7 Days Overland from Lhasa to Kathmandu Small Group Tour

A one-way overland journey — Lhasa to Kathmandu by road, without retracing a single kilometre → Peigutso Lake (Paiku Lake) — a salt lake reflecting Shishapangma (8,027 m), rarely seen on any other Tibet itinerary → Gyirong Valley descent — dramatic forested gorge into Nepal, one of Asia's most striking border approaches → Everest Base Camp (5,200 m) overnight at Rongbuk Monastery — golden-hour north face views → Gyawula Pass five-peak panorama — Cho Oyu, Gyachung Kang, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in one frame → Gyantse Kumbum — the nine-storey, 77-chapel stupa, the finest piece of 15th-century architecture on the plateau

1. Day1

   Arrival in Lhasa — Transfer & Acclimatisation

   Meals None

   Arrive at Lhasa Gonggar Airport or the train station. Your guide meets you and transfers you to the hotel. Rest, hydrate, and let the altitude settle. See the 4-Day Lhasa tour for the full day description.

2. Day2

   Tibet Museum · Nanshan Park · Jokhang Temple · Barkhor Street

   Meals Breakfast

   Tibet Museum in the morning, Nanshan Park panorama, then Jokhang Temple and the Barkhor pilgrim circuit in the afternoon. See the 4-Day Lhasa tour for the full day description.

3. Day3

   Potala Palace · Sera Monastery Monk Debate · Local Family Visit

   Meals Breakfast / Dinner

   Potala Palace in the morning, Sera Monastery’s monk debate in the afternoon, and a local Tibetan family visit to close the day. See the 4-Day Lhasa tour for the full day description.

4. Day4

   Gampala Pass · Yamdrok Lake · Karola Glacier · Gyantse · Shigatse

   Meals Breakfast

   An early start south from Lhasa. The road climbs to the Gampala Pass (4,794 m) where Yamdrok Lake appears below in its full turquoise sweep — one of Tibet’s three holy lakes and the first landmark that confirms you have left the city behind.

   The group continues west past the Karola Glacier — close enough to feel the cold — and reaches Gyantse in the early afternoon. The Pelkor Chöde Monastery complex is worth the stop: the Kumbum Stupa (1427–1439) rises through nine storeys and 77 chapels in a three-dimensional mandala that takes a full hour to explore properly.

   The day ends in Shigatse — Tibet’s second-largest city — for an overnight rest before the road west begins in earnest.

5. Day5

   Tashilhunpo Monastery · Gyawula Pass Five-Peak Panorama · Overnight Rongbuk

   Meals BreakfastOvernight Rongbuk Monastery

   The morning belongs to Tashilhunpo. Founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama and the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas, its most extraordinary feature is the Hall of Maitreya — the world’s largest gilded bronze statue of the future Buddha, 26 metres tall. Beyond it: gilded chortens, the Kelsang Lhakhang assembly hall, the debating courtyard, monks going about their day.

   After Tashilhunpo, the group loads the vehicles and drives west. The road climbs to the Gyawula Pass, where — if the weather holds, and on many days it does — five of the world’s highest peaks appear together in a single panoramic frame: Cho Oyu (8,201 m), Gyachung Kang, Everest (8,849 m), Lhotse and Makalu. All above 7,900 metres. All visible at once. No other road on earth offers this.

   The group arrives at Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse in the late afternoon. Everest’s north face fills the horizon. In the last light before dark it turns gold. Overnight at Rongbuk (4,980 m) — bring warm layers, and expect a cold but starlit night.

6. Day6

   EBC Sunrise · Old Tingri · Peigutso Lake · Gyirong Valley — Overnight Gyirong

   Meals Breakfast

   Wake before dawn. The walk from Rongbuk Guesthouse to Everest Base Camp (5,200 m) takes about 20 minutes on flat ground. The north face catches the first sun before the clouds build and the air is cold and completely still. Take as long as you need.

   After a simple breakfast, the group does not turn back east. It continues west — and this is what makes the overland tour different from everything else in this series.

   The road follows the Friendship Highway through Old Tingri, a small junction town with unobstructed views of both Everest and Cho Oyu from the main street. Then Peigutso Lake. Paiku Lake sits at 4,590 m and spans 300 square kilometres. Shishapangma — 8,027 m, the fourteenth-highest mountain on earth and the only 8,000-metre peak located entirely within China — rises directly from the far shore. On a calm day, the reflection is so precise it looks like the mountain is growing from the water. Almost no standard Tibet itinerary includes this lake. This one does.

   From Peigutso, the road turns south and begins the Gyirong Valley descent. The vegetation changes within minutes: from the bare plateau to scrub, then to trees, then to forest. The air warms. By the time the group reaches Gyirong town, the altitude has dropped to around 1,760 m and the landscape feels nothing like the Tibet of the past six days. Overnight in Gyirong.

7. Day7

   Gyirong Border Crossing — Tour Ends at Gyirong Immigration

   Meals Breakfast

   After breakfast in Gyirong, the group completes the border formalities at the Gyirong–Rasuwagarhi crossing — the main Tibet-Nepal border port since the Zhangmu route was closed after the 2015 earthquake. Your Tibetan guide and vehicle accompany the group to the Chinese immigration hall and remain until all passport and exit procedures are complete.

   Tour services end here, on the Chinese side of the border, once immigration clearance is done.

   From the Nepal side, you are free to arrange your own onward journey to Kathmandu (approximately 4–6 hours by road through the Trishuli valley). If you would like us to arrange a Nepal-side transfer to Kathmandu on your behalf, we can do so — please ask when booking, as an additional surcharge applies.

   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.