18 Days Best of Tibet Nepal Tour from Chengdu

Upon arrival in Chengdu airport or railway station, our guide will be meeting you and get you transferred to your hotel in Chengdu. The rest of the day is at leisure. Stay overnight in Chengdu

Chengdu is the major overland gateway to Tibet and home to giant pandas. In the morning, we will drive about half an hour to Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center, where you will catch pandas' feeding time, they are at their most active, both Adults and Babies. There's a wealth of information and a panda museum in this 230-hectare park 10 km (6 miles) north of Chengdu. It takes about 2.5 hours to visit this site.

In the afternoon, we will move back to downtown Chengdu to visit Jin Li Street, a vivid replica of the old commercial street of Qin, Han, and Three Kingdom dynasties. You can take a leisurely stroll along the street and buy some souvenirs. After that, we will go to Renmin Park, which is a beautiful city park often filled with locals, and you can enjoy a cup of tea to experience the slow life of Chengdu there.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

The whole day is free for you to explore around the city. In the evening, you will be transferred to Chengdu Railway Station for the train to Lhasa. Your Tibet Travel Permit will need to be checked before boarding.

Stay overnight on the train

It is quite a long journey that will take about 36 hours. Today you will first pass through two important provincial capital cities in northwest China, Lanzhou, and Xining. Xining is known as the beginning of Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Traveling along the rail line, you could see the scenery of the countryside and city in northwest China.

Then you will witness the most beautiful scenery of Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The land of snows, the desert, the grassland, snowy mountains, and turquoise lakes will continually appear and strongly attract your heart.

Stay overnight on the Train

Your train will arrive in Lhasa in the morning. Upon your arrival, your tour guide will hold a board with your name on it at the exit of the train station to welcome you. A private car will take you from the train station to the reserved hotel. The rest of the day is for you to acclimate to the high elevation.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

In the morning, visit the famous Potala Palace and explore the grandest of this myriad chapel. You will appreciate its audience halls, the jeweled and golden burial chortens (stupa Tombs) of past Dalai Lamas, and tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, thangkas, combinations of mandala, etc.

In the afternoon, visit the holist temple in Tibet, the Jokhang Temple, built during Songtsen Gonpo's reign by princess Wencheng of Tang Dynasty, 647 A.D, and its famous Barkhor Kora, where you can buy or appreciate traditional Tibetan artifacts, religious implements, antiques, books, Tibetan music instrument, Thangkas, and tradition Tibetan clothes etc. You will have a chance to get close to appreciate how the artists draw Thangkas at the Thangka workroom at Barkhor.

In the morning, you are going to visit Drepung monastery which was one of the “three greet” Gelug monasteries of Tibet and was founded in 1416 by Jamyang choge, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. Ganden palace was used as Dalai Lama’s palace in the Drepung before moving to the Potala palace.

In the afternoon, visit the Sera Monastery, which is one of the “three great” Gelug monasteries of Tibet and was founded in 1419 by Jamchen chojey, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. The Most attraction is the Monks debate at around 3:00 - 5:00 in the afternoon.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Passing by the green farmland of Nyangchu Valley, Yamdro-tso Lake, Karo-la Glacier roadside at 4960m, we move westwards to the second biggest city of Tibet, Shigatse, the area spiritually hosted by Pamchan Lama. The most important attraction for today is Yamdro-tso Lake and Kumbum Monastery in Gyantse. Yamdro-tso Lake is shaped like coiling scorpion with deep blue in color and Kumbum monastery has a 35m-high Chorten (stupa) with its white layers trimmed with decorative stripes and its crown-like golden dome.

Stay overnight in Shigatse

Before leaving Shigatse, we will go to visit the home of Panchan Lama - Tashilhunpo Monastery. It is largest monastery of the Gelug Sect in Rear Tibet, and the main stage where generations of Panchen Lamas carried out religious and political activities. After getting your Alien’s travel permit, we will leave Shigatse and then drive to Lhatse for lunch.

