Devout Buddhist Appreciation

Upon your arrival, your local guide will expect you outside the Arrival Hall of the airport and transfer you to the downtown hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to adapt yourself to the dizzying altitude (3,650 meters or 11,975 feet!) of this Roof of the World. In this 6 days Tibetan Buddhist tour, your guide will take you to delve into Lhasa’s glorious history - Lhasa has remained the political, cultural, economic and religious center of Tibet for over 1,300 years - and how it serves the role as “the sacred place of Buddhism”, which the city’s name translates to.

► Tips:
1. Transportation: Although Tibet is in the far west of China, visitors can easily travel from Hong Kong to Lhasa via Guangzhou, which offers excellent transport links. You can take a 1-hour bullet train ride from Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station to Guangzhou. About 40 trains are available every day. If you wish to explore Guangzhou a bit, you can take a morning train so as to stay longer there, and then take a flight for 6 hours to Lhasa the next morning (including a 40-minute stopover in Shangri-La).
2. Dinner for tonight: If you can’t wait to try Tibetan food on your first day in Tibet, maybe visit Thong Kye Khang Sang Restaurant (Danjielin Road branch). Roasted yak and pork, Tibetan yogurt, and Tsamba (Butter Barley Cake) are all among the recommendations. Not only the local cuisine, but also a thick Tibetan cultural atmosphere will impress you. As you finish your meal, a long Hada scarf symbolizing goodwill will be presented to you, an experience hardly found elsewhere. Average per person here is CNY 90 / USD 12. However tucked in a lane, the restaurant is easy to spot as it has a distinctive blue name board with yellow Chinese and Tibetan names written on it. It is 10 minutes’ walk from Tangka Hotel and 10 minutes’ ride from Shangri-La. Your guide may help you to locate it.

Your one week Tibet tours will start from the Drepung Monastery, the world’s largest gompa or Tibetan Buddhist compound. It used to be the residence for the second to fifth Dalai Lamas, so you know how important it is! As we approach, you will be fascinated by the sight of its white buildings cascading down a mountain slope, just like a huge pile of rice at the distance as suggested by its name “Drepung”, meaning “rice heap” in local language. Explore significant parts like the central and the most magnificent Coqen Hall, which can hold near a thousand monks for spiritual practice, to marvel at treasures as ancient lifelike Buddha statues inside. While navigating the labyrinthine lanes within the premises, don’t just see around - look down to find dzi beads, Tibetan people’s talisman, inserted everywhere on the ground.

Continue to the Norbulingka Park, Tibet’s biggest and most beautiful artificial garden that used to be the summer retreat of successive Dalai Lamas. Breathe refreshing air from lush vegetation, admire ancient sites that tell the aesthetics of the upper class, and spot plant species endemic to the region or brought from the Himalayas!

The next stop is the Sera Monastery. Like Drepung, it is equally renowned and belongs to the Gelug Sect, also called Yellow Hat Sect as the disciples wear yellow monk hats. Sera at first glance will amaze you with a dense but somehow not crowded layout. Thangkas, murals, tens of thousands of Buddha statues and more make it a kaleidoscopic world to explore. Our main goal here is to witness the interesting Monastic Debates on Buddhist scriptures (not available on Sunday). The debating is an ingenious idea for lamas to clarify their thoughts and test their understanding of Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. You will see lamas in groups in the shade of trees debating with drastic gestures, particularly those of the standing questioners, who would call out, clap their hands and stamp their feet to challenge the sitting defenders. Sometimes with jokes and laughs, you just realize they really enjoy it! Remember to record the scene, if you will, with your phone, as it’s not allowed to use camera. Afterwards, your guide will transfer you to the hotel.

► Tips to Get the Most of Your Holy Journey in Tibet
Truly, Lhasa’s temples and monasteries are the crowning glories of its pious life, and a tour here without getting your fill of them is regrettable. But you are likely to get “templed out”, a feeling of exhaustion from taking too much information of too many ancient sites. A way to avoid it is to tell your preferences to your travel consultant in advance for a tailored sightseeing plan. Never feel embarrassed to communicate with the guide about your feeling during the trip. You can trust that your guide is one of the best to provide a responsible and immersive journey!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast; Lunch

Potala Palace, a jewel in human civilization and Lhasa's cardinal landmark, awaits you with its imposing splendor! Built in the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), it was the office-residence of Dalai Lamas and a mecca for Tibetan Buddhists worldwide and has witnessed the vicissitudes of Tibet for more than a millennium. You will recognize the palace the moment it comes to your view, with two parts - the Red Palace as the center and the White Palace as the wings. At the white part, visit the office and sitting room of the Dalai Lamas and explore a variety of halls and corridors with Buddhist paintings among other delicate decorations. While in the Red Palace, which is dedicated to religious affairs, marvel at the spiritual leaders’ resplendent stupa-tombs (chortens), appreciate countless rarities and relics, and perhaps join pilgrims for prayer before Buddha. Maybe walk to the rooftop for Lhasa’s panorama.

