18 Days Beijing Tibet Mt. Everest and Mt. Kailash Tour with Beijing-Tibet Train

Beijing - Train - Lhasa - Gyantse - Shigatse - EBC - Saga - Darchen - 3 days Kailash trekking - Saga - Shigatse - Lhasa

From USD p.p

Whether you are a devout pilgrim or a trekking enthusiast, the arduous and sacred 3-day trekking around Mount Kailash with the highest pass at 5,630 meters will always be a precious and unforgettable experience of you.

Starting from Beijing, you will visit Forbidden City and Imperial Ancestral Temple, Beihai Park and Mutianyu Great Wall. Then, board Beijing-Lhasa train at Beijing West Railway Station and arrive in Lhasa after about 40 hours. After visiting Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple, Drepung and Sera Monastery in Lhasa, you will head for the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest via Gyantse and Shigatse, and visit Yamdrok Lake and Karola Glacier, Kumbum Stupa and Tashilunpo Monastery along the way. The overnight stay at EBC offers you a great opportunity to appreciate the breathtaking sunset and sunrise over Mt Everest. Afterwards, head for Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. Mt. Kailash trekking is arduous but you will also be encouraged and moved by the devout prostrating pilgrims. After the trekking, come back to Lhasa via Shigatse along the Friendship Highway.

Itinerary Day by Day

Day1 Arrive in Beijing

Welcome to Beijing! Upon your arrival in Beijing, your driver will pick you up and take you to your hotel in Beijing in a private car. Then you could have a rest in your hotel or walk around on your own.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

Day2 Beijing sightseeing: Forbidden City, Imperial Ancestral Temple, and Beihai Park

Your guided tour starts with a visit to the famous Forbidden City, which used to be the imperial palace from around 1420 to 1912 and now houses the Palace Museum. Then, you will move to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, or Taimiao of Beijing where sacrificial ceremonies were held on the most important festival occasions in honor of the imperial family's ancestors during both the Ming and Qing Dynasties. After that, you will visit Beihai Park, one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved ancient imperial gardens in China. The structures and scenes in the Beihai Park are described as masterpieces of gardening technique that reflects the style and the superb architectural skill and richness of traditional Chinese garden art.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

Day3 Beijing sightseeing: Mutianyu Great Wall; Board Beijing-Tibet train

No tour of China would be complete without a visit to the Great Wall, the largest man-made structure on the planet. After breakfast, you will visit Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Stretching 2,250 meters long and including 22 watchtowers, Mutianyu Great Wall is the longest, fully restored Great Wall section open to tourists.

In the evening, you will be transferred to the Beijing West Railway Station for the overnight train to Lhasa.

Stay overnight on the train.

Day4 Beijing-Tibet Train

It takes Beijing-Lhasa train 40:45 hours to ride through as far as 3,757 kilometers to get to Lhasa Railway Station. On the journey, you will cross over 8 provinces and appreciate the various landscapes of China. However, the essential scenery of the train lies in Golmud-Lhasa section.

Stay overnight on the train.

Day5 Arrive in Lhasa (3650m)

Upon your arrival in Lhasa, your tour guide will hold a board with your name on it at the exit. A private car will take you to the reserved hotel, and the guide will give a brief introduction of the itinerary as well as dos and don'ts in Tibet. Then, you can take a good rest at hotel to acclimatize to Tibetan plateau environment.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day6 Lhasa Sightseeing: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Barkhor Street

Today, you’ll pay a visit to the famous Potala Palace, the world culture heritage and the winter palace of Dalai Lama. You can explore its audience halls, the jeweled and golden burial chortens (stupa tombs) of past Dalai Lamas, meditation cave of the 33rd Great King of Tibet, and tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, thangkas, combinations of mandala, etc.

