16 Days Xining Tibet Everest Train Tour

As the start point of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Xining is one of the most popular gateways for foreigners, who want to have a thrilling Tibet train tour. Taking Xining as the first tourist destination, you have no reason to miss Qinghai Lake, the largest saltwater lake in China. Then, the train will pass by the grassland, the farmland, the salt lakes, the Gobi Desert, the Snowy Kunlun Mountains before cross Tanggula Pass (5072m), which is the world's highest point on a railway. About 22 hrs later, with one night on the train, you will arrive in Lhasa. You will visit the famous Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street, Drepung Monastery, and Sera Monastery in the following two days to acclimatize the altitude. After that, you will be driven along the friendship highway to Shigatse to see the grand Mt.Everest. Witnessing the stunning sunrise and sunset of Mt. Everest is the most impressive experience. Finally, you will see Namtso Lake as a perfect ending of this wonderful journey.

Day01 Arrival in Xining by Flight Pick up from the airport
Day02 Xining - Qinghai Lake Qinghai Lake, Mt. Sun and Moon
Day03 Qinghai Lake-Xining-Lhasa Qinghai Tibet Railway
Day04 Arrival in Lhasa by Train Pick up and transfer to the hotel
Day05 Lhasa City Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street
Day06 Lhasa Suburb Drepung Monastery, Norbulingka
Day07 Lhasa - Samye - Tsetang Samye Monastery
Day08 Tsetang - Trandruk - Yumbulagang - Chongye - Tsetang Trandruk Monastery, Yumbulagang Palace, Chongye Burial Mounds
Day09 Tsetang - Gyantse Yamdroktso Lake , Karola Glacier
Day10 Gyantse - Shigatse Pelkor Chode Monastery, Gyantse Dzong, Shalu Monastery
Day11 Shigatse - Sakya - Tingri Sakya Monastery
Day12 Tingri - Rongbuk - EBC - Tingri Rongbuk Monastery, Everest Base Camp
Day13 Tingri - Shigatse Tingri - Shigatse
Day14 Shigatse - Lhasa, 300km, Approx. 6hrs Tashilhunpo Monastery
Day15 Lhasa - Namtso - Lhasa Namtso Lake
Day16 Departure from Lhasa Send off to the airport/railway station

Day 1 Arrival in Xining by Flight
Upon arrival in Xining Airport, please look for our local guide there who will be holding your name board. Then transfer to hotel in downtown Xining. Guide will help you check in before leave. You are free for the rest of the day to check out the city by yourself.

Day 2 Xining - Qinghai Lake
Today, you will visit the most popular scenic spot in Xining - Qinghai Lake. It is located about 130 kilometers west of Xining. We will start our tour after breakfast. As the largest saltwater lake in China, Qinghai Lake is famous for the beauty of sapphire-like water, the turquoise-like grassland and majestic snow-capped mountains. The picturesque views vary from season to season. Cruising is the ideal way to enjoy the landscape. Cruising down the Qinghai Lake, you can catch a glimpse of the grand Mt. Sun and Moon along the way. After visiting the places, you will stay overnight at the lakeside to enjoy the stunning sunset and sunrise.

Qinghai Lake

Day 3 Qinghai Lake-Xining-Lhasa
In the morning, you will get back to Xining city after breakfast. Your tour guide will send you to the train station. Please exchange eTicket to an actual paper ticket at the ticket hall by showing them your e-ticket, a copy of your Tibet Travel Permit, and your original passport. Xining - Lhasa train takes about 22hrs covering a distance of 1960km.

You will spend the rest of the day on the train and enjoy the fabulous scenery along the highest railway in the world - Qinghai Tibet Railway. You will see the gorgeous natural scenery of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau such as nomadic pasture, sapphire lakes, flocks of goats and yaks, snow-capped mountains, etc.

Qinghai Tibet Railway is one of the most spectacular railways in the world.

