Holy Circuit to Tibetan Hidden Gems

Detailed Itinerary of the Holy Circuit to Tibetan Hidden Gems

Day 1 Arrival and acclimatization

Highlights: No visiting today, better take rest in hotel.

Schedule:

Arrive at Lhasa train station or airport, your guide and driver will pick you up there in person with a warm Tibetan style welcome ceremony by presenting you Khata and afterwards transfer you to the hotel, suggest you stay at hotel to have good rest for better acclimatization.

Day 2 Sightseeing in Lhasa

Highlights: Potala Palace, Johkang Temple, Barkhor Street

Schedule:

In the morning, visit Lhasa's landmark-Potala Palace, in which myriad chapels, audience halls, Buddhist frescoes, Thangkas, combinations of Mandela, figures of the Buddha stored. In the afternoon, visit the Johkang Temple, the center of Tibetan Buddhism, built during Songtsen Gonpo's reign by princess Wencheng of the Tang dynasty, 647 A.D. After the Johkang Temple, we will start a circular pilgrim route along Barkhor Street where you can purchase traditional Tibetan and Nepalese artifacts, religious implements, antiques, books, music instrument, Thangkas, and etc.

Day 3 Sightseeing in Lhasa

Highlights: Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery

Schedule:

In the morning, drive to Drepung monastery which used to serve as the government center in Tibet until the fifth Dalai Lama moved to the famous Potala Palace. It is the biggest Buddhism College in Tibet and once homed to more than 10000 monks. In the afternoon, drive to visit Sera monastery which is famous for its scripture debate session among monks that starting every afternoon except Sunday

Day 4 Lhasa-Gandan Monastery-Drigung Monastery

Highlights: Drigung Monastery; Gandan Monastery; Drigung Hotspring

Schedule:

Today we will drive to Drigung via Gandan Monastery, the ancestral monastery of Gelugpa Sect in Tibet. Drigung is known for its tradition of long retreat practice is also maybe the most important sky-burial site in all Tibet. And tonight we will stay in the guesthouse near the hot spring where you can enjoy yourself in the hot spring.

Day 5 Drigung-Reting

Highlights: Reting Monastery

Schedule:

In the morning we will drive to Reting, once the seat of the most powerful regent in the 1930s, but now a quiet monastery set admist these unusual woods.

Day 6 Reting-Namtso Lake

Highlights: Namtso Lake

Schedule:

In the morning, we drive north towards the Namtso Lake which is regard as the Sky Lake among Tibetan. Namtso Lake is also the highest big lake in the world with as altitude of 4718 meters. The deep blue lake water makes the lake looks like part of the sky, and the perennial snow-capped Nyenqing Tangula Mountains with peak over 7000 meters towering above the lake to the south, besides you could also see vast Namtso grassland with nomadic families and yaks dotted on. And also, the sunset and sunrise over the lake are definitely two highlights of this Sky Lake tour.

Day 7 Namtso Lake-Lhasa

Highlights: Yampachen hotspring

Schedule:

Today we will drive back to Lhasa; you will visit the beautiful landscape of grassland, flocks of yaks, sheep and goats, and snow-capped mountains. En route, we will visit Yampecheng hot spring, you can take a bath there if you like (self-paid).

Day 8 Departure transfer

Schedule:

Your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport or train station, tour ends.