Private tour — on your dates
13 Days Mt. Kailash Pilgrimage + Guge Kingdom & Zanda Earth Forest
13 Days $1,300 per person Overview Itinerary Tips & FAQ Lhasa Potala Palace Shigatse Lake Manasarovar Mt. Kailash Kora Dolma La Pass (5,630m) Guge Kingdom The standard 11-day Kailash pilgrimage ends at Darchen, where most…
- 13 Days / 12 Nights
- Lhasa → Potala Palace → Shigatse → Lake Manasarovar → Mt. Kailash Kora → Dolma La Pass (5,630m) → Guge Kingdom
- Challenging pace
- Best: May to mid-October (the Kora is snowed in through winter)
- No Deposit — Ever
- Cancel Free Before Permit Issued
- Full Refund except $100 Permit Fee
- Bring 7, Your Spot Is Free
- Our Own Office in Lhasa, Since 1999
The trip at a glance
The Guge Kingdom was once a powerful Tibetan empire. Founded in the 10th century after the collapse of the greater Tibetan Empire, it grew into a major centre of Buddhist scholarship and art, with a capital city of tens of thousands of rooms carved directly into a dramatic clay hill above the Sutlej River valley in Zanda County. At its peak it housed over one hundred thousand subjects and maintained diplomatic relations with India and Kashmir. Then, in the 17th century, the kingdom vanished. The historical accounts speak of a Ladakhi invasion and a siege, but the full story remains contested — what survives is the ruin itself, perched on its clay promontory with its murals still faintly visible on the interior walls, its chambers open to the sky, and almost no other tourists in sight. For travellers who care about history, it is one of the most extraordinary places in Asia.
The Zanda Earth Forest surrounding the ruins adds another dimension entirely. Millions of years of geological layering in an ancient lake bed, now eroded by wind and water into bizarre canyon formations — spires, mesas and ravines in shades of ochre and gold — stretch for hundreds of square kilometres around the ruins. Sunset here, with the clay columns catching the last light of the day, is one of those images that lasts a lifetime.
After the Kailash Kora and Guge, the route returns east to Lhasa over two comfortable driving days. The best seasons are from May through at most end of September. All travel permits concerning this kind of tour are arranged by our team — all you need is a valid Chinese visa if you are not from China visa exempt countries.
- Lhasa → Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street
- Lhasa → Sera, Drepung Monasteries
- Lhasa → Yamdrok Lake → Shigatse via Gyantse
- Shigatse → Paryang
- Paryang → Lake Manasarovar → Darchen
- Kailash Kora Day 1 → Darchen to Driapuk (4,920m)
Day by day
Lhasa → Potala Palace → Shigatse → Lake Manasarovar → Mt. Kailash Kora → Dolma La Pass (5,630m) → Guge Kingdom
Day1
Arrive Lhasa
Airport pick-up and acclimatization rest.
Day2
Lhasa — Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street
Explore Lhasa’s iconic spiritual landmarks.
Day3
Lhasa — Sera, Drepung Monasteries
Visit Drepung and Sera Monasteries; watch the afternoon monk debates.
Day4
Lhasa — Yamdrok Lake — Shigatse via Gyantse
Drive to Shigatse via Yamdrok Lake, Karola Glacier and Gyantse Kumbum. Visit Tashilunpo Monastery.
Day5
Shigatse — Paryang
Drive west along the Friendship Highway through vast plateau scenery to Paryang.
Day6
Paryang — Lake Manasarovar — Darchen
Drive to the sacred Lake Manasarovar. Circumambulate part of the lake and reach Darchen, gateway to the Kailash Kora.
Day7
Kailash Kora Day 1 — Darchen to Driapuk (4,920m)
Begin the sacred 52km kora around Mt. Kailash, trekking through Sarshung valley to Driapuk.
Day8
Kailash Kora Day 2 — Dolma La Pass (5,630m) to Dzultripuk
Summit the Dolma La — the highest and most sacred point of the Kora — and descend to Dzultripuk.
Day9
Kailash Kora Day 3 — Darchen Complete; Drive to Zanda
Finish the Kora and drive to Zanda for the Guge Kingdom ruins.
Day10
Guge Kingdom — Zanda Earth Forest — Tholing Monastery
The Guge Kingdom was founded in the 10th century after the collapse of the Tibetan Empire — a royal prince fled west to Ngari and built a new Buddhist domain. For six centuries it flourished as a centre of scholarship and art, its capital city carved into a dramatic clay hill above the Sutlej River. Then in the 17th century it collapsed — a Ladakhi siege, disputed internal events, and four hundred years of silence. What survives is extraordinary and almost entirely unvisited: chambers and chapels cut into the crumbling cliff face, 15th-century murals of Buddha figures and deities still faintly visible on interior walls, and the eerie quiet of an abandoned civilisation.
Tholing Monastery nearby is one of the oldest standing Buddhist sites in Tibet, preserving remarkable ancient artwork intact. The surrounding Zanda Earth Forest — ancient lake sediment sculpted over millions of years into spires, mesas and ochre-gold canyon formations stretching hundreds of kilometres — is one of the most surreal geological landscapes in Asia. Sunset on the Earth Forest, with the clay columns catching the last light, is a scene that stays with most visitors permanently.
Day11
Zanda — Lhatse
Long drive east back across the plateau to Lhatse.
Day12
Lhatse — Shigatse — Lhasa
Continue driving east to Shigatse then on to Lhasa by tourist bus or train.
