Nestling on the towering Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Tibet draws global travelers for its rich Buddhist cultural heritage & majestic Himalayan landscapes. With a sheer size of 1.23 million km², equaling the territory of the UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, and Luxembourg combined, Tibet invites you to a spiritual realm of endless exploration.

Traveling anywhere by flight from Asian and Western countries to the Tibet Autonomous Region of China takes one to three days, with layovers in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, etc.

So, if you plan to spend 7 days in Tibet, in this post, we will walk you through how to plan your Tibet tour in 7 days, both as a first-timer to Tibet or a return tourist, and offer you the best travel solutions to savor the quintessential Tibetan experience in a week and beyond.

Is 7 Days Enough in Tibet? Yes, It Can Cover Some of the Best Highlights of Tibet

Absolutely! With 7 days in Tibet, you can explore the center of holy Lhasa City to your heart's content where most iconic Tibetan landmarks lie, and enjoy ample options to wander through the top four neighboring prefectures around Lhasa, i.e. Shigatse, Shannan, Nagchu, and Nyingchi, each offering utterly different landscapes and exotic Tibetan experience.

Option 1: Spend Seven Days in Lhasa and Shigatse

As two of the biggest and most important prefecture-level cities in Tibet, Lhasa, and Shigatse contain up to 50% of the best travel highlights in Tibet. For first-timers to Tibet, visiting these two destinations in 7 days allows you to explore top-rated Gelugpa and Sakya monasteries in Tibet with many side trips to off-the-beath paths.

While Lhasa is home to the Winter and Summer Palace of generations of Dalai Lamas and reminds you of the legends of the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo and dominant Gelugpa Monasteries like Sera, Drepung, and Ganden, Shigatse is best known as the traditional sect of Panchen Lama with its prestigious Tashilunp Monastery.

Shigatse is also an ancient trade hub between China and Nepal. However, the real draw of Shigatse is the Everest Base Camp (5,010m), which entices worldwide travelers to admire the jaw-dropping north face of Mt. Everest (8848.86m) up close and overnight there. To visit EBC, you need to add one more day to your 7-day Tibet tour.

8 Days Lhasa to Everest Base Camp Small Group Tour

Tour Route: Lhasa - Gyantse - Shigatse - Everest Base Camp - Shigatse - Lhasa

Price from USD949 p.p

The distance between Lhasa and Shigatse is around 361km and driving from Lhasa to Shigatse takes 6h36min or so. This celebrated tourist route via scenic G318 Hwy is graced by turquoise Yamdrok Lake, Karola Glaciers, and idyllic Gyantse County where Gyantse Kumbum Stupa and awe-inspiring Gyantse Dzong Fortress are also worth your visit. We suggest that you visit Shigatse on the fourth day in Tibet after touring Lhasa.

Our guests visit enchanting Yamdrok Lake from Lhasa to Shigatse.

Option 2: Spend Seven Days in Lhasa and Shannan

If you are keen to trace the source of Tibetan culture and history and don’t wanna tiring long drives, spending 7 days visiting Lhasa and its neighboring Shannan Prefecture, the birthplace of Tibetan culture along the fertile Yarlung Tsangpo River, will be a fantastic choice.

After finishing touring Lhasa, on the fourth day, you can drive southeast to Tsedang. Buddhist sites and ruins in and around Yarlung Valley and Chongye Valley which is believed to be the cradle of Tibetan civilization will be the focus of your visit.

You can spend two to three days discovering Samye Monastery (the first Tibetan Monastery), meditating and trekking in the famous Chim-puk heritage, hiking to Yumbulagang Palace (the first Tibetan Palace), and visiting the first Tibetan farmland and tombs of Tibetan kings and a wide array of earliest Buddhist sites like Tradruk Monastery, etc.

6 Day Lhasa to Tsedang Tour

Tour Route: Lhasa - Tsedang - Lhasa

Price from USD760 p.p

Option 3: Spend Seven Days in Downtown and Outskirts of Lhasa

Covering 29,640 square kilometers with three districts and five counties, Lhasa has enough charm to hold any traveler's attention in seven days.

To plan your 7 days in Lhasa and around, take it easy not to visit any attraction on your Lhasa arrival day to get acclimatized to high altitude.

In the next two days in downtown Lhasa, visit the most iconic Tibetan landmarks, such as Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street, and older quarters of Lhasa between Beijing East Road and Jiangsu Road, and cover Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery, two of the great three Gelugpa Monasteries in Lhasa.

Hike the long staircase of Potala Palace.

From the fourth to the sixth day, it’s highly recommended to spend one day touring the famous cliff-hanging Buddhist Drak Yerpa Monastery and Ganden Monastery (first Gelugpa Monastery) to the east of Lhasa City and overnight in Lhasa.

The remaining two days offer you enough time to travel from Lhasa to the renowned heavenly Namtso Lake (4,718m) via Damxung and enjoy the stunning lake view and explore Tashi Dor Island. On the way back to Lhasa, a popular side trip is to cover Chimelong Nunnery and Tsurphu Monastery if you are interested in off-the-beaten monasteries.

