6 Day Exploration of Lhasa and Tsedang

Fly to Lhasa airport, upon arrival your guide will meet you and transfer you to the city.

Driving along the highest river in the world –Yar Long Tsangpo River for one and a half hours to Lhasa.

After checking in at the hotel, take a complete rest for acclimatization.

Meals: None

Accommodation Lhasa 4-star hotel

You will spend the morning exploring the highlights of the Tibetan capital starting with the Potala Palace. The exotic structure is a complex of 13 stories and contains more than 1,000 rooms.

The palace is divided into two sections, The White and The Red Palace. Of which, White Palace is built as living quarters in the mid-17th century for the fifth to the fourteenth Dalai Lamas. From the White Palace, pilgrims climb to the central Red Palace, completed in the late 17th century and packed with chapels, ornate statues, and the gem-embellished tombs of past Dalai Lamas. The fifth Dalai Lama's tomb, made from two tons of gold with three stories.

Afterwards, you will visit the Tibet’s holiest shrine, the Jokhang Temple, which has a history over 1300 years, housing one of Tibet's most venerated images, a solid gold statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.

Then you can walk around the Barkhor area filled with thousands of pilgrims, shops and tea houses to relax and soak up the atmosphere, you can purchase Tibetan jewellery in the Tibetan shops here as well.

Note: Visit might be adjusted as per the arrangement of the Potala Palace.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation Lhasa 4-star hotel

Today you will visit Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery and the Norbulingka Park.“Drepung” in Tibetan means “the hill of rice”, for the white Monastery and the Norbulingka Park.

“Drepung” in Tibetan means “the hill of rice”. The white Monastery looks like a big hill of rice which is situated halfway up Mt Ganpoi Uze in the western suburbs of Lhasa. It was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choje, a Disciple of Tsongkapa, founder of the Yellow Hat sect. The monastery, occupying an area of 250,000 square meters with 7700 lamas in the past, is the largest monastery in Asia.

Sera in Tibetan means “Hailstone”, legend tells that it hailed during the foundation of this famous monastery. It is situated at the foot of Mt. Peibuqie in the northern suburb of Lhasa. Sera monastery was founded in 1419 by Jamchen Choje, another disciple of Tsongkapa. It once housed 5500 lamas in its golden age and is proud of its glorious history during The Ming Dynasty.

Norbulingka Park, known as Jewel Park was the site of the Dalai Lamas’ summer palace. It is situated one kilometer west of the Potala Palace and covers a total area of 360,000 square meters. In 1752, the 7th Dalai Lama built the first palace in this park, since then, Norbulingka has become the summer palace for successive Dalai lamas to carry out their political and religious activities during the summer season.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation Lhasa 4-star hotel

Today we will drive to Samye Monastery. Situated in the north bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river, this monastery was built in 779 A.D, and presided over and constructed by Padmasambava and Trisong Detsen. It is the first monastery allowing tonsured monks to become real Buddhists.

In the afternoon, back to Tsedang & visit Yumbu Lhakhang, which was first built by Nyatri Tsenpo, the first Tibetan king at the beginning of the 2nd century B.C.

Drive 200km by car

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation Tsedang 4-star hotel

Today you will take a ride to Trandruk Temple which is situated beside the road on the east bank of the Yarlung River in Nedong County.

Trandruk Temple was built in the 7th century by King Song Gampo. The tombs of the Tibetan kings are located here. It is believed that all the early Tibetan kings are buried here. Today only 9 of them are still visible.

Its remaining glory is the Pearl Thangka, an image of King Songtsen Gampo's wife, Princess Wencheng, as the White Tara, created from thousands of tiny pearls meticulously sewn onto a pink background.

This is in the central chapel upstairs, which also houses an original statue of Padmasambhava at the age of eight.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation Tsedang 4-star hotel

Transfer to Lhasa airport Take a flight to your next destination. Trip concludes

Meals: Breakfast