Itinerary
Days
1 Chengdu **
Days 2-5 Lhasa
Day 6 Gyantse
Days 7-8 Shigatse
Day 9 Sakya
Day 10 Rombuk and Everest
Base Camp
Day 11 Saga
Day 12 Paryang or Pasum
Day 13 Tirthapuri
Day
14 Khyunlung
Days 15-16 Guge Kingdom
Day
17 Darchen
Days 18-19 Kailash Kora
Day
20 Kailash kora and Lake Manasarovar
Day 21 Paryang
Day
22 Saga
Day 23 Nyalam
Day 24 Kathmandu
*Saga Dawa departure performs the kora before traveling to Guge in orderto best coincide with festival.
** If you prefer to join the group by flight from elsewhere in China, this can be arranged.
To join by flight from Kathmandu or train from Beijing you will need to add 1 day.
The cost will be adjusted to reflect actual services provided for this section.
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Tibet Tour: Kailash
& the Guge Kingdom
24 Days
 Chengdu, the bustling
capital of Sichuan Province is home to some of the best (and spiciest!)
food in the world. It is also a city of temples, gardens and teahouses.
An early morning visit to the Panda Breeding and Research Center
allows you to see the magnificent Giant Pandas and Red Pandas at
their most active; on the way back you can be dropped at the Wenshu
Temple with its excellent vegetarian restaurant and extensive tea-houses
filled with people chatting and playing cards and Mah-Jong - a taste
of old China. In the evening there is the option to discover a little
of Sichuan’s rich cultural heritage at a tea-house performance
of opera, acrobatics, puppetry and ‘eating fire and changing
faces’.
Colorful and historic, the holy city of Lhasa lies in a small valley
3700 meters above sea level. Lhasa rose to importance over 1300
years ago as attempts were made to unify Tibet. At this time the
grand temples of Ramoche and Jokhang were built to house the Buddha
images and religious artifacts brought to Tibet as dowries from
China and Nepal. Although little of 7th century Lhasa remains, the
1600s saw a second stage of renovation and development, which included
construction of the Potala Palace. Perched on a hilltop overlooking
the town, this massive structure dominates the landscape with grace
and dignity, confirming the suggestion that this palace is a true
wonder of the architectural world.
 During your time in the heart of Tibet, you visit the Potala Palace,
the Jokhang, the huge university monasteries of Drepung and Sera
and the Barkhor pilgrim circuit. There is free time to explore other
sights absorb the atmosphere and shop. The Jokhang Temple is the
spiritual heart of Tibet and also the most active. Prostrating pilgrims
circle the temple endlessly day and night; some traversing the extremes
of the country by foot to celebrate their beliefs. The Barkhor,
the holiest devotional circuit, circumnavigates the Jokhang and
houses a market bazaar. Here, Buddha images, yak skulls with ruby
eyes, woodcarvings, carpets and prayer wheels are bargained for.
Nearby are the Drepung and Sera monasteries, once home to over 15,000
monks. Afternoon debating sessions with the monks are a must-see
experience.
Leaving
Lhasa, it is a long, yet spectacular drive to Gyantse. From the
top of the Kamba Pass (4794m) the views of the turquoise lake, Yamdrok-Tso
are unforgettable. Descending travel along its shores, before climbing
again to the Karo La (5054) and the glaciers of Mt Nojin Kangtsang,
reaching Gyantse in the late afternoon. Once of major importance
as a trading center on the routes between India, Sikkim, Bhutan,
Tibet and China, its imposing fort, Gyantse Dzong, dominates views
of the town. It is also the site of Pelkor Choede and the fascinating
Gyantse Kumbum.
From Gyantse follow the Nyang-chu valley towards Shigatse, stopping
en-route at the 11th century Shalu Gompa, famous for its well preserved
14th century Newar wall murals. Then continue on to Tibet’s
second largest town, Shigatse, site of Tashilhumpo Monastery, seat
of the Panchen Lama and one of the most important monasteries of
the Gelukpa order.
 Sakya, once the political power of Tibet
is the last stop before set out to fully experience the splendor,
enormity and isolation of western Tibet as the camping section of
our trip begins. Magnificent valleys, herds of grazing yak, goats
and sheep, passes topped by prayer flags and few permanent settlements
mark your journey towards Tibet’s ancient heartland.
En-route
to Guge the dramatically situated gompa and hot springs at Tithapuri
are closely linked to Padmasambhava and are traditionally visited
in conjunction with a Kailash kora. The road into Tholing, once
the most important monastic complex in western Tibet, is one of
the most awesome sights in a region of awesome sites. Below - perched
above the Sutlej River - stands the first capital of Guge whilst
the skyline comprises a vast sweep of the Ladakh Himalaya. Guge’s
later capital at Tsaparang is of even greater significance in the
history of Buddhist art, its fantastic wall murals displaying evidence
of close links with Ladakh and Kashmir.