Then you will head to the holiest temple in Tibet, the Jokhang Temple, built during Songtsen Ganpo's reign by Princess Wencheng of Tang dynasty, 647 A.D. Here you can observe sincere pilgrims making prostration in front of Jokhang Temple. While entering inside the temple, you can see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve. On the top of Jokhang Temple, you can enjoy the panorama of old Lhasa City and great vista of Potala Palace.

Then you can do the kora with pilgrims and locals by circling the Barkhor Street around the temple, buy some souvenirs, and taste sweet tea and local snacks in local tea house. Later, you can take your family to explore farm products like yak butter in Tromzikhang, the famous farm produce market.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day7 Lhasa Sightseeing: Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery

Today, you will visit two important monasteries in Lhasa, the Drepung and the Sera. Drepung Monastery, the largest monastery in Tibet, was founded by Jamyang Choeje in 1416 and used to be home to more than 10,000 monks. Hiking along the mountain steps, you can see Buddhist painting on the rock face. During Shoton Festival, locals and pilgrims swarm to Drepung Monastery to celebrate the gigantic Thangka Buddha unveiling ceremony on the Gambo Utse Mountain. Then you will stop by the nearby carpet factory to appreciate the Tibetan artisans make traditional carpets with great skills.

After having lunch, you will visit Sera Monastery, which was founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa's disciple Jamchen Choeje. The most interesting thing is to see monks debating in the courtyard at around 3-5 in the afternoon. By yelling at each other, slapping hands and rolling mala, two monks make a pair to debate on philosophical issues. You can also appreciate the delicately-made Mandala, sanding paintings, and massive Buddhist scriptures inside Sera Monastery.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day8 Lhasa to Shigatse (3900m) via Gyangtse

At first, you will pass over the Gampala Pass (4790m) and have a far view of Yamdrok-tso (4400m) at the viewing platform there. Then at the lake, you can see many snow-capped mountains surrounding it and and have spectacular far view of the holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar (7191m), the highest mountain near Lhasa. Later, you will stop by the Karola Glacier on the roadside. When arriving at Simila Mountain Pass, you can hang auspicious prayer flags on the mountain pass and view Manak Dam Lake.

Then you’ll go to the heritage Gyantse, Tibet's third largest city after Lhasa and Shigatse. In Gyantse, you can visit Pelkor Monastery and Nepali-style Kumbum Stupa, with nine floors and unique chapels in each tier, this stupa is considered the largest one in Tibet. After about 1.5 hours’ car ride, you will arrive in Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet after Lhasa.

Stay overnight in Shigatse.

Day9 Shigatse to Everest Base Camp (5200m)

In the morning, you will go to the home of Panchen Lama - Tashilunpo Monastery, and visit the golden statue of Future Buddha and assembly hall there. After getting your Alien’s Travel Permit, you will head for Lhatse and have lunch there.

Afterwards, you will pass Tsola Pass (4,600m) and Gyatsola Pass (5,248m). Shortly after entering Mt. Everest National Nature Reserve, you can appreciate the panoramic view of Himalaya at Gawula Pass (5,180m). Keep marching along the new zigzag road to Everest Base Camp, you can get closer view of Mt. Everest peak. After having a full view of the magnificent Mt. Everest, you will visit Rongbuk Monastery, the highest monastery in the world as well as the unique Nyingma Sect monastery where nuns and monks live together. You can also enjoy the sunset of golden Everest peak at the lodging area if time and weather permits.

Stay overnight at tent or Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse.

Day10 EBC to Saga

In the morning, you can enjoy the stunning sunrise of Everest peak at lodging area if weather permits. While we drive towards Saga, you can catch the view of the world’s 14th highest peak Mt. Shishapangma (8,012m) and the beautiful turquoise Lake Peikutso (4,590m). Chances are that you can see wild animals like wild donkey, wild antelope etc.

Stay overnight in Saga.

Day11 Saga to Darchen via Lake Manasarovar (450km)

In the morning, you can appreciate the stunning view of the Saga Valley between Gangdise Range and Himayala Range. Meanwhile, you can also view the beautiful grassland and local's villages along the way. While crossing the Mayomla Pass (5,112m), you can catch the far view of Mt. Naimonanyi (7,694M). Then we’ll pass by the holy Lake Manasarovar and finally arrive at the southern foot of Mt. Kailash, the holist mountain in Tibet.

