Nepal Tibet Overland Tour - Drive in/Drive out

Arrival at Kathmandu International airport. Be received, welcomed & assisted by our representative & transfer to hotel. Half day sightseeing of Pashupatinath and Boudhanath. Overnight at hotel.

Boudhanath Stupa - Boudhanath Stupa is one of the oldest monument in Kathmandu valley and one of the first monuments with a written history. One of the biggest pilgrimages for Tibetans the area around this stupa is also known as the little Tibet in Kathmandu. This was listed in the UNESCO’s world heritage site list in 1979 A.D.

Pashupatinath Temple - Pashupatinath temple is the most important shrine for Hindus in Kathmandu. Although non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple premises, the cremation that takes place around the Pashupatinath temple area is interesting for foreigners. Listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979 this area has a lot of Sadhus/Hindu holy men who are center of attraction for many foreigners. Make sure you want to pay them if you take their pictures as they ask for money for being photographed.

Kathmandu Durbar Square - Kathmandu Durbar Square lies in the center of the Kathmandu valley and has some of the most interesting monuments in Nepal. The Kasthamandap, the building from which Kathmandu derived its name, the Kumari Ghar, the House of the Living goddess Kumari, the Taleju temple and the most interesting the Hanuman Dhoka Palace, now a museum are some of the interesting buildings in Kathmandu Durbar Square. Besides that, the program of different kinds and gathering of people from all over Nepal makes it a lively place and the best place to understand Nepal.

Swayambhunath Stupa - Swayambhunath stupa is also referred to as the ‘Monkey temple’ and is one of the 7 UNESCO world heritage sites of Kathmandu. Situated on a hilltop about 4 Km from the city center this stupa is one of the oldest monument in Kathmandu and comes from the Vajrayana sect of Mahayana Buddhism. With a pair of eyes in each direction, this place is a spiritual center for the locals and tourist visiting this area. The hilltop also offers the scenic view of the Kathmandu valley and the Himalayas.

Khokana and Bungmati - These two Newar Villages are located in the outskirts of the Patan District and are proposed as Tentative UNESCO heritage sites by the Nepal government. Khokana has the temple of Rudryaini and is also famous for the Mustard oil production. Bungmati, 20 minutes walk from Khokana through paddy fields is full of old Newari houses and architecture. These twin villages are one of the best places to experience Nepal’s age-old heritages and to observe the daily life of the People. You will feel like walking in the 18th century Europe as you go through these streets.

We will start our drive early morning towards the Nepal-Tibet border. The drive is about 4 hours. Upon reaching the border and clearing the frontier formalities we will head towards Nyalam. A Tibetan guide will accompany you from here onwards. Nyalam is about 35 km from the border. Explore the market area in the evening.

Today we have a scenic drive of about 8 hours. It is not tiring as the view along the highway is awesome. The mountains you can see from the drive include Mount Everest, Shishapangma. Melungatse and many smaller peaks of the area. We will drive past two high passes before reaching Lhatse overnight.

We will start our journey after breakfast and make the first stop at the Enroute visit Shakya monastery. The monastery is 26 km off from the main road. It is one of the oldest and most important Bonpo Monasteries of Tibet. This was the seat of Panchen Lama until his death in 1989 with its huge Thanka wall, which is clearly visible from the north side of the road.

We will visit the Tashilumpo monastery after breakfast and then continue our 2-hour drive to. Gyantse. After checking in at the hotel we will have some rest and then proceed for the sightseeing of Khumbum Stupa and Palkor monastery in Gyantse. Overnight stay in Gyantse.

This is yet another long day of driving. The scenic mountains are going parallel with us and we will make a few stops for photographs and rest. The most interesting part of the drive today is driving past the high passes Korala (5010m) and Kambala (4794m) and lake Yamdrok Tso. We will also cross the Great Yarlung Tsangpo also known as Brahmaputra River.

After breakfast, we will visit the Potala Palace, the Palace of the Dalai Lama. This architectural masterpiece is the symbol of unity of the Tibetans. This palace was built by King Soongtsan Gampo, who was married to Princess Wen Cheng Tang in 641 A.D. It has got 999 houses built on Hongshan Hill with a red building on top. It is one of the grandest Palaces in the world to date.

After lunch, we will drive towards the Jokhang Temple, the most scared temple for Tibetan Buddhists. After spending some time at the Jokhang temple we will walk through the Barkhor Street, a traditional old street in Lhasa.

We will start the sightseeing today from Norbulingka - the summer palace of the Dalai Lama, located along the Kyichu River and two kilometers west of the Potala Palace. This Palace has a huge garden covering 360,000 square meters, making it the biggest man-made garden in Tibet. It has got 374 rooms. The second site is Drepung Monastery, made by Chojey Tashi Palden in the 14th Century. It had four departments, of which Loseling, or "The Hermitage of the Radiant Mind," was the largest, housing more than three-quarters of Drepung's ten to fifteen thousand monks. Now it is one of Tibet’s premier monastic educational institutions.

The last site for today is Sera Monastery, built in 1419; this grand Monastery was home to more than 5,000 monks and five monastic colleges. Although much less active now, with only several hundred monks currently in residence, one of the most interesting times to visit the monastery is in the afternoon when monks, after finishing their morning scripture classes, can be seen debating in the courtyard.

We will make an early morning visit to the Tashilumpo Monastery and the market of Bazaar (if not visited on the first leg of the journey). We will drive further to Gyantse, a couple of hours drive In the 15th century it served as the capital of a small Kingdom. Kumbum Chorten a 14th-century monument is a place worth visiting here.

Explore Xigaatse.

We will drive for about 8 hours to Tingri. We will visit the monasteries in the evening if we have enough time.

The drive is interesting today as we drive past the Lalung La and Tongla pass, both of which are above 5000m. The top of these passes offers a great view of the Himalayan range including the highest peak Mount Everest and Shishapangma another peak above 8000 m.

After breakfast, we will drive towards the border which is 35 km from Nyalam. The immigration on the Nepalese side opens at 10.00 (Chinese time). After completing the formalities at the border we will head towards Kathmandu which is a scenic drive of about 4 hours. In the evening stroll around Thamel.

This is a free day but we can arrange local sightseeing in Kathmandu if you are willing.

The day to say goodbye and drop off to the airport.