After lunch, we will visit the Jokhang Temple, which was also from the Tang Dynasty. From outside, you will find a spectacular four-story architecture with influences of Tang-era China, India and Nepal. Inside, you can witness the most revered Buddha statue in the whole Tibet, the statue of twelve-year-old Shakyamuni brought by Princess Wencheng of the Tang Empire. There is even a thousand-meter-long mural that illustrates the related history. Then walk along the bazaar of Barkhor Street to find more ancient buildings, local snacks, and traditional handicrafts and experience buzzing local life. Continue to a Buddhist Nunnery - the only nunnery in downtown Lhasa. Interestingly, to pass a test and be enrolled, a woman Buddhist must recite about 500 pages of scriptures, and once in, they get a salary of CNY 400 to 500 a month. The nunnery also operates an outpatient clinic and a lovely teahouse that offers Sweet Tea and authentic local flavors like Momo, the Tibetan version of dumplings. Maybe mingle with locals and tackle your dinner here. Sleep well to refuel your body and prepare for your tomorrow’s excursions to higher regions.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast; Lunch

We will drive you to Gyangtse today. En route, pay a visit to a local family. Here is your chance to dive into real Tibetan life - observe residential architecture, talk with Tibetan locals to know their beliefs and daily life likely over tea, and interact with dogs. Tibetan people love dogs so they often keep a dog or two in their home. Continue the trip to the Yamdrok Yumtso Lake, or the “Swan Lake” in local language, the largest inland lake at the north foot of the Himalayas and one of the most sacred in Tibetan hearts. The natural beauty here will leave you stunned. We will traverse meadow to reach the shore to revel in its vast expanse of turquoise water with snow-clad mountains in the distance, and encounter well-decorated yaks. Snake along the lake edge and through mountains to approach the Karola Glacier. It is only 300 meters (330 yards) from the highway and you can walk to it to capture its white peak up close. Karola would be at its most magnificent when glittering under the sun.

► Things to Note:
1. Lakes are locally considered serene sanctuary of spirits, so please refrain from shouting or yelling to show respect while we are near Yamdrok Yumtso.
2. As we will go higher up today, we suggest you select food wisely this morning to cope with possible altitude sickness. Please choose carbohydrate over fats and protein, as the latter ones require more oxygen to consume. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Take medicine to prevent altitude sickness if necessary.

As we arrive at Gyangtse, have a leg stretch in the peaceful original neighborhood on Gyangtse Old Street. Prayer flags that adorned each old house, locals in traditional robes, ancient sites, dogs, tethered cows lazing here and there, and cow dung plastered on walls to show wealth are all among the details. Go on to visit the Palcho Monastery, which is the only lamasery in Tibet that sees the three sects - Gelug, Sakya and Kadam - coexist. With background stories, explore its nine-tiered treasure house Kumbum Stupa, in which divinities are painted alive in numerous Ming-era (1368 - 1644) Buddha murals with dynamic gestures and a riot of colors.

Drive to Shigatse. Drop by the Pala Manor to take a peek at the life of past Tibetan aristocrats. It is main estate of the Pala family and one of the three well-preserved such heritages. Here, in some of all the 57 rooms, appreciate ornate carvings and paintings on beams and rafters, old furniture, as well as dazzling gold, silver and jade ware. Also imagine an extravagant life from relics like tableware and imported wine and precious fur clothing. On arrival in Shigatse, check in at the local hotel.

► Recommendation for Dinner
Shigatse lies close to Nepal so don’t miss the opportunity to sample Nepali cuisine! Pokhara Home Restaurant is among the best to offer both street food and staple dishes, authentic and affordable. You will love its tranquil dining environment, with vintage wooden furnishings rustic or elaborately sculpted. Try its Pani Puri, crispy hollow dough balls stuffed with potato and other ingredients, and Dal Bhat, steamed rice with lentil soup and beef or chicken curry, which are most traditional Nepali dishes. By the way, it’s run by a Nepali couple. Here a person spends CNY 65 / USD 9 on average to be full. Later, walk 5 minutes to Shigatse Hilton or call for a 10 minutes’ ride to Gesar Hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast; Lunch

After breakfast, visit the Tashilhunpo Monastery, the largest of its kind in Shigatse and also one of the four grandest of the Gelug Sect because successive Panchen Lamas practiced here. We will pay respect to stupa-tombs and Buddha statues, and appreciate murals that blend bold coloring traditions of India and Nepal. Be stunned by the world’s largest gilded Buddha statue here, the 26.2-meter-tall (86-feet-tall) Maitreya or the Buddha of the Future, crafted in 1914 with the use of 335 kg (738 pounds) of gold and over a thousand pearls, amber, coral and diamonds.

Have lunch to boost energy and we will drive you back to Lhasa to overnight. Tibet is a vast land so it takes a long time to transfer from one place to another. Enjoy varied spellbinding natural sceneries between naps along the way.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

Today we will transfer you to the airport for your flight home and conclude the tour. Have a nice trip! If you want to explore Tibet for more, just reach out to have this itinerary extended or tailored to your needs and interests.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast