Tour Code: Tibet-320-15D
Explore the route: click a numbered stop to see the visit details.
Arrive at Lhasa Gonggar Airport or the railway station, where your local Tibetan guide and driver meet you and transfer you to your hotel in Lhasa.
No sightseeing is scheduled today. The first day is reserved for rest and altitude acclimatization at about 3,650 meters, with practical guidance from your guide on how to stay comfortable on the plateau.
Accommodation: Lhasa
Hotel: Selected downtown Lhasa hotel with oxygen support where available
Meals: Not included on arrival day
Begin with Drepung Monastery, once one of Tibet’s largest centers of Buddhist learning, and explore its assembly halls, courtyards, and mountain-side monastic spaces at an easy pace.
Continue to Sera Monastery, known for its monk debate tradition when sessions are available. The day remains focused on culture and gradual acclimatization before the higher-altitude overland route.
Accommodation: Lhasa
Hotel: Selected downtown Lhasa hotel with oxygen support where available
Meals: Breakfast at hotel
Visit the Potala Palace, Tibet’s most iconic landmark, and learn how religious authority, political history, architecture, and sacred art meet within the palace complex.
Continue to Jokhang Temple, the spiritual heart of Lhasa, then walk around Barkhor Street to experience the living rhythm of the old city, pilgrims, prayer wheels, and local neighborhood life.
Accommodation: Lhasa
Hotel: Selected downtown Lhasa hotel with oxygen support where available
Meals: Breakfast at hotel
Leave Lhasa by private vehicle and cross the highland route toward Yamdrok Lake, one of Tibet’s most beautiful sacred lakes. Weather permitting, stop for wide views over the turquoise water and surrounding mountains.
Continue past Karola Glacier and the Gyantse area before arriving in Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city. The sightseeing order may be adjusted around road, weather, and local access conditions.
Accommodation: Shigatse
Hotel: Selected hotel in Shigatse
Meals: Breakfast at hotel
Visit Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse if timing allows, then travel west across the plateau toward the Everest region.
After entering the Everest scenic area, the route climbs toward high viewpoints with Himalayan panoramas before continuing to the north-side Everest Base Camp area. In clear weather, the late-day view of Everest can be a major highlight.
Accommodation: Rongbuk / Everest Base Camp Area
Hotel: Basic guesthouse or best available local accommodation near the Everest area
Meals: Breakfast at hotel
If weather conditions allow, begin with sunrise views of Mount Everest from the north side, then visit Rongbuk Monastery, one of the highest monasteries in the world.
Continue the long drive toward Saga, passing remote plateau scenery, Peiku Tso, and distant Himalayan views when conditions are clear. This is a long road day with simple conditions in the evening.
Accommodation: Saga
Hotel: Selected hotel or best available local accommodation in Saga
Meals: Breakfast included
Travel west across the Ngari Plateau toward Darchen, the main base for Mount Kailash. The route passes broad grasslands, wetlands, high passes, and the vast spaces of western Tibet.
When the weather is clear, the approach can bring your first views of Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash together. Your guide will also help review kora preparations and optional local porter or yak arrangements if requested.
Accommodation: Darchen
Hotel: Selected hotel or best available local accommodation in Darchen
Meals: Breakfast included
Begin the Mount Kailash kora from the Darchen area, with a local shuttle used where required by scenic-area rules. The walk follows the valley toward Dirapuk beneath the sacred mountain.
This is a high-altitude pilgrimage route, not a casual sightseeing walk. Your guide will help manage pace, rest stops, and practical arrangements based on weather, trail conditions, and your physical condition.
Accommodation: Dirapuk
Hotel: Basic monastery guesthouse or best available local guesthouse near Dirapuk
Meals: Breakfast included
This is the most demanding day of the kora, crossing Dolma La Pass at very high altitude. The ascent and descent can be slow, exposed, and physically challenging, especially in difficult weather.
Continue carefully toward Zutulpuk after the pass. Safety and official local guidance take priority, and your guide may adjust the pace or route details if conditions require it.
Accommodation: Zutulpuk
Hotel: Basic monastery guesthouse or best available local guesthouse near Zutulpuk
Meals: Breakfast included
Complete the final section of the kora and return to Darchen. Compared with the Dolma La crossing, this section is shorter, but the pace still depends on altitude, weather, and how you feel after the previous day.
After a rest in Darchen, continue to Lake Manasarovar, one of Tibet’s most sacred lakes. Time by the lakeshore is kept unhurried, with views toward surrounding mountains when conditions are clear.
Accommodation: Darchen
Hotel: Selected hotel or best available local accommodation in Darchen
Meals: Breakfast included
Leave Darchen and drive back east across western Tibet toward Saga. The day is shaped by distance, big skies, grasslands, wetlands, and remote plateau scenery.
