8 Days Tibet Tour to Lhasa, Shigatse & Damxung

Welcome to Lhasa! It can be said that Lhasa is a city with both human and natural landscapes. Lhasa is the capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region and the political, economic, cultural and religious center of Tibet; it is also the holy land of Tibetan Buddhism. Lhasa is located in the middle of the Tibetan Plateau and the north of the Himalayas, with an altitude of 3650 meters. After arriving in Lhasa, local tour guide will welcome you at the airport/train station, then transfer the guests to the hotel. Acclimatize the high altitude in the hotel.

Lhasa has sunny weather throughout the year with little rainfall. There is no severe cold in winter and no intense heat in summer; the climate is pleasant. The annual sunshine time is more than 3000 hours, which is known as the "sunshine city". The tour will begin from UNESCO World Heritage site - Potala Palace, which is also the winter palace of Dalai Lama. It's situated at 12,139 feet above sea level. It's a 13-story high building that contains over 1,000 rooms, various statues, stupas, murals and artifacts. Potala Palace is located on the Maburi mountain in the northwest of Lhasa city. It is a palace-castle style building complex. It was originally built by Zanpu Songzanganbu of Tubo Dynasty to marry Princess Wencheng. Potala Palace is an outstanding representative of Tibetan architecture as well as the essence of ancient Chinese architecture. The architectural art of Potala Palace is the most outstanding representative of thousands of Tibetan Buddhist temples and palaces. It is a unique example in China and even in the world. In addition, about 200 cultural relics in the Potala Palace treasure museum are on display, including letters of patent, seals, gifts, documents and classics, palm leaf scriptures, statues of Buddha, Thangka, magic tools, etc. Therefore, you can explore more about traditional Chinese culture and religious culture and also can get spiritual strength in this unique holy land.

Then continue to Jokhang Temple, another UNESCO World Heritage site. It's a spiritual center for Buddhists in Tibet. Located in the center of the old urban area of Lhasa, it is a Tibetan Buddhist temple built by Tibetan king Songzanganbu. The reason why Lhasa has the reputation of "holy land" is related to this Buddha statue. Jokhang Temple has a history of more than 1300 years and has a supreme position in Tibetan Buddhism. Jokhang Temple is the most brilliant architecture in Tibet during the Tubo Period, and it is also the earliest civil structure architecture in Tibet. It has created the Tibetan Pingchuan style temple Municipal Bureau style.

And next to the temple there is Bakhor Street, filled with pilgrims and street vendors, selling traditional Tibetan items such as prayer wheels and jewelry. It has strong local style and national characteristics. Bakhor Street is the most famous commodity street in Lhasa. It is also an ancient and sacred place in Lhasa; you can visit Bakhor street for a long time and buy some souvenirs if you like.

In the morning, tourists are going to visit Drepung monastery which was one of the "three greet" Gelug monasteries of Tibet and was founded in 1416. Drepung monastery is one of the six temples of Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism and the largest monastery in the world. Before liberation, there were as many as 10000 monks here.Drepung monastery has a tight architectural structure, connected temples and stacked buildings. Each building unit is basically divided into three horizontal levels: the courtyard, the Sutra hall and the Buddha Hall; forming a pattern of rising layer by layer from the gate to the Buddha Hall, emphasizing and highlighting the noble status of the Buddha Hall. Among them, the large-scale, magnificent and solemn Cuoqin hall is arranged in disorder; and it is the main building of Drepung monastery. Ganden palace is used as Dalai Lama’s palace in the Drepung before moving to the Potala palace.

Afternoon, Sera Monastery---It was one of the "three great" Gelug monasteries of Tibet and was founded in 1419. The highlight is the Monks debate at around 3 - 5 in the afternoon. And a lot of people come here for watching the debate, so if you can get earlier then you will get a good seat. Besides, the older murals are preserved in many large halls of Sera Monastery. It is best for tourists to bring a flashlight or headlights for easy appreciation. Tens of thousands of Vajra Buddha statues are also preserved in the temple, some of which are made locally, and a few are brought from the mainland or India. You can see the whole Sera Monastery in the northeast of the Buddha platform ; every year, the Sutra ceremony is held here on the Sho Dun Festival.

