Cultural Pilgrimage | Tibet Lhasa City and Three Major Monasteries 5-Day 4-Night Classic 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.

After breakfast, drive to visit Ganden Monastery, about 55 km from Lhasa city. Ganden Monastery is one of the three great monasteries of Lhasa and the mother monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism; the successive Ganden Tripas, heads of the Gelug school, resided here. The entire monastery is built along the mountain with overlapping buildings, and as you approach along the winding road, the vast complex of magnificent buildings in red, white and yellow comes into view. Inside, you can explore the Tsokchen Hall, Tsongkhapa's residence, the colleges and more, see solemn Buddha statues, precious Tibetan scriptures and robes and other cultural relics, and, with your guide's explanations, gain a deeper understanding of Tibetan Buddhist culture. In addition, on the 25th day of the tenth month of the Tibetan calendar each year, Ganden Monastery holds a grand Butter Lamp Festival, lighting butter lamps to commemorate Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Optional activity If your physical condition and the weather are both good, you can choose to hike with your guide along Ganden Monastery's kora, enjoying the open valley scenery and panoramic views of the monastery along the way. After the visit, return to your Lhasa hotel to rest.

Today, this wonderful 5-day pilgrimage tour of Lhasa and the three great monasteries in Tibet will come to an end. Our driver will take you to Lhasa Airport or the train station in advance according to the agreed time for your next destination. If you would like to extend this trip and explore more destinations in Tibet, such as Shigatse and Everest, Nyingchi, and Mount Kailash in Ngari, you can also contact our customer service to arrange it for you. We look forward to welcoming you again someday in the future.