Lake and Holy Land | Tibet Holy City Lhasa + Holy Lake Yamdrok Lake 5-Day 4-Night Essence Tour

Tashi Delek! Welcome to the Sunlight City - Lhasa. Upon arrival, our driver will meet you at the airport or train station exit and take you to your hotel in Lhasa's urban area for check-in and rest. For the remaining time, you can rest well at the hotel and let your body slowly adapt to the plateau 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 route, to Kathmandu, Nepal. By train: Taking the Qinghai-Tibet train into 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 of arrival 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; do not overeat. Rest more. You may bring American ginseng lozenges or health supplements such as rhodiola and Gaoyuan'an to relieve altitude sickness. Follow the guide's arrangements, try not to go out for activities, and maintaining a calm mindset and sufficient rest is the best way to prevent altitude sickness. If you feel unwell, go to the hospital promptly for treatment.

After breakfast, visit the world's highest ancient palace-castle complex – the Potala Palace. [Potala Palace] stands on Maburi Hill in the northwest of Lhasa city. It is a magnificent building integrating palace, castle and monastery, and is also Tibet's largest and most complete ancient palace-castle complex. Built against the mountain, the Potala has 13 stories, is 117.19 meters high and more than 400 meters long from east to west. You will climb up its long staircases step by step, overlooking Lhasa as you go and taking in the grandeur of the city. While taking photos and resting, you will then enter the Potala Palace to explore this mysterious ancient palace for which very few images are shown online. Afterwards, 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 five golden roofs and 108 Buddha halls. Here you can see the world-rare 12-year-old life-size statue of Shakyamuni and devout pilgrims worshipping in front of the Jokhang Temple. Finally, you can stroll through [Barkhor Street]. This is not only the route for local kora rituals but also a very lively ancient commercial street. You may encounter locals in Tibetan robes and devout pilgrims, wander the alleys to browse handicraft shops, or find a sweet tea house and learn the tranquility and contentment of Tibetan friends. 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, its white walls and red eaves appearing especially serene and peaceful under the sunlight. Stepping inside, you can visit the Tsokchen Hall, Ganden Podrang, the four major colleges and other important buildings in turn to learn about Tibetan Buddhist culture, or head to the debate courtyard to watch monks debate Buddhist doctrine (around 14:00), or simply stroll through the monastery in search of inner peace. In addition, around August each year, a grand thangka-unveiling ceremony is held here — the famous 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, and here you can watch Tibet's famous Buddhist debates, which usually begin at 15:00 (except Sundays). During the debates, the lamas engage in fierce argument, and you can truly feel the faith and power of Tibetan Buddhism.

After breakfast, drive for about 3 hours (about 125 km) to visit Yamdrok Lake, one of the three great sacred lakes of Tibet. On the way, you will first cross the [Gampa La Pass] at an altitude of 4,990 meters. From the pass, you can take in a panoramic view of Yamdrok Lake drifting among the mountains like a blue ribbon and the majestic Noijin Kangsang Snow Mountain in the distance. Then continue toward Yamdrok Lake, the highest freshwater lake in the world, and appreciate its beauty from multiple angles, including the mountainside and the lakeshore. [Yamdrok Lake], or Yamdrok for short, is also praised as the most beautiful water in the world. The lake is as clear as a mirror, stretching into the distance and merging with the distant snow mountains. Together with the rolling mountains on both sides, the scenery is absolutely stunning. The local Tibetan people praise Yamdrok Lake in folk songs: "A fairyland in heaven, Yamdrok on earth. Stars in the sky, cattle and sheep by the lake." After the visit, return to downtown Lhasa.

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