Drive from Lhasa to Gyantse. Admire the Gampala pass (4790 m) on the way, and get a glimpse of YamdrokTso Lake (4400m), which is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains. In the hearts of Tibetans, YamdrokTso Lake is regarded as "Turquoise Earrings scattered by goddess". In the Gangbala mountain pass, you can overlook the lake. When irradiated at different times, it will show different levels and extremely rich blue. Water sources come from snow water in the Tanggula Mountains and the water changes with light and evolves into a thousand changes in blue. There is a section of road along the lake not far from Gangbala Snow Mountain and you can have a walk here for a while. 

Then continue to drive west towards Gyantse. Gyantse is one of China's historical and cultural sites and an emerging tourist town. In Gyantse, tourists will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery and Gyantse Kumbum. Gyantse Kumbum has a certain position and influence in the history of Tibetan Buddhism because it has a large temple, many monks and disciples, and can gather various sects such as Sakya, Gelu and Budun in one temple. It also attracts many art connoisseurs and tourists with its unique architectural style and different sculpture and painting. Besides, it is a typical Tibetan Buddhist temple building with a combination of pagodas and temples. There are pagodas in the temple and temples in the pagoda. The pagodas are naturally integrated and complement each other; and it is also considered as the king of towers in Tibet. This temple is admired for its ingenious use of the architectural layout of topography and landform, its magnificent and unique "Pelkor Monastery" and its tolerance of inclusiveness to all Buddhist sects in Tibet. At the same time, it is also famous for its unique architecture, sculpture and mural art. 

After one and a half hour's drive, clients will arrive in Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet.

Today, explore Tashilunpo monastery of Gelug Sect, the seat of the Panchen Lama, built in 1447. Tashilunpo monastery covers an area of 150,000 square meters and is surrounded by palace walls, which meander along the mountain with a circumference of more than 3,000 meters. There are 57 Scripture halls and 3,600 houses in the monastery. The whole monastery is built along the mountain slope, attached to the mountain on the back, facing the sun in the north, and the temples are successively connected, with balanced density, harmony and symmetry. The monastery houses a giant statue of the Maitreya Buddha - the biggest gilded statue of Maitreya (Buddha of the future) in the world and a tomb of all the Panchen Lama, containing jewels and gold. 

In the afternoon, you will drive back to Lhasa, which will take around 6 hours.（Shigatse to Lhasa's transfer perhaps by train）You can enjoy the river view of Brahmaputra along the way back to Lhasa. The Brahmaputra is the longest plateau river in China. Located in the Tibet, it is also one of the largest rivers in the world. 

Drive from Lhasa to Lake Namtso. On the way, clients will see Nyenchen Thanglha (snow mountain ranges) and lots of nomads with yak and sheep grazing nearby. Namtso Lake is the "Heavenly Lake" which is one of the four holy lakes of Tibet and also the highest salt-lake. Namtso Lake was selected as the third place in the "China's Five Most Beautiful Lakes" by China National Geographic's "Beauty China" pageant . You can do a very relaxing trek around lakeside and theTashi Island. Many travelers will spend the night on the lake together to see the beautiful sunset and sunrise here. And the starry night in Namtso brings you a lot of wonderful memories too. Overnight you will stay at Damxung. 

After breakfast, we will first visit Chimelong Nunnery (Phyirmil Lung Nunnery). Roam over the peaceful small nunnery and get an idea of different Buddhist studies in Tibet, you may also spot a sky burial site (Tibet funeral site) in the distance.

Then, we can go to Tsurphu Monastery, the seat of the Karmapa branch of the Kagyupa order of Tibetan Buddhism. There are a large number of rare cultural relics in the Monastery. The monument of Jiangpu Temple, now located in the main hall of Tsurphu Monastery, is about two and a half meters high and about half a meter wide. The ancient Tibetan texts on it are of great historical value for the study of politics, economy and religion in the Tubo period. Here, you can learn more about the ‘Black Hats’, the Karma Kagyupa school of Tibetan Buddhism. In the summertime (June to September), we can also go for a ‘Linka outing’ (Tibetan-style picnic) in the small village at the foot of the hill of Tsurphu Monastery.

Finally, we will drive back to Lhasa.

Transfer clients to the airport or train station. Wish you have a pleasant journey home!