12 Days Hong Kong Chengdu to Lhasa and Namtso Lake Tour by Train

When you arrive in Hong Kong, our guide will meet you at the airport carrying a placard with your name. Once your luggage is collected, he will guide you to your hotel, where you can rest for the remainder of the day, or explore some of the sights around the hotel.

Stay overnight in Hong Kong.

The first part of the day will be spent at the Aberdeen Harbor floating community. This floating village is well known around the world, and is famed for its seafood restaurants. You can hire a sampan to explore the harbor area and take a stroll along the popular Aberdeen Promenade, which is like a little slice of seaside England in Asia.

After lunch you will be taken to Repulse Bay, where you can spend time on a beautiful tropical beach, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It is also the site of one of the most expensive residential areas in Hong Kong, although it is not clear why the name changed from Chonghom Bay, which was the name originally given to the area in 1841.

Later, as the sun sets, you will visit Victoria Peak, the highest point of the island of Hong Kong. The tram can take you all the way to the top, but for the adventurous, you can take the hiking trail up. The views for the peak across Hong Kong harbor are absolutely stunning, especially at sunset.

Stay overnight in Hong Kong.

In the morning you will take the flight to Chengdu, and on arrival you will be escorted to your hotel. After a nice local lunch, you will get to visit the Wide and Narrow Alley, where you can see the older houses of Chengdu’s downtown area. The alley is excellent for picking up locally made souvenirs, and has small tea shops where you can relax and taste the local snacks.

Stay overnight in Chengdu.

Your second day in Chengdu will start with a visit to the unique Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center. Catch the pandas at feeding time, when they are very active, and you may even get to see baby pandas, if there has been a recent litter of cubs. The center is the main hub of panda breeding and research in the world.

In the afternoon you will head back to downtown Chengdu, and will first visit Jin Li Street, a perfect replica of an old commercial center, in the style of the Qin, Han, and Three Kingdom dynasties. After a leisurely stroll along Jin Li Street, you can take in the famous Wuhou Shrine. The shrine tells the history of the renowned warriors of the Three Kingdoms, and is full of Chinese calligraphy and poetry.

Stay overnight in Chengdu.

Your morning today is spent at your leisure, so you can go and do some shopping, or wander around the local sights. After lunch your guide will transfer you to the railway station for the trip up to the heady heights of Tibet. The rest of the day will be spent on the train, and while it does stop at various stations along the way, it is not advised to get off, as the stop is for a few minutes only. The train will pass through Xining on its route, which is the start of the Qingzang railway, the first rail line into Tibet and the highest railway in the world.

Tips: The trip up to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Lhasa takes around 43 hours, so two nights are spent on the train. It is advisable to prepare snacks and packaged food for the journey, as well as some books, music, and other entertainment.

Stay overnight on the train.

Traveling along the most scenic railway in the world, you will experience sights that will leave you breathless, and cross a plateau with an average elevation of over 4,000 meters. Do not forget to check out the view as you go over the Tanggula Pass, the highest railway pass in the world at 5072 meters above sea level. There are many sights to see along the route, and the train staff will point them out over the train’s speaker system just before they come into view. The notice and explanation of each sight is given in English as well as Chinese, so you will have no problem understanding.

Some of the best sights to look out for are:

Qarhan Salt Lake – the largest salt lake in China, with flowers made of salt in grotesquely unusual shapes
Yuzhu Peak – at 4,160 meters this is one of the best peaks for entry-level mountaineers
Kekexili Nature Reserve – in one of the least populated areas of China, the reserve is the home to herds of wild Tibetan antelope, wild yaks, wild Tibetan donkeys, and many species of local birds.
Tanggula Pass – the highest railway pass in the world, and one of the most spectacular views on the trip
Tsonag Lake – one of the highest freshwater lakes in China, the railway line passes by it only meters away, and you can see the stillness of the water like a huge glass mirror reflecting the mountains around it
Lake Namtso – the second largest saltwater lake in China, and one of the holiest lakes in Tibet

Stay overnight on the train.

