23-Day Shanghai Xi’an Lhasa EBC Kailash Kathmandu Tour

As you arrive in Shanghai, the megacity and financial hub of China, our local guide will be expecting you at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Later, the guide will escort you to your hotel. After you check in, the rest of the day is for you to have a good rest or explore the surroundings yourself.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.

Today we are about to visit some of the highlights of highlights of Shanghai tour. Starting with fascinating Shanghai Museum, the magnificent 4-story building houses an incredible collection of bronzes, sculptures, ceramics, coins, paintings, calligraphy, costumes and other exhibits in different dynasties. It’s the perfect place for fans of Chinese history and art.

Next comes the Yu Garden. Built in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, the Yu Garden used to be the private residence of a senior Government administrator in the Ming Dynasty. For passionate photographer, never miss the chance to photograph Old Street of Yu Garden.

In the evening, we will visit the most iconic building of Shanghai, i.e. Oriental Pearl TV Tower. You can enjoy the amazing panorama of the skyline of Shanghai at night. And as you stroll along the Bund, you will get amazed at the spectacular Huangpu River and dazzling light from buildings of Pudong.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.

In the morning, we are expected to visit picturesque Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, also known as the "Venice of China". It’s about 1 hour drive from downtown Shanghai. The ancient town dates back to Ming Dynasty. It’s highly recommended to enjoy the boat ride from one end of the water way to the other. Ke Zhi Garden and multiple shops and bridges, and street vendors selling handicrafts and goldfish and turtles provide a respite from boisterous metropolitan city.

Then, later we will get back to hotel and the rest of day is for free exploration. You may do some shopping around and have a good rest.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.

Today, you will take the train to Xi’an from Shanghai. Upon your arrival in the Xi’an railway station, your local tour guide will escort you to your reserved hotel in Xi’an.

The rest of the day is at leisure.

Stay overnight in Xi’an.

In the morning, we are about to visit the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. You will not only be attracted by the life-sized warrior figures and horses, each of which has distinct facial expressions and positions, but also be astonished by various kinds of ancient weapons which reflect the highly advanced technology in weapon-making 2,200 years ago.

Afterwards, we will head to tour another must-see attraction in Xi’an Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Originally built in 652 during the Tang dynasty, the Pagoda is known for keeping the Buddhist scriptures and figurines of the Buddha brought by Xuanzang, one of the most renowned Chinese monks. The whole place is one of the most visited destinations by international tourists in Xi’an.

Stay overnight in Xi’an.

In the morning, we are expected to visit Shanxi History Museum, the best place to take a glance at the glorious history of ancient Chinese civilization. The precious exhibits dates from the Paleolithic era to the Qing Dynasty. The breadth and depth of the artifacts and quality of artwork from each time period and dynasty are breathtaking! The museum is crowded, so be prepared to go with the flow of the people in front of each display.

In the afternoon, tourists can enjoy wonderful cycling on the top of Ancient City Wall. The wall around the city centre of Xi'an is a massive construction, about 14 kilometers in perimeter. With 98 defensive ramparts, four main gates, and a moat around it, the ancient city wall is a wonderful example of ancient defensive building. Near its centre are the Bell Tower and Drum Tower.

Later, we will travel to Muslim Quarter, the most famous gourmet street and largest Muslim business street in Xi’an. It’s the perfect place to have close chat with street venders of Muslims and buy the exquisite handicrafts and enjoy various local snacks.

Stay overnight in Xi’an.

Hop on the morning Tibet train (09:45) bound to Lhasa. The entire Train ride, with a total distance of 2,864km, will last 30:34h. You will enjoy the stunning alpine scenery as the train travels from Golmud to Lhasa.

Stay overnight in the train.

You will witness the most beautiful scenery of Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Spectacular land of snows, boundless desert, vast grasslands, grand ice mountains, and beautiful lakes will unfold before your eyes one after another and deliver a visual feast to you.

Arrive in Lhasa in the afternoon at around 16:19. Your tour guide will hold a board with your name and welcome you at the exit of the train station. A private tour vehicle will take you to the reserved hotel. The rest of the day is for your acclimatization to high altitude in Lhasa.

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, in order to promote the Buddhist religion. Inside you can see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve, perhaps the only most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism. Around the temple is Barkhor Street where you can do kora (a religious circle of a building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals, in the meantime, you can buy souvenirs.

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. Ganden palace used to be Dalai lama’s palace in the Drepung before he moved to the Potala palace.

In the Afternoon, Tourists will visit Sera Monastery which is another one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet, founded in 1419 by Jamchen Chojey, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. The hot attraction is the Monks debate at around 3 - 5 in the afternoon.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

In the morning, drive from Lhasa to Shigatse .On the way, drive over the Gampala Pass (4,790 m), and you will have a glimpse of Yamdrok-tso (4,400m) .The Lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains and in the distance you can have spectacular views of Holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar (7,191m) the highest mountain near Lhasa.

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

After one and a half driving, you will finally arrive at Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet. In Shigatse, if time permits, you may have a chance to visit the traditional Barley Mill and view the landscape of Barley Field (in summer).

Stay overnight in Shigatse.

Morning in Shigatse, you will visit the famous Tashilhunpo Monastery (may be arranged at the end of the trip) where you can see the well preserved largest statue of Jampa (future god) in the world. The monastery itself is abiding place for the successive Penchen Lamas.

There are only 2-3 hours driving from Tingri to Rongpuk through 90km new winding road in the mountains. On the way from Tingri to EBC, you can enjoy the stunning mountain scenery; pass the wild grassland, the torrent, and soaring mountains. If it is in clear weather, you can see the panorama of Himalaya range and among mountains you can see 4 mountains which are 8,000 meters high and more to enjoy like Mt.Lhotse (8,516m), Mt.Everest (8,848m), Mt.Qowowuyag (8,201m) and Mt.Mayalu (8,463m) at the mountain pass Gawula Pass (51,80m). If the weather is good and time allows, you will have a chance to see the majestic view of the golden summit of Mt.Everest at sunset.

Stay overnight at Tent Guest House.

In the morning, you will visit Everest Base Camp, either by trek or by Eco-bus, the magnificent Mt.Everest is standing in the sky like a huge white pyramid, thus you are standing at the top of the world. Take pictures here before getting back to Rongbuk.

In late morning, we need to take the old Tingri road to Saga County. From the old Tingri, you can see the Mountain Everest ,Chuyo, and Shishapangma which is at 8012m was the least of the world's 8000m peaks to be climbed. The road runs parallel to the Himalayan ranges and Nepalian sides called Anapurna ranges. The main road passes through the desolate plain of Digur tang, and the closely neighboring snow peaks of Shishapangma and Langtang to the south. Leaving the bum-chu basin, and then ascends into the depression of Peiku-tso (4,600m), a cobalt blue lake. Today we drive to Saga, a small town 69km from the Phelgu-tso.

Stay overnight in Saga Xibuyizhan Hotel or Mu Linsen Hotel.

Moving towards the Drongpa County, the region around the sources of Brahmaputra River, which is about 167km from the Saga town. In the late afternoon, we will reach Darchen, a small town at the foot of Mt.Kailash. The tour guide will help clients to make a reservation of porters and Yaks if clients need (cost on tourists' own) and do some preparation for your following 3 days trekking around Mt.Kailash.

Stay overnight in Tarchen Chongqing Hotel.

8 kilometers after leaving Darchen with Eco-bus (20 minutes), we get to a village called Sershung, where porters are waiting for their clients. From here we begin our trek around Mt.Kailash, during your trek you can see a lot of pilgrims prostrating along the path and plies of Mani stones, small scenic sites and west face of Mt. Kailash. On the way, there are some tent shops you can refresh yourself and drink some soft drinks. First day's trek ends at guest house on the opposite side of Drirapuk Monastery. If you have more energy, you can visit Drirapuk Monastery on your own. from the guesthouse, you can have stunning view of north face of Mt.Kailash.

Stay overnight at the guesthouse.

The second-day is the hardest and most tough circuit with the Dolma-la Pass lying 6.4km ahead. The peak of Dolma-la Pass is about 5630m above sea level, so it is better to set off early in the morning as the sun rays break over the ridges above. After taking a rest at the peak of Dolma-la Pass, you will descend staircase bringing you to Lhachu Valley floor, on the way you can see the small beautiful lake called Khandotso. From here it is still four hours trekking to the today's final destination with no shelters on the way. the second day trek's destination is Zutulpuk. if have energy, you can visit the Zutulpuk Monastery and its miracle cave of Milarepa.

Stay overnight at the guesthouse.

We continue our Kora to Darchen, is easy and the exit from the valley can be reached within 4 hours walk. At the ending point of the valley, you can take the ECO-friendly bus to Darchen(4km).

Stay overnight in Tarchen Chongqing Hotel.

Drive from Darchen to Saga.

Stay overnight in Saga.

Today, you will go exit China in the afternoon after 5-6 hours driving from Saga to Chinese Gyirong border, also called Rashuwaghadi in Nepal, living in the border to wait for the Nepalese driver to pick you up in the next morning.

From Saga to Gyirong border, you will find a whole new world quite different than the snow land, waterfall, flourish forest, deep gorges accompany you traveling all the way. The most amazing view is the snow-capped mountains standing behind the forest, which makes scenery take varied forms.

Overnight in the hostel at Rashuwaghadi, the border town in Nepal side.

The road between the border to Kathmandu is small, it takes 8-9 hours driving to Kathmandu, you are free to stop anywhere on the road if it is safe to park and enjoy the mountain view. Tour ends in Kathmandu, the driver will send you to your reserved hotel.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu.

In the morning, we will 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.

In the afternoon, the tour group will head to Patan City, which is 15 minutes driving from Kathmandu. Patan's central - Durbar Square, is absolutely packed with temples: It’s an architectural center point with a far greater concentration of temples per sq. meter than in Kathamandu or Bhaktapur. You may shop around and finally we will head back to Kathmandu.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu.

In the morning, we are about to tour Pashupatinath, the most important Hindu temple in Nepal, the old buildings on the site were destroyed by Moslem invaders in the 14th century, its stone linga smashed to dust, but it rose again behind their retreating backs. Succeeding monarchs reinstated the temple and the images.

Then you will explore the Bouddhanath, which is one of the largest stupas in South Asia, the focal point of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal. The white mound looms thirty-six meters overhead. The stupa is located on the ancient trade route to Tibet, and Tibetan merchants rested and offered prayers here for many centuries.

The third attraction we will cover is Bhaktapur Durbar Square. It is a conglomeration of pagoda and shikhara style temples grouped around a fifty-five window palace of brick and wood. The square is one of the most charming architectural showpieces of the Valley as it highlights the ancient arts of Nepal.

Stay overnight in Kathmandu.

You will be transferred to the International airport to connect onward flight.