➤ Arrival Lhasa - Transfer to your hotel - Meet your guide:

➤ Itinerary: Welcome to Tibet! You arrive at Lhasa’s Gonggar airport after what has, cloud cover permitting, been a spectacular flight (note that we can also meet you at the station if you arrive in Lhasa by train). Your guide will be meeting you at the airport for the 1 hour drive to Lhasa. Tibet’s capital is at a quite manageable altitude of 3,650 meters (12,000 feet) is a unique city and a highlight of China and, indeed, Asia. The setting, the history, architecture, people and contrasts all make for a very special travel experience. Free time to relax and adjust to the altitude or explore the fascinating area of the old Tibetan city your hotel is located in.

➤ Overnight at the Dhood Gu Hotel 3*. With a fantastic location close to Barkhor Square in the heart of the Old City this hotel is built and immerses you in the beautiful and colourful Tibetan style.

➤ Meals included: None.

➤ Lhasa - visit Drepung Monastery, Nechung residence, the Jokhang temple and Kora and Barkhor Square:

➤ Itinerary: Today we first head 5km out of Lhasa to Drepung Monastery, the largest in Tibet located on the Gambo Utse mountain. It was founded in 1416 and was the principal seat of learning for the Gelugpa school and at its height was thought to contain up to 10,000 monks (nowadays there are 300). About 10 minutes walk from Drepung is Nechung Chok which was the residence of the State Oracle of Tibet. This small monastery was also evocatively known as the ”Demon Fortress of the Oracle King.”

Return to Lhasa with time for lunch before visiting the Jokhang Temple, considered the most sacred and important temple in all Tibet. The temple is located at one end of Barkhor Square, a fascinating meeting point for pilgrims from all over Tibet. The temple itself was first constructed around 642 AD and despite or perhaps because of the hoards of visitors (mostly pilgrims) has an intense atmosphere infused with incense and devotion. You can sometimes get up onto the roof of the temple with good views over the old city. Surrounding the temple is the Barkhor Kora, a 1 km circular walk for pilgrims and locals as well as being a busy market selling all the goods a pilgrim might need on their travels. Free time to continue to explore the Old City for the rest of the day and evening.

➤ Overnight at the Dhood Gu Hotel 3*.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.

➤ Lhasa - visit the Potala Palace, Tibetan Medical Institute and Sera Monastery:

➤ Itinerary: Today you will visit one of the architectural highlights of China, the vast Potala Palace, former chief residence of the Dalai Lama’s of Tibet. The palace started to be built in 1645 and has been added to over the centuries. It is 13 stories high and contains over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 statues. Visitor numbers are restricted although it always feels busy inside. You will see some of the meeting rooms as well as the extraordinary chapels with their vast gold and jewel encrusted shrines to previous Dalai Lamas (the chapel of the 5th Dalai Lama has a stupa coated in 3,727kg of gold and 18,680 precious stones). The Potala dominates Lhasa not just from it’s size but also it’s location on Mount Potala and the views you get from the palace stretch right across Lhasa to the mountains that surround the city.

After the exertions of visiting the palace itself it is time for a trip to the Tibetan Medical Institute where a local Tibetan doctor will give an introduction about Tibetan traditional medicines - an area deeply rooted in Tibetan culture. This will leave you ready for another of Lhasa’s great teaching Monasteries - Sera. Spread over 28 acres at the base of Pubuchok mountain it was built in 1419. The highlights are the great assembly hall and some of the colleges located within the complex with their wealth of architectural features and shrines. Free time in the evening and overnight hotel.

➤ Overnight at the Dhood Gu Hotel 3*.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.

➤ Lhasa - day trip to Ganden monastery with time to hike in the surrounding hills:

➤ Itinerary: Today you will have a full day tour out of the city to the huge Ganden Monastery. The journey there is as much part of the trip as the destination with the approach to the monastery up a spectacular high altitude winding road. Ganden is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located at the top of Wangbur Mountain 36 kilometers from Lhasa at an altitude of 4,300m. Founded in 1409 it used to be home to up to 6,000 monks but today there are just 170. After touring the monastery you will have time to hike in the surrounding hills with their amazing views across the valleys and mountain ranges. Return to Lhasa with free time in the evening.

➤ Overnight at the Dhood Gu Hotel 3*.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch.

➤ Depart Lhasa by plane or train:

➤ Itinerary: Free time until a transfer to the airport or train station for your transport out of Lhasa. We believe, like many before you, that there is a good chance you will have come under Tibet’s magical spell!

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.