When you arrive in Lhasa, our guide will greet you warmly with the phrase, "Tashi Delek", which means 'wish you all the best'. Your tour guide will meet you at the exit of the station, and a private car will transport you to your hotel to allow you to rest and acclimatize for the rest of the day.

Tips: High Altitude Sickness or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) can be avoided by resting and acclimatizing to the increased elevation. We recommend that you rest and eat plenty of high-protein foods and drink lots of water while you get used to the high altitude. It is also a good idea not to shower for the first two days to avoid catching a cold.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

The following day your first stop will be the world famous Potala Palace, the winter palace of the Dalai Lama. Sitting atop Moburi (Red Hill), the palace looks down on the town of Lhasa from its 3,750-meter vantage point. The temple dates back to the 7th century, and houses artifacts and works of art from throughout Tibetan History. The palace also has the gilded burial stupas of the past Dalai Lamas, and below ground lies the ancient meditation cave of the 33rd King of Tibet.

After some lunch, you will head downtown to Jokhang Temple, the primary seat of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was built by the 33rd King of Tibet in 647AD, and is the spiritual center of Tibet and the holiest temple in Tibetan Buddhism. Inside sits the most precious object in the temple, a life-sized statue of Buddha Sakyamuni when he was just 12 years old. Adorned with many precious gems, this gilded statue is the most sacred object in Tibet.

Running around the temple is the famed Barkhor Street. As well as the route of the holy kora, or religious circumambulation, it is also the site of many sellers where you can buy authentic souvenirs from across the region. You can join the pilgrims on their clockwise walk around the temple.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

The next morning you will leave early for a trip outside Lhasa, first to Drepung Monastery, one of the Great Three monasteries of the Gelugpa sect. Sitting at the foot of Gambo Utse, 5 kilometers outside Lhasa, it was founded by Jamyang Choge, one of the disciples of Tsong Khapa, in 1416. The Ganden Potrang, sited in the southwest corner of the monastery, was the former residence of the Dalai Lama, until the move to the Potala Palace.

In the afternoon you will travel back across the city to the northern suburbs, to visit Sera Monastery, another of the Great Three monasteries. Founded in 1419, the name, Sera, means "wild rose" in Tibetan, and was named because of the roses that were in bloom on the hill behind it when it was built. The main attraction of the monastery is the colorful and animated debating of the monks, held under the trees in the debating field every afternoon. Definitely something to watch, even if you do not understand what is said.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

In the morning you will be driven to the holy Lake Namtso, 250km north of Lhasa. En route you will pass the famous Nyenchen Tanggula Mountains, and you will get to see a lot of open landscape along the way. The foot of the mountains is a good place to see nomadic herdsmen grazing sheep and yaks on the grassy slopes.

Lake Namtso is one of the four Holy Lakes of Tibet, and is known as the “Heavenly Lake”. It is the largest lake in Tibet, and the second largest saltwater lake in China. At an elevation of 4,470 meters, it is the highest lake in the world, and is supplied by the Nyenchen Tanggula Mountains. Surrounded by lush grasslands and the best pasture land in Northern Tibet, the lake is also home to five small, uninhabited islands, and five peninsulas reach out into its turquoise waters.

Stay overnight in Namtso Guest house.

In the morning you can take the time to explore the lake-shore more, and you can walk along the shore to Tashi Dor Island to take a look at the famous “meditation caves”, which still host many meditators and yogis from across the Tibetan Plateau.

For lunch, your guide will drive you to Dumxang, and in the afternoon you will have the chance to enjoy the Yangpachen hot spring, which has both indoor and outdoor pools filled with relaxing hot spring water. In the evening you will head back to Lhasa for a good night of rest.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

On the last day of your tour, our guide will take you to the airport or train station, and help you with checking in and boarding.