Day 4 Arrival in Lhasa by Train
Our local Tibetan guide will wait for you at Lhasa railway station by holding your name sign. You will be greeted with a warm Tashi Delek (a kind of blessing), and be presented with a white Hada (traditional Tibetan ceremonial by giving you a white scarf). Then transfer to the hotel in Lhasa city. On your first arrival day in Lhasa (3650m), it's essential to have a good rest to avoid Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS, also known as altitude sickness). Remember to drink lots of water, eat lighter and have high carbohydrate food which will be helpful to you to adapt to the high altitude better.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 5 Lhasa City
In the morning our guide will meet you at the hotel and first take you to visit the famous Potala Palace, the cardinal landmark of Tibet and the masterpiece of Tibetan architecture. It was first built by the 33rd King - Songtsen Gangpo in the 7th century and rebuilt later by the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century. Now it's a museum and world heritage site.

In the afternoon, we will go to visit Jokhang Temple in the center of the Lhasa old town. Jokhang Temple is one of the most sacred temples all over Tibet and it is always bustling with earnest local pilgrims since the early days. After that, you will take a walk around the Barkhor Street - one of the most devotional circuit as well as a crowded central market of Lhasa. Barkhor Street is a very ancient round street surrounding the Jokhang Temple and the locals are always proud of it. As a symbol of Lhasa, it‘s also a must-see place for visitors.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

As the winter palace of the Dalai Lama, Potala Palace is an important religious landmark of Tibet.

Day 6 Lhasa Suburb
In the morning, we will go to visit Norbulingka. Norbulingka park is considered the premier park of all such horticultural parks in similar ethnic settings in Tibet. During the summer and autumn months, the parks in Tibet including the Norbulingka, become hubs of entertainment with dancing, singing, music, and festivities. The park is where the annual Sho Dun or 'Yoghurt Festival' is held.

In the afternoon, you are heading to Drepung Monastery, which means Monastery of Rice Heap in the Tibetan language. The entire monastery is large in scale and the white buildings cluster and covers the hillsides. They look like huge rice heaps in the distance, so it is called Drepung. Drepung monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery, also the highest-ranking monastery in the Gelug Sect.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Drepung Monastery was built in 1416 and located in the suburb of Lhasa, 5 kilometers western from it.

Day 7 Lhasa - Samye - Tsetang
After breakfast, transfer from Lhasa to Samye along the serene waters of the braided Yarlung Tsangpo meandering through a swathe of land flanked by dramatic sand dunes and rich in Tibetan history. After sightseeing, transfer to Tsetang, the fourth-largest city in Tibet, for the night.

Samye Monastery is built in an oval shape like a Mandala, which symbolizes the center of the universe.

Day 8 Tsetang - Trandruk - Yumbulagang - Chongye - Tsetang
Visit the major sights of Yarlung Valley in Tsetang today, which is considered the cradle of Tibetan civilization. We will go to Trandruk Monastery in the early morning. It's also one of the earliest Monasteries in Tibet. The Pearl Thangka is the highlight of this visit. Then we will head to Yumbulagang Palace, which was the first palace in Tibetan history. The scale of the temple is small, but it's very spectacular as it's towering over the hill and condescending on the top.

It was from the Yarlung River Valley that the early Tibetan kings unified Tibet in the 7th century and their massive burial mounds still dominate the area around Chongye.

Day 9 Tsetang - Gyantse
Today, lots of beautiful scenery will be seen on the way from Tsetang to Gyantse. Passing over Gampala Pass (4790m), you will have a glimpse of Yamdroktso Lake (4400m), from where you will have a spectacular view of Holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar (7191m), the highest mountain near Lhasa. We head westward along Yamdroktso Lake to Karola Glacier, then drive towards Gyantse (3980m), a very pleasant town in Tibet, located in the Nyang-chu Valley.

Day 10 Gyantse - Shigatse
Traveling from Gyantse to Shigatse will lead you through the fertile Nyangchu Valley, a wide agricultural plain where colorfully decorated yaks and horses are used by Tibetan farmers to till the land.

Day 11 Shigatse - Sakya - Tingri
Drive from Shigatse to Tingri via Sakya County where we will visit the famous Sakya Monastery. Stay the night in Tingri, the closest settlement from Everest Base Camp where guesthouses provide rooms with private bathrooms and hot shower.

