Tibet Ganden - Samye Monastery Trek - 10 Days

Upon your arrival at the Gonggar Airport after a scenic flight over the Tibetan Plataea and the snow-capped Himalayas, you will be greeted by our Tibetan Representative and escorted to the designated hotel in Lhasa city which is nearly an hour drive from the airport. The remainder of the day is for rest and acclimatization as it is very important in Tibet’s high altitude. If you feel like to make a stroll, we can take a walk around Barkhor Street after enough rest. 

After breakfast, we will visit the Potala Palace, the Winter Palace of the Dalai Lamas. It is one of the grandest palaces in the world to date with notable white and red palaces. 
Then after lunch, we will drive towards the Jokhang Temple, the most sacred temple of Tibetan Buddhism. It was built by the ruler, King Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century to house the statue of the 12-year-old Buddha Jowo Shakyamuni. It has intricate gold, gem, and precious stone decorations.

After exploring the Jokhang temple to the fullest, we will walk through Barkhor Street, a traditional old street in Lhasa that encircles Barkhor Street. The street is considered the holy path by the locals where they make the circuit kora of Jokhang Temple in a clockwise direction. 

Our other full-day sightseeing starts after breakfast from Drepung Monastery, which formerly had over 10,000 monks residing there and was the largest monastery in the world. Prior to the construction of the Potala Palace, it served as the Dalai Lamas' home. It was built in the 14th Century and now it is one of Tibet’s premier monastic educational institutions.

Then after lunch, we will drive back to the city and visit the most beautiful monastery in the town, Sera Monastery which was established in the fifteenth century by a student of Tsongkhapa. The monk debates in the monastery backyard are one of the major highlights of the monastery where you can observe the monks debating as a crucial component in understanding and learning Buddhism.

If time permits, we will make our visit to one of three UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Lhasa, Norbulingka which used to be the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas. The palace consists of 374 rooms and the biggest horticulture garden in Tibet.  You will have some time in the evening to arrange anything you could need for the Ganden to Samye Monastery Trek that starts tomorrow. 

After breakfast, we leave Lhasa and go for a drive to Ganden which is our trekking starting point. Ganden is 45 kilometers to the east of Lhasa and our drive along the bank of the Kyi Chu River towards Medro Gongkar. We will drive past Tibet University after crossing the Lhasa East Bridge and pass a settlement and a row of telegraph posts along the way before reaching Ganden Monastery. 

Ganden Monastery was built by Tsongkhapa in 1409 and lies at the summit of the ridge known as Wangku Ri. It is the Gelugpa sect's first monastery. We will traverse the monastery's kora (circuit) route from where we can see the breathtaking Kyichu valley.

Then we drive out from the monastery about 30 minutes to Trubshi Village we can hire some yaks to transport our camping gear. We will rest for the remainder of the day and get ready for the trek that starts the following day. 

Today, we set out on foot from Ganden in the direction of Yama Do village ( 17km). We will pass by numerous small nomad settlements, like Trubshi and Hepu villages. Then we will gradually ascend the slope until we can see the Shuga-la Pass (5250 M), the highest point of the hike. We will take the route through the valleys, cross the bridge across the mountain river, and then begin the ascent to the settlement of Yama Do, where we will set our camps and spend the night. 

Today is an exciting day as we walk past the highest point of the trek Shuga La (5250m) ( Around 10 KM Distance will be covered). Before ascending to the pass, we will take one final look at the Ganden monastery that is still visible in the distance. The pass is distinctively marked by its large monument decorated with prayer flags and yak horns. 

After a brief stop at the pass to savor the grand vistas, we make a sharp descent walking past a boulder field. The trail eventually opens into the valley and at the base of the hill, a swift mountain river can be seen flowing. We will cross the river once we get to the bottom of the hill. Up ahead in a distance the trail crosses the Tsotup Chu, a large stream with rich pastures of yaks, goats, and sheep. We continue through the valley and reach our campsite after walking for an additional 15-20 minutes. We may encounter several herders on the way today. 

After breakfast, we will leave the Tsotup Chu Valley, cross the Tsotup Chu stream and walk further towards Chitu La Pass (5100m) which is the second-highest point of this Ganden to Samye Monastery Trek. Compared to the Shuga-La pass, the ascent is much simpler and shorter. We will soon arrive at the summit of Chitu La, where you may enjoy a breathtaking panorama of three lakes. On our trip down to the valley where the other two lakes are, we will pass by the first lake, which will be at the peak of the mountain.
We will first stroll alongside the lakes before descending steeply to the river and rocky valley. From this point on, we will gradually drop as the scenery begins to change. More vegetation and forests with large trees will be visible. On the way, we will see many herders with their cattle and Yaks. 

After navigating the rough area, we will come to a broad valley with two rivers. Numerous nomadic tents will soon be visible on both sides of rivers. We'll spend the night in the herders' camping spot beside the river. During our Walk will cover 14 Km.

The journey today starts through the scrub forest, juniper bushes, and rhododendron trees on the shadier slopes. It is among the trek's most picturesque sections. After trekking for a few hours, we will arrive at Changtang village. Further walking we can see the Yarlung Tsangpo valley towards the south from where we will ascend steeply up to Yamalung Hermitage for 1 hour where there are a functioning nunnery and meditation caves. The walking track turns into a road and the valley widens as we approach Yamalung.

The trail overlooks the tributary streams cascading from the northwest to join the Samye valley. The old trade route from Lhasa to Samye via the Gokar La follows this valley. We will drive to the Samye Valley where we can enjoy the view of Hepo Ri, one of Tibet's holiest mountains. If time allows, we can visit the Samye monastery; if not, we'll go early the following day. We will spend the night at the monastery guest house or tented camp. Total Distance cover 39km.

We will visit the Samye Monastery first thing in the morning. We will find a small red and white temple that is believed to have been built under the shade of a white sandalwood tree. It is the oldest Buddhist Monastery in Tibet which was built in the 8th century. The monastery complex is astonishingly lovely. With the main temple, Utse, standing in for Mount Meru, four continents and subcontinents, and the Sun and Moon Temples, it represents the universe. Monks use their expertise in a debating courtyard and a lovely park.
 

After spending an ample amount of time exploring the monastery, we will resume our journey toward Tsedang, the third-largest city in Tibet. On the way, we will stop by Yumbulakhang, the first fort and oldest structure in Tibet. The architecture is distinct from everything else you've seen in Tibet thus far. Before the construction of the Potala Palace, Yumbulakhang served as the first palace for Tibetans.

Then we continue onwards to today’s destination. We check in at the hotel and rest for the remainder of the day. In the evening, we can stroll around the town. 

If time permits, we will explore Yumbulhakhang, the castle perched dramatically on a pinnacle above the valley is the oldest known dwelling in Tibet, reputedly the home of the Yarlung Kings in the morning before leaving for Gonggar Airport for the flight to your onward destination. 

Note: You can opt. for an extra day at the Yarlung Village, the valley of Tombs. The valley has some significant monuments Tandruk Monastery, a 7th-century monastery along with the Yumbulhakhang. So, if you choose to put an extra day in your itinerary, you will be transferred to the airport on the following day.