Stay overnight in Darchen.

Day12 Darchen - Drirapuk (driving 7km, trek 13km)

In the morning, tourists can take environment friendly bus from Darchen to Sarshung Valley. And you’ll meet yaks and porters at Sarshung Village (The cost of hiring yaks, horses, and porters are not included in the package).

After that, you can start the trek (around 13km) from Sarshung to Drirapuk Monastery (5,080m) along the Lachu Valley and rivers. Today, you can see both west and north face of Mount Kailash (6,638m). Finally, we’ll pay a visit to Drirapuk Monastery.

Stay overnight in guest house.

Day13 Drirapuk - Dzutrpuk (trek 18km)

Today, we’ll trek over Dromala Pass (5,648m), the highest pass of the Kora. On the way, you can have a break in a teahouse. Besides, you’ll meet the locals prostrating along the Kora path. When walking downhill, you can see beautiful Kadoe Lake (5,568m). Then we’ll visit Zutulpuk Monastery (4,835m).

Stay overnight at guest house.

Day14 Dzutripuk - Darchen (trek 7km, driving 5km)

Today, we’ll trek 7km to Zongto where you can take bus to Darchen. Along the Kora, you can see piles of Mani Stones. Finally, we’ll end the trek around noon and rest in the lodging place.

Stay overnight in Darchen.

Day15 Darchen to Saga (450km)

Take the car ride from Darchen to Saga.

Stay overnight in Saga.

Day16 Saga to Shigatse (450km)

Take the car ride from Saga to Shigatse.

Stay overnight in Shigatse.

Day17 Shigatse to Lhasa (280km)

Today, you will set off from Shigatse to Lhasa along the Friendship Highway, the whole ride is 280km and takes about 6 hours. You can admire the Yarlung Tsangpo River/Bhamaputra River (the longest and largest river in Tibet) along the way to Lhasa.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day18 Depart from Lhasa

The driver will pick you up from your hotel, and drop you off at Lhasa Gonggar Airport or Lhasa Railway Station, and assist you to get on board.

Route Map

Service Inclusion

  1. Tibet travel permit and all other necessary permits to Tibet;
  2. All entrance ticket fees for all tourist sites listed in the itinerary;
  3. Personal knowledgeable English-speaking Tibetan local tour guide;
  4. Personal comfortable, clean and safe vehicle with reliable Tibetan local driver; vehicle ranging from 4WD land cruiser to minibus depending on your group size;
  5. All lodging listed in the itinerary; it’s your decision about the accommodation class: luxury 5-star international hotel, comfortable 4-star hotel, economic 3-star hotel or budget hostel, guesthouse or tent. Please tell us your accommodation preference when submitting the enquiry; we will arrange the best-value hotels for you.
  6. Domestic flight/train tickets listed in the itinerary;
  7. All meals listed in the above itinerary;
  8. Tourist accident/casualty insurance;
  9. First aid kit;

Service Exclusion

  1. International flight to and out of China;
  2. Chinese visa (Note: we could help you with the Chinese visa application, like providing the invitation letter, presenting the hotel or domestic flight reservation copies, etc that you may need. )
  3. Domestic flight/train not listed in the itinerary. (We can provide you the domestic flight/train ticket booking service at the BEST discount price; please contact us our travel experts for the details.)
  4. Meals not specified in the itinerary; usually it costs about USD3-15 per person for one meal in TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region).
  5. Tips and gratitude to tour guide and driver;
  6. Personal expenses, like laundry, phone call, snacks, soft drinks (please do the best to avoid the alcoholic beverages during your Tibet trip), optional tour activities, etc.

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18 Days Beijing Tibet Everest and Kailash Tour with Beijing-Tibet Train

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