Lhasa Tibet Tour

Arrive in Kathmandu and meet your Mantra Adventure Tibet specialist. Briefing covers all required Tibet permits — Group Tourist Visa, Tibet Travel Permit, Alien Travel Permit — arranged by our licensed Tibet partner. Welcome dinner. Meals: Dinner.

The flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa crosses the Himalayan divide in under 90 minutes, with views of Everest and the great peaks on both sides. Arrival in Lhasa is immediately humbling — the Potala Palace, visible from the airport road, rises like a vision from a fairy tale against the electric blue Tibetan sky. Altitude rest is essential today — drink water, rest, and do not exert yourself. Overnight: Lhasa hotel. Meals: All included.

Potala Palace: 13 storeys, 1,000 rooms, 200,000 statues, and a 17th-century construction that remains one of the architectural wonders of the world. The ascent through its labyrinthine interior — past chapels containing the golden tombs of past Dalai Lamas — is a journey through Tibetan Buddhist history. Afternoon: Jokhang Temple and the Barkhor pilgrim circuit, where hundreds of devotees circumambulate the temple carrying butter lamps and spinning prayer wheels. Meals: All included.

Morning: Drepung Monastery — once the world's largest monastery with 10,000 monks; now considerably reduced but still impressive in scale and spiritual atmosphere. Afternoon: Sera Monastery for the famous 3pm monk debate — a centuries-old tradition in which monks engage in animated, theatrical philosophical debate, their discussions punctuated by emphatic hand claps. One of the most extraordinary experiences in all of Asia. Meals: All included.

Drive south over the Khamba La pass for the unforgettable first view of Yamdrok Tso — a vast turquoise sacred lake sacred to Tibetan Buddhists as an oracle lake. Continue to the ancient trading town of Gyantse and its famous Kumbum stupa — a 35-metre multi-storey mandala-shaped monument containing 108 chapels decorated with extraordinary murals. Meals: All included.

Short drive to Shigatse and full-morning visit to Tashilhunpo Monastery — seat of the Panchen Lama, founded in 1447. The monastery houses one of the world's largest gilded statues (a 26-metre Maitreya Buddha) and remains fully functioning with hundreds of monks. Afternoon free in Shigatse's Tibetan market. Meals: All included.

Drive back to Lhasa across the high Tibetan plateau. Final afternoon in Lhasa for additional exploration — Norbulingka summer palace, the Tibetan market around Barkhor, or a rooftop café with views of the Potala. Farewell dinner. Overnight: Lhasa hotel. Meals: All included.

Morning flight back to Kathmandu. Connect to your international flight, or overnight in Kathmandu. End of Mantra Adventure Tibet services. Meals: Breakfast.