Namtso Lake (4,718 m) on the Changthang.Price on requestSee this tour →
Private · your dates5 Days Lhasa & ShannanPrivate 5-day Tibet tour: 3 days in Lhasa, then a full day in the ancient Yarlung valley — Yumbulagang palace, Trandruk Temple, and Samye Monastery.Price on requestSee this tour →
Private · your dates5 Days Lhasa & Yamdrok LakePrivate 5-day Tibet tour: 3 days in Lhasa, then a full day at sacred Yamdrok Lake — Kamba La Pass viewpoint (4,794 m) with the panoramic turquoise lake below.Price on requestSee this tour →
Small group5 Days Lhasa & Yamdrok Lake Small Group TourFive days in Tibet: complete Lhasa sightseeing plus a full day at sacred Yamdrok Lake over Gampala Pass and Karola Glacier. Small group departures from $577.from $577 per personSee this tour →
Group or private5 Days Lhasa City Tour with Sacred Yamdroktso LakeFive days combining Lhasa's UNESCO heritage — Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Sera Monastery debates — with a full day at turquoise Yamdrok Lake.from $560 per personSee this tour →
Private · your dates5 Days Lhasa Leisure Hiking TourFive gentle days of hiking around Lhasa at altitude: monastery trails, Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and easy half-day walks to Pabonka Monastery.from $490 per personSee this tour →
Group or private5 Days Lhasa Tour with Ganden MonasteryFive days in Lhasa including the often-overlooked Ganden Monastery — the mother monastery of the Gelug school, sitting at 4,300m with sweeping valley views.from $589 per personSee this tour →
What you can see in 5 days
Five days gives you the four days of Lhasa plus one long day out of the city. The most popular choice is Yamdrok Lake, the turquoise lake below the Kamba La pass, about three hours south of Lhasa. Namtso Lake on the northern grassland is higher and wilder, at 4,718 m, and is usually done as a day trip back to Lhasa. Ganden Monastery on its ridge east of Lhasa, or Samye Monastery and the Yarlung valley to the south, are the quieter options.
The extra day comes after you have spent three nights in Lhasa, so your body has had time to adjust before you go higher.
A typical 5-day route
- Days 1–3 — Lhasa: rest, Jokhang and Barkhor, Potala Palace and Sera
- Day 4 — Day trip to Yamdrok Lake, Namtso, Ganden or Samye
- Day 5 — Departure
Who it suits
Travellers who want the sights of Lhasa and one taste of the countryside: a sacred lake, a mountain monastery or the old farming valleys. One day out is enough to see how different Tibet looks beyond the city, without the long drives of the western loop.
Good to know
Best months are April to June and September to October; in winter the road to Namtso can be closed by snow. Trips outside Lhasa need an extra permit besides the Tibet Travel Permit, and we arrange both.
None of these quite right?
Tell us your dates and what you want to see. We plan private trips of any length, from Lhasa.
We answer within 12 hours, Monday to Saturday.