This most spectacular high altitude overland safari takes you to Tibet with a spectacular flight over the snow capped Himalayan mountains past Mt. Everest, Mt. Makalu and Mt. Kanchenjunga. In Lhasa visit the famous Potala and Norbulinga Palaces, the great Drepung Monastery, Jokhang Temple, and walk amongst the crowded Tibetan market - the bustling Barkor Bazaar. Drive past the beautiful Turquoise lake on the way to the historic town of Gyantse with its unique multi-storied Kumbum Stupa.
The journey also includes the famous but rarely visited Shalu and Sakya Monasteries. After visiting the Tashilungpo at Shigatse we start our drive over the Himalayas by way of the incredible Arniko Highway that connects Kathmandu with Lhasa. Enjoy fabulous Himalayan mountain scenery moving through a wonderful road in the Himalayas. Once over the high passes flanked by a range of Himalayan giants we enter a land of lush subtropical jungles and rushing streams as we descend steeply into the Bhote Koshi Gorge towards Nepal. At the town of Zangmu on the Tibet-Nepal border we bid farewell to our Tibet friends and drive through the terraced countryside of Nepal to end our journey in Kathmandu. An unforgettable encounter with forbidden Tibet.
Day 01: Arrive Kathmandu- you will be met by our Indian or Nepalese representative who will transfer you to your hotel. The day is free for acclimatization and local area visits. Katmandu is the capital of Nepal where you will have plenty of time to explore this intriguing city and the cultural and natural beauty of the Kathmandu valley. The mysterious city is full of stupas, temples, pagodas and other shrines. Around Durbar Square you will find the former royal palace Hanuman Dhoka, the Taleju temple and the residence of the living child goddess Kumari. On the outskirts of Kathmandu are the stupas of Swayambunath and Bodnath, Pashupatinath, which are comparable to those of Varanasi in India
Day 02:Kathmandu- We visit the other two royal cities in the Kathmandu Valley, Patan and Bhaktapur, with their abundance of medieval Buddhist buildings. We spend the night in Kathmandu.
Day 03:Kathmandu- Today we visit Bodhnath Stupa, one of the biggest Buddhist shrines in the world, where we observe Buddhist monks in prayer in the monasteries surrounding the stupa. We also visit Pashupatinath, the most famous Hindu temple in the country, located on the banks of the holy Bagmati River. Here we see Hindu holy men (sadhus) meditating, pilgrims bathing and occasionally funeral pyres burning on the ghats. The rest of our time in Kathmandu is free for further sightseeing and exploration. You may wish to wander back into the centre of town, scour the shops in Thamel or just relax in the hotel.
Day 04:Fly to Lhasa- Morning transfer from the hotel to Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Airport for the flight to Lhasa. This is one of the most spectacular flights in the world as we follow the high mountain peaks before crossing over the Himalayan chain to the high Tibetan Plateau. After arriving at Gongkar Airport, there is a long drive to the fabled city of Lhasa. The distance used to be 90 kilometres, but has been slightly shortened due to a tunnel that was recently opened. On the way, you can enjoy the heart-beating highland view along the Yarlong Tsangpo River (the longest river in Tibet). We spend the rest of our first day in Lhasa relaxing to aid our acclimatization, as it is likely we will be feeling some effects after coming from Kathmandu. Overnight at hotel.
Day 05:Full day sightseeing in Lhasa including Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor street- he first day of sightseeing starts from Lhasa's cardinal landmark- Potala Palace, a structure of massive portions. Its towering image already appearing on various occasions, but your first sight of the Potala will still be an awe-inspiring moment. It takes at least a good 2-hour to visit those rooms, halls and chapels in the afternoon; we will drop a visit of the Jokhang Temple, the spiritual center of Tibet. Every day, pilgrims from every corner of Tibet trek a long distance to the temple. The temple is the product of Han, Tibetan and Nepalese architectural techniques. Then we will visit Barkhor, the oldest street in a very traditional city in Tibet
Day 06:Full day sightseeing in Lhasa including Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery- About 8km west of central Lhasa is the Drepung, once world's largest monastery with about 10,000 monks. This day's sightseeing begins with these white monastic buildings piled up on the hillside. Walking up to the hill is a pleasant thing, an easy break from the solemn ambience inside the halls and chapels. At the plat roof of hillside, you can have very good views of the whole Lhasa city and the distant mountains. Drepung is one of Lhasa's two great Gelugpa monasteries, the other is Sera. Around 5km north of central Lhasa, Sera may not be as grandiose as Drepung, but is more serene surrounded by many small temples. The 'Buddhism Scriptures Debating' in Sera is very famous.