6 Days Lhasa to Lake Namtso Small Group Tour

Tour Route: Lhasa - Namtso Lake - Damxung - Lhasa

Price from USD779 p.p

The Best 7-day Tibet Itinerary We Recommended

As the largest local Tibet travel agency since 1984, the best and most popular 7-day itinerary in Tibet we’ve recommended is the 7-day Lhasa to Kathmandu overland tour across the mighty Himalayas. Please read on, we will touch upon it below.

The Most Classic 7-Day Tibet Itinerary: Lhasa to Kathmandu Overland Via Mt.Everest

What distinguishes this 7-day Tibet itinerary from others is that this epic overland tour perfectly blends with monastery tours with some of the best Himalayan landscapes in Tibet.

Not only can you cover all the iconic Tibet monasteries from Lhasa to Shigatse, but also fulfill many travelers’ travel bucket lists to make it to Tibet Everest Base Camp to closely gaze at the unobstructed north face of Mt. Everest(8848.86m) in its full splendor and enjoy the Makalu (8463m), Lhotse (8516m), Mt. Everest (8848.86m) and Cho Oyu (8201m) and Shishapangma (8,027m), five of the world’s highest peaks in multiple perspectives, which is far more impressive than that of Nepal’s side.

The itinerary is well-balanced, with proper acclimatization days, combined with cultural exploration, natural beauty, and adventure. At the end of the tour, you can easily exit the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to Nepal for further exploration without detours and backtracking.

7 Days Lhasa to Kathmandu Overland Small Group Tour

Tour Route: Lhasa - Gyantse - Shigatse - Everest Base Camp - Gyirong - Kathmandu

Price from USD989 p.p

As a prestigious local Tibet travel agency with offices in Lhasa, Kathmandu, and Chengdu, we offer you free processing of Tibet Travel Permit to board the flight or train to Lhasa, 7-day Lhasa to Kathmandu small group tour with fixed departures, local experts support, easy Sino-Nepal border transfer service and diverse choices for hotels and attentive care along the way, etc. ensuring you an immersive and seamless Tibet travel experience.

If You’re a Return Tourist, Make Sure to Explore these Hidden Places of Tibet in 7 Days

For return tourists, planning a 7-day journey in Tibet means diving deeper into local Tibetan culture and landscape and experiencing off-the-beaten paths like never before.

For example, in Lhasa, you can embark on a loop tour to explore Reting and Drigung Til monasteries. You may also visit the enchanting Trubshi village around Lhasa and be the guest of welcoming local Tibetans and experience the farmwork and lives in rural Lhasa village.

6 Days Visit Lhasa and Countryside Tibetan Village

Tour Route: Lhasa - Ganden Monastery - Trubshi Village Trekking - Lhasa

Price from USD p.p

For foodies, you can book a Tibetan cooking class and shop with local experts in bustling Tromsikhang on Barkhor Street for local ingredients and follow locals to make scrumptious local cuisines, such as Thukpa, Tsampa, Tibetan momo, Sha Phaley, and Dre-si, etc. New skills acquired!

For outdoor enthusiasts, Tibet has tons of treks for you to stretch your legs on the imposing Tibetan plateau. For a leisurely day trek in Lhasa, you can choose the Pabonka Monastery to Sera Utsé Monastery trek. In Shigatse, the scenic Shalu to Nartang Trek is for most travelers. Another popular trek is the 4-day Ganen to Samye trek, which connects two of the famous monasteries on the ancient pilgrim route. Learn the top 11 treks in Tibet.

Our guests trek from Shalu to Nartang.

Alternatively, A big hit for travelers from southeastern Asian countries is to spend 7 days combining the Lhasa tour with a visit to Nyingchi, eastern Tibet. Averaging 3,100m above sea level, with verdant forests, rich oxygen, and Grand Canyon, massive peach blossoms (Later March to early April), Nyingchi will impress you with similar vibes in Switzerland and Bhutan.

How Much Does It Cost for a Typical 7-day Tibet Tour? Budget at least 1,500 USD

Well, compared with tour costs in other cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an, etc. Tibet travel tends to be more expensive. The reasons are as follows:

Outside Lhasa, many major attractions lie far away from each other and traveling by road is the only access for the visit, travelers need to pay a large sum of money for transportation and drivers. In addition, the extreme altitude and harsh environment, especially in remote regions like Everest Base Camp or Mt. Kailash, drive up the cost of living compared to inland China.

However, a more budget-friendly solution to visit Tibet in 7 days is by joining Tibet small group tours. Take the classic 7-day Lhasa to Kathmandu small group tour, you can only spend 989 US$ (Nov to Feb, low season) and share the transportation cost with other travelers and stay in 3-star hotels.

In the high season (April to Oct), the tour cost will fluctuate between 1089 US$ and 1189 US$. Considering the around 7 $/per meal and other personal costs, you need to budget at least 1,500 USD, without flight costs and a Chinese Visa.

It's very Easy to Get a Tibet Travel Permit for a 7-Day Tibet Tour

The great news is that to promote China’s inbound tourism, China has offered a new visa-free policy to save your travel costs and Tibet travel has never been easier than before.