After that, we’ll drive over Tsola Pass (4600M), and Gyatsola Pass (5248M). At Gawula Pass (5180m), tourists can view the panorama of Himalaya. Then we’ll drive along the new zigzag road to Everest Base Camp and get closer to Mt. Everest peak. If time and weather permits, you are lucky enough to catch the sunset of golden Everest peak at the lodging area.

Stay overnight at Rongbuk Guest House

In the morning, you will first visit the Rongbuk Monastery, the highest monastery in the world. Being a part of the Nyingmapa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, it is unique in that both monks and nuns live together in the same monastery. You will also take gorgeous photos of the peak from the best vantage point at Everest Base Camp.

After EBC, you will drive to Gyirong Port, taking in the breathtaking vista of Mt. Shishapangma and Pekutso Lake. The road goes along the Ghungtang Lhamo, at 5,236 meters, and you will arrive in Gyirong in the late afternoon.

Stay overnight in Gyirong Guest House

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 in Kathmandu

In the morning, we will visit the Kathmandu’s Durbar Square, which is one of three durbar (royal palace) squares in the Kathmandu Valley. It is the site of the Hanuman Dhoka Palace Complex, which was the royal Nepalese residence until the 19th century and when important ceremonies, such as the coronation of the Nepalese monarch, still take place today. Then, we will tour Swayambhunath. It is one of the most recognizable symbols in Nepal and the painted eyes of Buddha watch all who ascend the worn stone steps. It is a World Heritage Site and one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal, and is at the source of the Valley’s mythical beginning. Then it is on to 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.

After Boudhanath, you will drive on to Nagarkot, a small town nearby that has great views of eight of the 13 Himalayan Ranges, including Annapurna, Manaslu, Langtang, and Mahalangur, as well as stunning views over the Kathmandu Valley.

Stay overnight in Nagarkot

Today, you will be driven to Pokhara early morning after breakfast. The whole journey takes about 5.5 hours. En route to Pokhara, you will stop off to visit the spectacular Bhaktapur Durbar Square, a Royal Palace square with pagodas and shikhara temples strewn around the ancient Royal Palace. The square really highlights the ancient building arts of Nepal.

Stay overnight in Pokhara

After breakfast, we will commence a full day sightseeing of Pokhara, the most popular destination in Nepal after Kathmandu. Spending enjoyably morning trip along the bank of Phewa Lake, you can admire the stunning view of the Fish Tail's Peak reflected in the silver surface of the water. You can also see the wonderful Annapurna panorama which forms a superb backdrop to Pokhara from the lake.

Aside from Phewa Lake, we keep visiting the Seti River Gorge - one of the best places to see. You will have an opportunity to take a glimpse to the limestone cave of Mahendra Gufa, used to be well-known for its stalactites.

Stay overnight in Pokhara

After breakfast, we travel overland from Pokhara to Royal Chitwan National Park. We experience you a lots of Safari activities; jungle walks, canoeing, 4WD safaris and so forth. Once the night falls down, we entertain you with cultural performances including bonfire before getting in bed.

Stay overnight in Chitwan

After breakfast, you will get a full day safari activities in Royal Chitwan National Park - if you are lucky, you will see many amazing creatures that you spend most time to looking for, such as rhinoceroses, Chitwan's royal Bengal tigers, leopards, monkeys, many types of deer and reptiles. Check your camera gear, preferably with a telephoto lens and you will not miss any shots.

Stay overnight in Chitwan

Today, you will drive back to Kathmandu, where you can have a nice lunch before heading off to visit the third largest city in Nepal, Patan, located in the south of the Kathmandu Valley. There you can visit the Patan Durbar Square, another of the Royal Palace Squares of ancient Nepali culture, which remains as the finest collection of palaces and temples in Nepal.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu

After breakfast, the rest of day is at leisure until we pick you up at the hotel and then transfer to airport for your next stop.