Day 07:Lhasa to Gyantse- (3950m) 290 Kms/ We follow the Friendship Highway - a spectacular road which traverses High Mountain passes and crosses wide plateaus, connecting Lhasa with Kathmandu. We first travel through Tibet’s richest farming areas, before crossing the Brahmaputra River. In Tibet it flows at an altitude of 3939 meters above sea level, making it is the highest major river in the world. We cross the river on a solid suspension bridge and wind our way to Kamba La, where we enjoy a look at Yamzhog Yumco Lake on the way and overlooking Kalais Kora Glacier. Yamzhok Lake is a coiling, many-armed body of water shaped like a Scorpio. It doubles back on itself on the western side, effectively creating a large island within its reaches. For Tibetans, it is one of the four holy lakes of Tibet and the home of wrathful deities. The lake lies on several hundred metres below the road, and in clear weather is a fabulous shade of deep turquoise. Far at the distance is the huge massif of Mt. Nojin Kangtsang (7191m). Around afternoon you arrive Gyangtse and go for the tour of Palkhor Temple, built in the 15th century, which is situated in the west of Gyantse Town with mountains enclosing form three sides of the east, west and north. Its uniqueness is that its three sects of Buddhism, Shaja, Ningma and Guolu stayed harmoniously under one roof. The historic town of Gyantse has served as the capital of a small kingdom in the 15th century. The beautiful Kumbum Chorten, built around 1400, and the huge ruined fort bear witness to the powers that once ruled here. It later became the main centre for trade with British India. Overnight at hotel.
Day 08: Gyantse to Shigatse- (3900m) 90 Kms. In the morning we explore Gyantse before taking a three-hour drive across the Tibetan Plateau. Gyantse Dzong is a historical fort built in the 14th century and overlooks a mesmerizing view of entire Gyantse and surrounding Nyang Chu Valley. En route, visit Shalu monastery, which the construction was started in 1027. After this sightseeing we drive to Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet and its Tashilhunpo Monastery is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the most important incarnation for Tibetan Buddhists after the Dalai Lama. This impressive religious centre contains a giant statue of Buddha in the Temple of Maitreya as well as an ornate tomb, which is the final resting-place of the fourth Panchen Lama. Its huge size ensures it is almost a town in itself. One of Tibet's most active monasteries, it is currently being restored to its former beauty. The monastery was built in 1447 under supervision of the first Dalai Lama and for a very long time was the most important landmark of Tibet. Spiritual and economic leaders gathered here to make important decisions for Tibet. In those days 3000 monks inhabited the monastery: now 600 remain. Tashilhunpo sprawls on the slopes of Mt. Niser, southwest of Shigatse. It covers an area of about 300,000 square meters. There are many valuable and rare historical articles in the monastery. You might be lucky and attend one of the singing ceremonies of the monks, who are very friendly and will wave to you to come close and see. Dressed in the traditional yellow, they play drums in a concentrated trance. Overnight at hotel.
Day 09:Shigatse to Shegar- (4050 M) 244 Kms. Today we drive on dusty roads to Shegar. In the morning we cross Jai Tsuo Pass with stunning views of the Himalayan peaks to the south. En route we visit Sakya monastery, which is divided into the south and north two parts. It is of typical Yuan Dynasty style of resembling castles. There are a lot of historical articles in the monastery, among them are found a lot of the imperial certificates, gold signets, crowns, costumes bestowed by the Yuan Dynasty emperors. It has over 10,000 volumes of Tibetan books on astronomy, medicine, calligraphy, and history. So the Sakya monastery enjoys the title ‘the second Dun Huang Cave’. Although the scenery is desolate, the country is dotted with busy villages and ruined monasteries. Amongst these villages is the major town of Lhaze which makes for a convenient halfway point to stop; here we have the opportunity to try a local-style lunch. Our night stop, Shegar, is a small village of 1500 inhabitants with an interesting fort. Overnight at hotel.
Day 10:Shegar-Rongbuk Monastery-Mt. Everest base camp- Although it's just 100km from Shegar to Base Camp (5200m), it takes about 4 hours since the cracked winding roads demand much caution. But the views are stupendous on a clear day, and feature a huge sweep of the Himalaya range including peaks over 8000, Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Gyachung and Cho Oyu. When you finally get to Base Camp, the first sight of the mighty Everest simply leaves you speechless. All the hardship you bear along the way makes no sense at this while. The best moments to watch Mt. Everest's are early morning and late evening when Everest is shining like a goddess in the sunglow. No tour vehicles, apart from expeditions, are allowed beyond Rongbuk so you walk for 9kms or take a horse cart. Overnight in Rongphu Monastery guesthouse.
