10 Days Central Tibet Tour with Everest Base CampFrom $998Tour Code: EBT-04

When you arrive at Lhasa Gonggar Airport, your guide will greet you and drive to Tsedang (2 hrs driving). The rest time is for you to take a good rest and get acclimated to the altitude.

Tsedang is reputed as "the cradle of Tibetan Civilization"".In the morning, tourists will visit one of the oldest temples ,trandruk with a history of 1,300 years, which is the one tourists couldn’t afford to miss and drive to Samye monastery, the Tibet first Buddhist monastery, built in 8 century and the first monastery completed with the three Buddhist jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Today, lots of beautiful scenery will be seen on the way to Gyantse. Passing over the Gampala pass (4790 m),you will have a glimpse of Yamdrok-tso (4400m) .The Lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountain and in the distance you have spectacular views of Holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar, (7191m) the highest mountain near Lhasa . We head westward along the lake can see Karo Glacier and drive towards Gyantse. Gyantse was historically Tibet's third largest city (after Lhasa and Shigatse)

In the Morning, we drive towards Shigatse. In Shigatse, you will visit the famous Tashilhunpo monastery where you can see the well-preserved largest statue of Jampa (future Buddha) in the world. This monastery is the seat of Tibet's second highest incarnation, the Panchen Lama. In the afternoon we drive to the Sakya county where tourists can visit the famous Sakya monastery. It was founded in 1073 and was the principal monastery of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Sakya monastery consists of two parts, northern and southern monastery. The Northern monastery is only visible as a ruin while Southern monastery was built like a fortress, surrounded by a moat.

Today we will drive from Sakya to Rongpuk. As road is currently under construction, from Tingri to E.B.C, we have to drive on the rough road, pass the wild grassland, cross the torrent and high mountains. If the weather is clear, you can have a glimpse of 4 mountains which are 8000m high or even higher.  Enjoy your remaining time at Everest base camp.

In the morning, you can see the sunrise appearing on the top of Mt Everest, and have a full view the magnificent Mt. Everest standing like a snow-capped pyramid in front of you at Rongpuk, which is the vantage point for watching Mt. Everest. Tourists can also tour Rongphu Monastery which is the highest monastery in the world (5000m) and belongs to Nyingma sect. After that, drive back to Shigatse.

Today, we will back to Lhasa on the friendship Highway. The whole distance is almost 280km and it takes 6 hours along the Yarlung Tsangpo River / Bhamaputra River (the Longest and largest river in Tibet).

Today we will start off with the fantastic Potala Palace, which historically served as the winter home of the Dalai Lama. It was first used in the 7th century by the 33rd king of Tibet. The most valuable collections in the Potala Palace are the gilded burial stupas of the former Dalai Lamas and the meditation cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet.
After lunch, we will move on to the Jokhang Temple, which was also founded in the 7th century by the 33rd great king of Tibet to promote the Buddhist religion. Inside you can see the statue of the Buddha Sakyamuni as he was at the age of twelve – this is perhaps the most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism. Around the temple is Barkhor Street where you can perform the “Kora” (a religious circuit around a sacred building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals. The Barkhor market is also a great place to pick up locally made handicrafts and souvenirs.

This morning we will visit the Drepung Monastery – one of the great three Gelug monasteries of Tibet. Founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choge, on Tosngkhapa’s main disciples, the Drepung Monastery is home of Ganden Palace, which formerly served as the Dalai Lama’s palace before later moving on to the Potala Palace.
In the afternoon we will move on to see another of the great three of the Gelug monasteries in Tibet – the Sera Monastery. Founded in 1419 by another main disciple of Tsongkhapa, Jamchen Chojey, the main attraction of this monastery is the lively scene of the monks debating Buddhist scriptures in the courtyard behind the monastery in the afternoon.

Your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel to escort you on to the Lhasa airport or train station and help you make sure that you find the right place to board your flight or train for your departure from Lhasa.