Day13
Lhasa Departure
Transfer to airport or train station. End of tour.
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.
Common Questions Why is the Guge Kingdom worth two extra days after completing the Kailash Kora? How far is the Guge Kingdom from Darchen after completing the Kora? Can visitors enter the interior of the Guge Kingdom ruins? Is the Zanda Earth Forest a separate attraction from the ruins? Does this 13-day tour include the full Kailash Kora trekking? Yes — the complete three-day, 52-kilometre Kailash Kora is fully included: Day 7 from Darchen to Driapuk (4,920m), Day 8 over the Dolma La pass (5,630m) to Dzultripuk, and Day 9 the final 10km back to Darchen. The Guge Kingdom is added after the Kora is complete. For full detail on what the Kailash Kora involves physically — altitude, daily distances, difficulty — please see the mkt-04 tour page which covers the Kora experience in depth.
What is included
Included
- Tibet Entry Permit and Alien’s Travel Permit
- Special Restricted Area Permit for the Mt. Kailash region
- All entrance fees for tourist sites listed in the itinerary
- Professional English-speaking local tour guide
- Private vehicle with experienced driver
- All accommodation listed in the itinerary
- Shared oxygen tank in the vehicle
- Tourist accident/casualty insurance and first aid kit
Not included
- Single room supplement — free of charge for any group booking 5 rooms or travelling with 10 or more.
- Flights or trains to/from Tibet
- Meals not specified in the itinerary (approximately USD 3–15 per meal)
- Yak/porter hire during the Kailash Kora (optional, arranged locally)
- Tips for tour guide and driver
- Personal expenses (laundry, snacks, optional activities)
Photos from this route
Questions travellers ask
Why is the Guge Kingdom worth two extra days after completing the Kailash Kora?
Most travellers who reach Kailash turn east and retrace the same Friendship Highway home. The Guge Kingdom is just a few hours south-west of Darchen — a short drive that opens an entirely different chapter of Tibetan history. The ruins are extraordinary precisely because so few visitors make the effort: the site receives a fraction of the tourist traffic of Potala Palace or Jokhang, and walking through 15th-century murals in near-complete solitude is unlike anything else on the plateau.
For travellers who have already made the effort to reach western Tibet, adding two days to see one of its most remarkable historical sites is a decision almost nobody regrets. The drive from Darchen to Zanda — descending into the deep canyon country of the Sutlej River valley — is itself one of the most dramatic in the Ngari region.
How far is the Guge Kingdom from Darchen after completing the Kora?
Darchen to Zanda town is approximately 160 kilometres by road — roughly 3 to 4 hours depending on conditions. The drive descends from the high Kailash plateau into the Sutlej River canyon, and the landscape change is dramatic. The Guge Kingdom ruins themselves are about 18 kilometres from Zanda town, a short final drive through the Earth Forest. On Day 9 of this tour, you complete the Kora in the morning and drive to Zanda in the afternoon — arriving in time for sunset on the Earth Forest.
Can visitors enter the interior of the Guge Kingdom ruins?
Yes — the Guge Kingdom site at Zanda is open to foreign visitors with the standard Ngari tour permit. Visitors walk steep paths cut into the clay hill and enter several surviving temple rooms with murals still on the walls. A basic entrance fee applies. A local site guide (separate from your main tour guide) is recommended and can be arranged in Zanda — they know which chambers are safe to enter and which murals are most significant. The scale of the ruin is only fully appreciated on foot inside the site.
Is the Zanda Earth Forest a separate attraction from the ruins?
The Zanda Earth Forest is the geological landscape that surrounds the Guge Kingdom ruins — not a separate ticketed site but the environment in which the ruins sit. The ‘Earth Forest’ refers to the ancient lake sediment sculpted over millions of years into spires, mesas, canyon walls and ravines in shades of ochre and gold. The clay hill on which the Guge capital was built is itself part of the same geological formation. Driving through the Earth Forest to reach the ruins is part of the experience, not a preliminary to it.
Does this 13-day tour include the full Kailash Kora trekking?
Yes — the complete three-day, 52-kilometre Kailash Kora is fully included: Day 7 from Darchen to Driapuk (4,920m), Day 8 over the Dolma La pass (5,630m) to Dzultripuk, and Day 9 the final 10km back to Darchen. The Guge Kingdom is added after the Kora is complete. For full detail on what the Kailash Kora involves physically — altitude, daily distances, difficulty — please see the mkt-04 tour page which covers the Kora experience in depth.
Before you send your inquiry
- No deposit — ever. Your dates are held with a free inquiry, and nothing is due until we confirm. On fixed group departures, book early to secure your seats.
- Cancel free before your Tibet Travel Permit is issued — full refund, every dollar.
- After the permit is issued: the USD $100 permit fee is non-refundable, everything else is refunded. Refunds within 7 business days.
- Bring a group of 7 and your spot is free (7+1).
- Single room supplement — free of charge for any group booking 5 rooms or travelling with 10 or more.
- Tell us your dates and route on the form below — you will have a written itinerary and an item-by-item quote within 12 hours, with no obligation to book.
- Prices depend on group size, hotel standard, season and how you travel into Tibet, so we quote each trip individually rather than from a price list.
- Hotel details — the exact hotels we use — come with your quote. Ask below for the standard you would like and we will match it.
- A Lhasa-based Tibet tour operator since 1999 — our own guides, vehicles and office in Lhasa, 7,200+ travellers from 40+ countries, 4.9★ on TripAdvisor.
