Tibet Overland & EBC

Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu, transfer to hotel 
Our guide will welcome you at Kathmandu  airport, takes you to hotel and helps you with  the check in formalities. Free time to explore interesting streets of Kathmandu on your own or rest .

Day 02: Chinese visa  processing , guided tour of Kathmandu.
While we collect your passport and apply for Chinese visa at the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu, you will go for sightseeing tour. We cover the Kathmandu Durbar square, Swoyambhunath stupa and Bouddhanath stupa.  Evening briefing about your Tibet tour .

If you are not entering Tibet from Kathmandu but from mainland China/ Hong Kong/ Chengdu etc, your tour starts from here .

Day 03: Fly ( Kathmandu etc )  to Lhasa (3650m)
Enjoy the fantastic trans Himalayas flight that flies past mt Everest to Lhasa .
Our Tibetan guide receives you at Lhasa’s Gongkar airport and takes you to Lhasa city through and scenic drive of 1.5 hr. Explore  the nearby streets on your own or rest and acclimatize .

Day 04: Guided tour of Potala palace, Jokhang temple and Bharkhor street . 
The tour today covers the Potala palace of the Dalai Lamas,  the holiest of the Tibetan temple- Jokhang and visit to the traditional Bharkhor street .

Day 05: Guided tour of Drepung and Sera monastery . 
We visit the two biggest Gelugpa monasteries of Tibet where there used to be up to 10000 monks living in the bygone days . These monasteries also serve as  University to learn Buddhism for the monks and the spiritual debate among monks is the thing not to miss here.

Day 06: Drive Lhasa  to Gyantse (3950m) – 261 km 
We drive on a 4WD jeep through fabulous scenery . We drive past Khamba La, at 4794 meter, with a brief halt to savor majestic views of Yamdrok-tso Lake and Nazin Kang Sa, standing at 7252 m. Further  westwards, we come across another pass, Karo La at 5045m where you can see huge glaciers tumbling down. After driving 261 km, beautifully landscaped Tibetan villages become visible as you enter the town of Gyantse.

Day 07: Gyantse sightseeing & drive to Shigatse (3900m) – 90  km 
Guided tour of Kumbum stupa and Pelkhor temple in Gyantse  then drive to Shigatse . In Shigatse we visit the famous Tashilhunpo monastery, the seat of the panchen Lamas.

Day 08: Shigatse sightseeing & drive to Shegar (4050m) – 244 km 
It is yet another scenic day driving past small town of Lhatse and cross   Gyamtso La pass at 5220m. As the route opens into plains, many monasteries and camps of nomadic herders become visible en route to Shegar.

Day 09: Drive to Rongbuk Monastery (5000m) –68 km
We drive  southward and  cross  Pang La pass at 5150m. Enjoying superbly beautiful mountain scenery, we reach to Rongbuk at 5000m  .  On a clear day, one can see a long range  of the Himalaya including peaks over 8000, Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Gyachung Kang  and Cho Oyu. Rest and explore the area .

Day 10: Explore Everest base camp & drive to Tingri (4390m) – 65 km 
Reaching to the very base of mt Everest  at 5150 m  would be  the highlight of the whole trip – and that is today!  The scenery is simply breathtaking .  The mountains look even better during  sunrise and sunset. We drive back Tingri ( on the main highway from where we deviated to the base camp the previous day)  for our overnight stay.

Day 11: Drive to Zhangmu (2300m) – 181 km 
You will drive past Tingri crossing Lalung La pass at 5124m and Shug La pass at 5200m. Spectacular views of the surrounding peaks of Shishapangma, Cho Oyu, Menlungtse and Gauri Shankar will greet you while descending from  arid Tibetan Plateau to the green , small town of  Zhangmu near Nepal Tibet boarder.

Day 12: Drive to Kathmandu (1400m) -123 km
Complete the immigration formalities, leave your vehicle form Lhasa at the boarder. Our guide from Kathmandu will receive you at the boarder, get Nepal visa ( if you do not have one ) and drive along a  superbly scenic highway to Kathmandu. Rest .

Day 13: Fly onward destination 
Note : If you have limited time this tour can be done even on 12 days .