This return route is mainly a practical overland day, but it still offers strong landscape photography opportunities and a quieter view of Tibet beyond the main landmark stops.
Accommodation: Saga
Hotel: Selected hotel or best available local accommodation in Saga
Meals: Breakfast included
Travel from Saga toward Gyirong Valley, where the landscape becomes greener, lower, and more sheltered compared with the exposed western plateau.
Gyirong offers a gentler atmosphere after the Everest, Kailash, and Manasarovar sections, with forested slopes, village scenery, and more restful conditions at a lower elevation.
Accommodation: Gyirong
Hotel: Selected hotel or best available local accommodation in Gyirong
Meals: Breakfast included
Leave Gyirong and return toward the high Himalayan plateau. The route gradually rises from the greener valley into open grasslands, snow peaks, and long-distance mountain views.
On clear days, the drive may include distant views of Shishapangma, Cho Oyu, or Everest as part of the broader Himalayan skyline before reaching Dingri.
Accommodation: Dingri
Hotel: Selected hotel or best available local accommodation in Dingri
Meals: Breakfast included
Turn east for the long return drive to Lhasa, passing the Shigatse area and the broad corridor shaped by the Yarlung Tsangpo River.
After the remote landscapes of Everest, Mount Kailash, and western Tibet, returning to Lhasa brings the journey full circle and gives the final evening a more settled pace.
Accommodation: Lhasa
Hotel: Selected downtown Lhasa hotel with oxygen support where available
Meals: Breakfast at hotel
Your driver transfers you to Lhasa Gonggar Airport or the railway station according to your onward schedule.
No sightseeing is arranged today, so the departure remains simple and comfortable after the long overland journey across Tibet.
Accommodation: Not included (Departure day)
Meals: Breakfast at hotel if departure time allows
Selected hotels in Lhasa, Shigatse, Saga, Gyirong, Dingri, and Darchen, with best available guesthouses in remote Everest and Mount Kailash areas. Remote western Tibet accommodation is basic and subject to availability.
Licensed local Tibetan English-speaking guide service is arranged for the itinerary. During remote sections, the guide assists with route timing, permits, altitude awareness, and practical coordination.
Tibet Travel Permit and route-related local coordination are handled after booking using your confirmed passport details and any visa or entry documentation required for your nationality and itinerary, subject to official approval.
Private vehicle with experienced local driver for airport or rail transfers and overland sightseeing listed in the itinerary. Vehicle access during the Mount Kailash kora is limited by road conditions and local regulations.
Hotel breakfast is included where available. In remote western Tibet, breakfast and other meals may be simple and subject to guesthouse conditions. Lunches and dinners remain flexible unless specifically arranged.
Main entrance tickets for listed sightseeing sites are included according to the confirmed itinerary, subject to local opening conditions and permit approvals.
China-based local travel accident insurance is included during the itinerary, but it does not replace comprehensive international travel insurance.
International flights and transport to or from China are not included.
Any required China visa application and related fees are not included. Tibet permit support requires your confirmed passport details and any entry documentation applicable to your nationality and itinerary. The required documents and route access must be confirmed before booking.
Comprehensive international travel insurance with high-altitude trekking coverage is strongly recommended and not included.
Porters, yaks, personal trekking support, upgraded rooms, special meals, oxygen canisters for personal use, and activities not listed in the confirmed itinerary may incur extra costs.
Shopping, laundry, personal snacks, phone charges, hotel incidentals, and other personal expenses are not included.
Tips for guides, drivers, and local support staff are not included and are at your discretion.
Yes. This is arranged as a private Tibet journey with your own local Tibetan guide, driver, and vehicle for the listed route. The pace can be adjusted within the limits of permits, road conditions, weather, and high-altitude safety.
No. The Mount Kailash kora is physically demanding and takes place at very high altitude, including the Dolma La Pass crossing. It should not be treated as a normal sightseeing walk. Good preparation, realistic expectations, and respect for your guide’s safety advice are essential.
Tibet Travel Permit and route-related permit coordination are handled after booking. You will need to provide passport details and any visa or entry documentation required for your nationality and itinerary, and all permit approvals remain subject to the relevant authorities and local regulations.
Lhasa and Shigatse use more comfortable selected hotels, while remote areas such as Everest, Manasarovar, Dirapuk, and Zutulpuk use basic local guesthouses or monastery-style accommodation. Private bathrooms and hotel-style facilities cannot always be guaranteed in remote western Tibet.
The route order, timing, or overnight plan may be adjusted if official rules, weather, road access, or altitude-related health concerns require it. Safety and local regulations take priority, especially around Everest and Mount Kailash.
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15-Day Tibet Private Tour: Lhasa, Everest Base Camp, Mount Kailash & Lake Manasarovar
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