10 Days Panda & Qinghai Tibet Railway Tour

Chengdu Giant Panda Base → Sichuan Opera & Face-Changing → Xining → Qinghai Lake → Bird Island → Ta'er Monastery → Qinghai-Tibet Railway → Lhasa → Yamdrok Lake

1. Day1

   Arrive Chengdu

   Meals NoneOvernight Chengdu hotel

   Arrive in Chengdu and transfer to your hotel. Evening walk through the vibrant Jinli Street — an ancient street lined with Sichuan snacks, teahouses and traditional handicraft shops.

2. Day2

   Chengdu — Giant Panda Breeding Base, Wenshu Temple, Renmin Park, Jinli Street

   Meals BreakfastOvernight Chengdu hotel

   Early morning visit to the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base — the world’s leading panda conservation centre. Watch the pandas at their most active in the morning. Afternoon at the ancient Wenshu Temple, the beautiful Renmin Park teahouse and colourful Jinli Street.

3. Day3

   Chengdu — Flight to Xining — Dufu Thatched Cottage

   Meals BreakfastOvernight Xining hotel

   Morning visit to Dufu Thatched Cottage — the former home of the great Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu. Fly to Xining in the afternoon. In the evening, enjoy a traditional Sichuan Opera performance featuring the legendary face-changing art.

4. Day4

   Xining — Qinghai Lake — Riyue Mountains — Bird Island

   Meals BreakfastOvernight Xining hotel

   Drive to the vast Qinghai Lake (3,200m) — China’s largest inland saltwater lake. Visit the beautiful Riyue Mountain (Sun Moon Mountain) — the ancient gateway to Tibet. Continue to Bird Island, famous for vast colonies of migratory birds in season.

5. Day5

   Xining — Ta'er Monastery — Board Train to Lhasa

   Meals Breakfast

   Morning visit to the magnificent Ta’er Monastery (Kumbum), one of the six great Gelug monasteries renowned for its intricate yak-butter sculptures and Tibetan wall paintings. In the evening, board the overnight train to Lhasa on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

6. Day6

   Arrive Lhasa — Rest and Acclimatize

   Meals NoneOvernight Lhasa hotel

   The train crosses the Tanggula Pass (5,072m) in the early hours. Arrive in Lhasa in the morning. Your guide meets you at the station. Rest and acclimatize to the altitude for the remainder of the day.

7. Day7

   Lhasa — Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street

   Meals BreakfastOvernight Lhasa hotel

   Explore the world-famous Potala Palace with its panoramic views of Lhasa. Visit the sacred Jokhang Temple and stroll through the Barkhor Street pilgrim market.

8. Day8

   Lhasa — Norbulingka Palace, Tibet Museum, Sera Monastery

   Meals BreakfastOvernight Lhasa hotel

   Begin at Norbulingka — the former summer palace of the Dalai Lamas and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its beautifully landscaped gardens, ornate pavilions, and the extraordinary upper-floor murals of the New Summer Palace, depicting the entire history of humanity in vivid Tibetan style. Continue to the adjacent Tibet Museum for an hour of richly curated exhibits on Tibetan history and traditional arts. Arrive at Sera Monastery before 15:00 for the captivating afternoon monk debating session — one of the most authentic cultural experiences available anywhere in Tibet.

9. Day9

   Lhasa — Yamdrok Lake, Karola Glacier, Gyantse

   Meals BreakfastOvernight Lhasa hotel

   Drive west from Lhasa over Kampala Pass (4,797m) for the first breathtaking panorama of Yamdrok Lake — one of Tibet’s three sacred lakes, its vivid turquoise waters stretching between mountain ridges beneath an open plateau sky. This southern Tibet landscape — green farmland, traditional villages, willow-lined valleys — is completely different from the northern plateau scenery experienced through the train window on arrival. Continue past Karola Glacier, an imposing wall of ancient ice descending from Nojin Kangtsang peak, and on to Gyantse and the Kumbum Pagoda — a unique four-storey structure housing over seventy individually decorated chapels. Return to Lhasa in the late afternoon.

10. Day10

    Lhasa Departure

    Meals Breakfast

    Free morning for final sightseeing or shopping. Transfer to Lhasa airport or train station for departure.

    Meals: Breakfast Tibet Permit — Required for All Visitors Every visitor to Tibet must hold a Tibet Tourism Bureau (TTB) permit. It is mandatory, cannot be obtained on arrival, and differs by nationality. We handle the full application once you book — please allow at least 15 days before your departure date.