15 Days Washington Beijing Lhasa Kathmandu Overland Tour

There are two direct flights leaving daily from Washington to Beijing and the overall travel time is around 14 hours. Please pack your luggage well and get to the airport on the day of flying. (The direct international flight from Washington to Beijing suggests to be booked by yourself.)

Stay overnight on the plane.

Transfer to your reserved hotel after arriving in Beijing airport. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

After breakfast, your guide will lead you to visit the majestic Mutianyu Great Wall. You will be taken on a group tour to the Great Wall, the most famous symbol of China and one of the world’s most remarkable architectural wonders. This section was first built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD).

Stay overnight in Beijing.

Today, you will head to visit the magnificent Forbidden City which used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years. Then, you will move to the Imperial Ancestral Temple (also Taimiao of Beijing). Lying to the east of the imperial palace, the Forbidden City, the Imperial Ancestral Temple was a place where Chinese emperors stored their ancestors' tablets and worshipped them during festivals and ceremonies.

After that, you will visit Beihai Park. It is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved ancient imperial gardens in China. With over 1,000 years' history, the park is not only a classic combination of the grandiosity of the northern gardens and the refinement of the southern gardens in China, but also a perfect integration of magnificent imperial palaces and solemn religious constructions.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

Hutong, which refers to traditional courtyard residence in narrow alleys in Beijing, is a great place where international tourists can learn the folk culture and old quarters of Beijing city. In the morning, tourists can are recommended to explore Nanluoguxiang yourself, one of the most famous Hutongs in Beijing.

With bustling main street, you will find a variety of cafes, kiosks selling different kinds of food and beverages and souvenir shops. A great way to tour Hutong is to enjoy the ride on a traditional rickshaw and rickshaw riders, most of whom can speak basic English, will take you to cover all the historical significance.

In the afternoon, tourists are free to do some shopping in Beijing and get prepared for the flight to Lhasa in the tomorrow morning.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

Tourists will take the morning flight from Beijing to Lhasa. After your arrival in Lhasa by flight, your guide will greet you and take you to your hotel. Tourists may view the Yarlung Tsangpo River/Bhamaputra River (the longest and largest river in Tibet) and Lhasa river on their way to Lhasa.

After arriving in Lhasa, you can take a rest and get acclimatized to high altitude. If you feel to go out, then you can go to the Potala Square, where you will enjoy the fountain with different colors and get amazing photos of the Potala and around.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today's tour will first bring you to the Potala Palace which is the winter palace of the Dalai lama. It was put to use since the 7th Century by the 33rd great king of Tibet. The most valuable collections of Potala Palace are the gilded burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and meditation Cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet.

Then after lunch, tourists head to Jokhang Temple which was founded by the 33rd great king of Tibet in the 7th century. Inside you can see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve. Outside, you can see pilgrims making prostrating in front of Jokhang Temple. Around the temple is Barkhor Street, where you can do kora (a religious circle of a building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals, and explore the old market. Besides, we can taste Tibetan tea with locals in tea house.

Optional:
With time permitting, you may go with tour guide to visit Tibetan handicraft art or Tibetan Traditional Medicine center. You can upgrade your service to enjoy Tibetan Culture Show in the evening (fr. 60USD).

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

In the morning, you are going to visit Drepung Monastery which is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet, founded in 1416 by Jamyang choge, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. You can visit the biggest monastery kitchen inside the monastery and enjoy Buddhist Sculpture Carving workshop near Drepung. 

In the afternoon, you will visit Sera Monastery which is another one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet. The hot attraction is the monks debate at around 3 - 5 in the afternoon. In addition, you can tour  the Tibetan religious scripture printing house. Inside the monastery, you can see three sand Mandalas and colorful Rock Painting of Buddha.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

In the morning, drive from Lhasa to Shigatse. On the way, drive over the Gampala Pass(4790m), and you will have a glimpse of Yamdrok-tso(4400m). The Lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains and in the distance you can have spectacular views of Holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar(7191m), the highest mountain near Lhasa .