Day 11:Mt. Everest base camp- Tingri- Zhangmu- Take about 5 hours on bumpy road to Tingri, then may forward another 5 hours to Zhangmu. Zhangmu town is located in the border with Nepal is a very different place from the other ones you see on the way. All year round it is green with rains most of the time. You will think it is out of Tibet if not mentioning you but you’re behind China Customs, as there are Sherpa people and Nepalese speaking a different language here. Overnight at guest house.
Day 12:Zhangmu to Kathmandu- (1400m) 123km. Today we cross the Friendship Bridge that spans the Bhote (Tibet) Kosi River and enter into Nepal. The immigration Control is situated at Kodari where you will say good bye to your Tibetan guide and driver and walk across the river to meet Nepalese escort to drive to Kathmandu. Our journey here is in complete contrast to the wild and often barren plains of Tibet. We travel through heavily populated areas, with lush terraced hillsides rising steeply from the valley. After nearly five hours of travelling we arrive back at our hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 13:Full day rest in Kathmandu or fly to Delhi.
Getting there: Your nearest international airport is Delhi where you will meet with our expedition manager. After essential visits to IMF and cargo (if required), you will be escorted towards the initial point of your adventure as per the program details.
After the expedition/ adventure journey, you arrive back to Delhi. After de briefing (in case of expedition) and farewell ceremony, you will be driven to international airport to board flight back to your home.
Air tickets: We have our partners in almost every foreign country, so if you need any assistance in your air tickets bookings, you are always welcome to speak to us to know about our partner close to you. Cargo Management: We have strong tie ups with the cargo management companies to get your consignments clear timely in Delhi. In maximum cases, you will only need to spend just 2 hours for getting your consignment delivery. Once you send the documents and the boxes details, we start locating them in India.
Insurance: It is a condition of joining our trips that you must be adequately insured. All persons are expected to arrange their own insurance. Polices should cover any potential risks involved in such adventure.
Our hotels and camps: We offer you best economy hotels in cities and towns and till base camp we provide you very comfortable tents with maximum possible facilities in the mountains. For the trekking, Jeep Safaris, MTB and other adventure journeys, we provide the most luxurious camps fitted with dining areas and modern toilet facilities.
Adventure India briefing: We have excellent maps, images and movies of majority of our adventure expeditions/ journeys and sports. A short briefing in our offices is highly recommended so the team understands logistics, forecast problems and know where the solutions would be. We stress on planning, planning and planning in any adventure expedition and till now we have remained successful in all of our expeditions just because of our planning. So we need you to be an active part of it. It can be done online too.
Rescue and helicopter evacuation: if the expeditions are well planned, rescue operations can be avoided. In the history of 14 years, we didn’t encounter any serious requirement of rescue but still we can tie up with the agencies to provide helicopter evacuation on your request and willingness to pay the charges.
Peak booking formalities: already mentioned in detail in our mountaineering formalities in India link. For necessary applications either you can check the website of IMF or speak to us.
Ground transportation: We provide the ground transportation comprising of best available cars/ coaches in fine roads and rough trucks in remote areas of the Indian mountains.
Porters and ponies: We provide ponies till base camp and HAP/ LAPs as per the requirement of the expedition. The load will be carried as per the specifications of IMF and porters associations.
Fuel and gases: Fuel (after BC) is not a part of cost included section, but we will manage Butane / Butane propane gases for you on your timely request. Trek & BC food: We offer a mixture of Vegetarian and Non vegetarian food till BC including the several herbs we have individually discovered with the medicinal values and capacity to keep the body warm. We have cooks who make Korean, Japanese and Continental food along with Indian food.
Our guides & instructors: Our guides are basically trained till BC trekking and support to establish BC. But our instructors do have good experience of mountaineering who can join the expeditions to higher levels too.
Ground Support system: We have fantastic ground support system developed in collaboration with the local people of nearest villages, army camps, porters and local guides. We have re discovered the use of traditional communication system also along with the satellite phones to stay in touch with the groups after BC. Our BC staff is trained to keep information of the groups at ABC and between and act as per the situation.
Cost Includes & not: The cost includes all hotels, guest houses, camps till BC, food till BC, ponies, porters, LAP/ HAP, food & tents for the porters, cooks and staff at BC, insurance of our permanent staff, food for LO, cargo management, all transportation, all sightseeing, liaison and coordination, trekking guides and BC management. The cost doesn’t include IMF fees and environment levies, State Government fees and environment levies, porters insurance; clients air fares, helicopter evacuation, extra porters’ requirement from the BC, extra days at or above BC and any expenditure on personal level including clients insurance/ visa etc.
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