Citizens from countries from Australia, New Zealand, Poland, France, Germany, Italy, and Malaysia, can visit China without a visa for up to 15 days.

Travelers from Singapore, Thailand, Armenia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, The Maldives, Mauritius, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Suriname, The United Arab Emirates, can stay in China for up to 30 days without a visa.

So, only by emailing the image of your passport information page, we can manage to help you apply for a Tibet Travel Permit for free to board the flight or train to Lhasa. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

A Sample of Tibet Entry Permit.

What to Wear and Pack for a 7-Day Tour in Tibet?

Traveling light is the right choice for a 7-day tour in Tibet.

Carrying a medium 24-inch suitcase that contains multiple moisture-wicking thermal underwears, fleece, and a down jacket, a pair of windproof jackets, shirts, wool socks, jeans, toiletries, personal meditations, and sunscreen, sunglasses, lip balm, beanies and sunhat are enough for a week-long journey in Tibet.

As Tibet has crisp, dry air and little to no air pollution, you won’t sweat much. Your clothing will stay clean and dry throughout the week, allowing you to feel comfortable during your stay.

Besides, make sure to bring extra batteries, as the cold, especially at night or at the mountain passes, can cause your camera to lose power more quickly. Meanwhile, bring enough cash esp. when visiting counties and remote mountain regions of Lhasa or Shigatse. You will need it for dining and shopping with locals.

You also need a comfy trekking boot to walk on rugged terrains in Tibet as well. If you worry about altitude sickness, you can consult the health doctor to prescribe altitude sickness tablets before flying into Tibet.

Dress in layers and wear sunhat and glasses for Tibet tour.

Is 7-Day Too Short to Fulfill a Tibet Dream Tour? Yes, It Is

Though 7 days in Tibet allow you to cover some of the best attractions, if time is not a constraint, the vast 1.23 million km² of Tibet has much more to offer than you can possibly imagine.

Just add one more day to make it an 8-day tour in Tibet, you can sign for up the 8-day Lhasa to Mt. Everest small group tour, one of the most popular tours to Tibet EBC. Compared with the 7-day Lhasa to Kathmandu tour, you can view Mt. Everest from one more great viewing platform at Dinggye Xilin and tour Tashiluno Monastery and local Langma Hall, and Sakya town on the way back to Lhasa.

8 Days Lhasa to Everest Base Camp Small Group Tour

Tour Route: Lhasa - Gyantse - Shigatse - Everest Base Camp - Shigatse - Lhasa

Price from USD949 p.p

If you can add three more days, the expertly crafted 10-day Lhaasa to EBC and Namtso Lake tour is a perfect choice for you. You can make it to Everest Base Camp from Lhasa, and explore Yamdrok Lake, and its local Tibetan village, and heavenly Namtso Lake, two of the most sacred lakes in Tibet. This journey promises nothing short of excitement and adventure.

10 Days Lhasa to EBC and Namtso Lake Small Group Tour

Tour Route: Lhasa - Gyantse - Shigatse - EBC - Shigatse - Lhasa - Namtso Lake - Damxung - Lhasa

Price from USD1299 p.p

In addition, if you can afford a little more than two weeks in Tibet, the 15-day Lhasa to Mt. Kailash and Manasarover small group tour will surely bring you the ultimate experience in Tibet. After you complete the EBC tour from Lhasa, you will continue heading to western Tibet, where magical Manasarovar Lake and the challenging 3-day Mt. Kailash will fulfill your dream to explore the holiest mountain in Asia.

15 Days Kailash and Manasarovar Tour

Tour Route: Lhasa - Gyantse - Shigatse - E.B.C - Saga - Kailash Trek - Darchen - Lake Manasarovar - Saga - Gyirong - Tingri - Lhasa

Price from USD2069 p.p

If you want to dive deeper into western Tibet, the 17-day Lhasa to Kailash Manasarovar Full Moon Tour & Guge Kingdom Exploration marks the pinnacle of exploration in Tibet. You can uncover the far western corner of Tibet and learn the history of the ancient Xiangxiong Kingdom. Recommended for real cultural explorers and travelers with true spirits of adventure.

17 Days Kailash Manasarovar Full Moon Tour & Guge Kingdom Exploration

Tour Route: Lhasa - Gyantse - Shigatse - EBC - Saga - Darchen - Zanda - Kailash Trek - Darchen - Saga - Gyirong - Tingri - Lhasa

Price from USD2299 p.p

Last but not least, if you are a rail fan, then budget 7-days to include the scenic Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world’s highest train to Lhasa and exploration will also bring you a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As a local Tibet travel agency, we will help you secure the train ticket and plan a great Tibet train journey to Tibet.

Conclusion

So, a week-long journey in Tibet promises a good start for your Tibet adventure. Hopefully, you find this post helpful, if you Looking for more inspiration for your Tibet trip. Don’t hesitate to reach us by email, as the largest local Tibet travel agency in Tibet, we will offer you more expert travel solutions to plan a seamless Tibet journey.