The giant
snow-topped pyramid of Kailash stands apart and distinct from those
around it, dominating the landscape. Along with Lake Manasarovar
it was the heart of ancient Zhangzhung and soul-mountain of the
pre-Buddhist Bonpo. To the Bon it is called Yungdrung Gu Tse (Nine-Storey
Swastika Mountain) and is the place where their legendary founder,
Tongpa Shenrab descended from heaven to earth. In the 11th century
however Naro Bonchung ‘lost’ both Kailash and Lake Manasarovar
to Buddhist Milarepa in a contest of magical powers. To complete
a kora (circumambulation) is the goal of every Tibetan; a single
kora cleans the sins of a lifetime whilst 108 guarantee enlightenment.
 Having completed the kora retrace the route
as far as Saga before turning south via Paiku Tso (lake) to the
small town of Lao Tingri, your base for venturing into Qomolangma
National Park. Some of the most stunning views of the mountain are
from the tiny Rongbuk Monastery (5000m) seven kilometers below Everest
Base Camp.
At Nyalam
you reach the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and the road descends
sharply towards the Nepal border, some 40kms and 2000 meters below.
Moisture returns to the air, the colors change, trees appear, lush
green vegetation and the Bhoti Kosi river thunders below as you
spend a final night in Zhangmu. From Kodari, the Nepal side of the
border, the road continues its winding descent, hopefully unhindered
by landslides, towards Kathmandu. Rich in cultural and artistic
heritage blending traditional and modern, Kathmandu is a vibrant,
chaotic, colorful city - one not to be missed.
The markets, bazaars and narrow streets are home to holy men, sacred
cows, bicycles, street sellers… you name it, it is here.
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Mount
Kailash
Asia's
most sacred mountain, Kailash is central to the Buddhist, Hindu,
Jain and Bon faiths. To travel here and make the 53km kora (circumambulation)
is the most important pilgrimage most will ever make. |
Guge
Kingdom
In an incredible canyoned landscape on the banks
of the Sutlej River, Guge was established in the 9th century.
The surviving 15th & 16th century temples and murals are
amongst the most outstanding examples of Buddhist art. |
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Potala
Palace
The symbol of Tibet, this awesome palace containing
over 1000 rooms and 200,000 images dominates the city. The
original 7th century building was replaced by the current
130,000square meter structure in the 17th century. |
| Jokhang
Temple
This 1300-year-old, golden-roofed building at the center of
the Barkhor is the spiritual heart of both the city and of
the Tibetan world. The most sacred and active of Tibetan temples,
it is the principal geomantic power-place in Tibet. The courtyard
in front of the entrance is almost constantly filled with
prostrating pilgrims – inside the labyrinth of shrines,
halls and galleries are dimly lit by butter lamps and filled
with pilgrims and incense and house some of the finest treasures
of Tibetan art including a pure gold statue of Sakyamuni.
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| Gyantse
‘The Royal Summit’ is named after a crag rising
suddenly from the plane, which has been fortified since early
antiquity – the fort (dzong) which crowns the crag dates
from the C14th. Gyantse quickly emerged as center of a fiefdom
with powerful connections to the Sakyapa order and dominated
the wool and timber trade routes from Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan
for centuries. By 1440 Gyantse’s most impressive architectural
achievements had been completed – the Kumbum, the dzong
and Pelkor Chode monastery. |
Tashilumpo
Founded
in 1447 by a nephew and disciple of Tsongkhapa who was retroactively
named the first Dalai Lama. The original building was built
above a sacred sky-burial site, the stone slab of which can
still be seen on the floor. Tashilhunpo is one of the four
great Geluk monasteries in Tibet and at its peak housed 4700
monks and is still the largest functioning monastic community
in Tibet. The most amazing image is the 26m Maitreya, erected
in its own Lhakhang by the 9th Panchen Lama in 1914 and covered
with 279 kg of gold.
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Lake
Manasarovar
The
‘Lake Conceived from the Mind of God’ is a brillant
turquoise expanse of water, pure beyond conventional scientific
confirmation. Its sun shape a balance and contrast to Rakshal
Tal. Chiu Gompa, spectacularly perched on a rocky pinnacle,
is the site of the cave where Padmasambhava lived for the
last 7 years of his life.
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Tithapuri
An important pilgrimage site associated with
both Mount Kailash and Padmasambhava. Dramatically situated
in a ravine of red and white earth, rock formations and hot
springs on the banks of the Sutlej River. |
Kathmandu
Busy streets, temples and shrines and shopping
to keep you busy for days.
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