First Encounter with Lhasa | Holy City Lhasa Downtown 4-Day Essence Tour

Tashi Delek! Welcome to Lhasa, the City of Sunlight. Upon arrival, our driver will meet you at the airport or train station exit and take you to your hotel in downtown Lhasa for check-in and rest. For the remaining time, you can rest well at the hotel and let your body gradually adapt to the high-altitude environment. Arrival suggestions By plane: Lhasa Gonggar Airport is Tibet's main gateway airport, with direct flights to and from Chengdu (the most popular), Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xining, Kunming, Shangri-La, and other cities. In addition, it has the only direct international flight, to Kathmandu, Nepal. By train: Taking the Qinghai-Tibet train to Tibet is also a very popular choice. You can take the train to Tibet from Xining (the starting point of the Qinghai-Tibet train, 21h), Chengdu (36.5h), Chongqing (35.5h), Beijing (40.5h), Shanghai (47h), Guangzhou (52.5h), Xi'an (31h), Lanzhou (24.5h), and other cities. Warm tips: On the day you arrive in Lhasa, do not do strenuous exercise, and do not take a shower that night to prevent catching a cold. Do not drink alcohol. Drink more water and eat fruit, and do not overeat. Rest more. You may bring American ginseng lozenges or health medicines such as Rhodiola and Gao Yuan An to relieve altitude sickness. Follow the guide's arrangements, try not to go out for activities, and maintaining a calm mindset and adequate rest is the best way to prevent altitude sickness. If you feel unwell, go to the hospital promptly for treatment.

After breakfast, go to visit the world's highest ancient palace-style architectural complex - the Potala Palace. [Potala Palace] is located on Maburi Ri in the northwest of Lhasa's urban area. It is a magnificent building integrating palace, castle, and monastery, and is also the largest and most complete ancient palace-style architectural complex in Tibet. The Potala Palace is built against the mountain, with 13 stories in total, 117.19 meters high, and more than 400 meters long from east to west. You will climb up the long stairs of the Potala Palace step by step, overlooking Lhasa as you go, taking in the grandeur of Lhasa City. While taking photos as souvenirs and resting, you will then enter the Potala Palace to explore this mysterious and ancient palace for which very few images are shown online. Afterwards, go to visit the holy site in the hearts of Tibetan Buddhist believers - Jokhang Temple. [Jokhang Temple] was first built in 647 AD and has a history of 1,350 years. It is the most splendid surviving Tubo-period building in Tibet, with 5 golden roofs and 108 Buddha halls. Here, you can see the world-rare life-size statue of Shakyamuni at age 12 and devout pilgrims worshipping in front of Jokhang Temple. Finally, you can stroll through [Barkhor Street]. This is not only the route for the local kora ritual but also a very lively ancient commercial street. You can encounter locals wearing Tibetan robes and devout pilgrims, stroll through the alleys to browse handicraft shops, or find a sweet tea house and learn from Tibetan friends their tranquility and contentment. In the evening, enjoy a delicious Tibetan dinner.

After breakfast, drive about 12 km (35 minutes) to visit [Drepung Monastery], one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is built layer by layer along the mountain, grand in scale, and its white walls and red eaves look especially peaceful and serene in the sunlight. Inside, you can visit the Tsokchen Assembly Hall, Ganden Podrang, the four major colleges and other important buildings in turn, learn about Tibetan Buddhist culture, go to the debate courtyard to watch monks debating Buddhist teachings (around 14:00), or stroll within the monastery and seek inner peace. In addition, around August each year, a grand Buddha-unveiling ceremony is held here, known far and wide as the Shoton Festival. In the afternoon, drive about 30 km (50 minutes) to visit [Sera Monastery], one of the six main monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is solemn and sacred. Here you can watch Tibet's famous Buddhist debates, which generally start at 15:00 (except Sundays). During the debates, the lamas in the courtyard engage in fierce discussion, and you can truly feel the faith and power of Tibetan Buddhism.

Today this wonderful classic 4-day Lhasa, Tibet tour comes to an end. Our driver will, at the agreed time, transfer you in advance to Lhasa Airport or Railway Station for your next destination. If you wish to extend this trip and explore more destinations in Tibet, such as Shigatse and Mount Everest, Nyingchi, Ngari and Mount Kailash, you can also contact our customer service to arrange it for you. We look forward to welcoming you again someday in the future.