Day 12 Tingri - Rongbuk - EBC - Tingri
Abt 3km from the Friendship Hwy, you get to the village of Chay. From Chay, it’s a winding drive up to Pang-la (5050m). The view here are stupendous on a clear day, and feature of a huge sweep of the Himalay a range, including Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Gyachung and Cho Oyu. The road then descends past a couple of photogenic villages and runs done in to the fertile Dzaka Valley and Tashi Dzom village. The dirt road then runs up the wide valley, to Pagsum village. The next main village is Cho Dzom and from here the road turns south towards Rongphu. The first view of Everest appear half an hour before you arrive Rongphu. After sightseeing Rongphu and Everest, return back to Tingri for the night.

Day 13 Tingri - Shigatse
Drive from Tingri to Shigatse today via G318, which takes about 7hrs. Please feel free to ask your driver to stop at any time if you want to take a photo of the fantastic view along the way.

Road scenery from Shigatse to Tingri.

Day 14 Shigatse - Lhasa, 300km, Approx. 6hrs
In the morning, we will visit the home of Panchen Lama - Tashilunpo Monastery, which was founded by the 1st Dalai Lama in 1447. It is a historic and culturally important monastery in Shigatse. It's located on the central hill of the city. The full name in Tibetan of the monastery means "all fortune and happiness gathered here" or "heap of glory".

Then, we will drive back to Lhasa from Shigatse along the Friendship Highway, via the northern route to Lhasa. It is the most direct route and usually takes around 6 hours to reach the capital. We will make several stops on the way in order to enjoy the views of the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley.

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is seat to the Panchen Lama, the second most important spiritual leader of Tibet

Day 15 Lhasa - Namtso - Lhasa
On the way to Namtso, you will have a far view of the Nyenchen Thanglha Snow Mountain. Enjoy the view of the vast grassland and spectacular natural scenery. You'll arrive at Namtso Lake after pass Nagela Pass(5150m).

Day 16 Departure from Lhasa
Your tour ends today. Our guide and driver will collect you from your hotel to transfer to Lhasa Airport/Railway Station for your next destination.

Based on 3-star hotels for 2 people in low seasons. Price varies according to travel season, number of people and level of accommodation.

INCLUSIONS

• Tibet Tourism Bureau Permit (TTB) and all other necessary permits to Tibet;
• Soft-sleepers from Xining to Lhasa;
• All entrance tickets fee for tourist attractions listed in the itinerary;
• Experienced local English-speaking tour guide;
• Travel-licensed vehicle according to group size & season as itinerary needed including gas and parking fee;
• All lodging listed in the itinerary; it’s your decision about the accommodation class: luxury 5-star international hotel, comfortable 4-star hotel, economic 3-star hotel, or guesthouse. Please tell us your preference;
• All meals listed in the above itinerary;
• Pick-up & Drop-off service from Airport/railway station;
• Travel Agency Liability insurance;
• Government tax;
• Express delivery fee of Permit (eg. SF. Express);
• Food & lodgings for guide & driver;
• Oxygen tank for emergency use;
• Sleeping bags;
• Two bottles of mineral water per person per day.

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EXCLUSIONS

• International flight to and out of China;
• Chinese Visa/China Group Visa; (Note: we could help you by providing the hotel or domestic flight reservation copies for your Chinese Visa or the invitation letter for your China Group Visa)
• Other domestic flights/trains to and out of Lhasa; (We can help you book the domestic flight/train ticket at the BEST price. Please contact us for details.)
• Meals are not included but we will recommend some good ones for you according to your requirements. Usually, it takes 3-10 USD per person for each meal.
• While the gratuity for guide and driver is NOT mandatory, it is expected. Based on their service, you can tip them on the last day of the tour. Each of you is suggested to tip them 5-10 USD/day in total;
• All the commission and tax charged by PayPal, Bank, and government when making payment. (e.g. PayPal --- 4.2%. Wire transfer --- 2%);
• Personal expenses, like laundry, phone call, snacks, soft drinks, optional tour activities, etc.
• Anything not mentioned in the Inclusions.