Later, we will pass and enjoy the Korola Glacier on the roadside. At Manak Dam Lake, you can hang pray flag at Simila Mountain Pass. Then, we will arrive in Gyantse, historically Tibet's third largest city (after Lhasa and Shigatse). In Gyantse, we will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery and Gyantse Kumbum and enjoy the Far view of Gyangtse Fortress.

After one and a half driving, we arrive in Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet. In Shigatse, we may visit traditional Barley Mill and view the landscape of Barley Field (in summer). 

Stay overnight in Shigatse.

In the morning, we will visit the home of Panchan Lama - Tashilunpo Monastery. Then, we’ll leave Shigatse after getting your Alien’s travel permit, and then drive to Lhatse, it is a small town where you can have lunch.

After that, we will pass Tsola Pass(4600m), and Gyatsola Pass(5248m). Shortly after we enter Mt. Everest National Nature Reserve, tourists can enjoy the panorama of Himalaya at Gawula Pass(5198m). Then we drive along the New zigzag road to Everest Base Camp(5200m). You can get closer to gaze at the Mt. Everest peak. The sunset of golden Everest peak if time and weather permits at the lodging area.

Stay overnight at tent or Rongbuk monastery guest house.

In the morning, you can appreciate the sunrise of Everest Peak if weather permits at the lodging area and then visit the Rongbuk Monstery - the unique highest monastery with nuns and monks living together. Later, we can visit the Everest Base Camp and take pictures of Mt. Everest at the closes distance in EBC.

After that, we can drive from EBC to Kyirong border. On the way, tourists can enjoy breathtakign vista of Mt. Shishapangma and the Pekutso Lake. After passing the Ghungtang Lhamo(5236m), we will arrive in Kyirong in late afternoon.

Stay overnight in the guesthouse in Kyirong.

In the morning, your guide will assist you to exit China, and will see you off at the border with Nepal. On the other side, our guide from Nepal will meet you and transfer you to Kathmandu, and your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to look around the area, or just rest in your hotel after the rigorous trip across Tibet.

Stay overnight at hotel in Kathmandu.

The day starts with a tour of Kathmandu City, and takes in the famous Kathmandu Durbar Square. The most famous square in the city, the Durbar Square is the Royal Palace square in the city, and is surrounded by ancient buildings from the early 16th century. The magnificent architecture, exquisite decorations, and the intensity of historical items gives a great insight into Nepali culture.

You then continue the tour with a visit to the Swayambhunath Pagoda, which is one of the oldest Buddhist sites in Nepal. Swayambhunath is a huge golden stupa festooned with prayer flags that flutter in the breeze, on a hill that overlooks the entire city. Then it is on to Patan City, the second largest city in the Kathmandu Valley area. Patan City has one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Nepal that dates back to the 12th century, and is a great place to explore the Buddhist culture of Nepal.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu.

You will also get to go further afield in Nepal, to visit the ancient Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, and Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in Asia, and a focal point for Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal. Set on the banks of the Baghmati River, Pashupatinath is one of Nepal’s famous UNESCO sites, and the sunset over the temple roofs is spectacular.

Another great place to see is Boudhanath, located on the ancient trade route. It is a place of meditation and part of the spiritual journey around Kathmandu. With one of the largest stupas in the world, it has been the site of many Tibetan prayers over the centuries. Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the last place to visit for the day, with its pagoda and shikhara temples strewn around the royal palace. The square really highlights the ancient building arts of Nepal.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu.

For the last day, the guide will transfer you to the airport and help you get on board. There is no direct flight leaving from Kathmandu to Washington and you can make connection at Hong Kong or Delhi. The overall travel time is around 24 hours. Hope you have a nice trip home and look forward to traveling with you again! (The direct international flight from Kathmandu to Washington suggests to be booked by yourself.)