Introduction

Tibet is the highest region in the world, at an average elevation of 4,300 meters. Blocked by vast mountain ranges in the north, south and the west, it is one of the world's least populated area. Tibet enjoys unparallel travel resources, including Mt.Chomolungma (Mt.Everest), the highest peak in the world. On the Sino-Nepalese border, the winding Yarlang Tsangpo river with the Brahmaputra great Gorge, and the holy Mt.Kailash and Mansarovar lake, as well as ancient ruins, places and monasteries, folkloric activities and religious ceremonies. Lhasa, located at an altitude of 3683 meters is the tourist centre with routes extending to Shigatse Tsetang, Gongpo, Ngari, Nagchu and Chamdo. A journey to the forbidden city of Lhasa is one that few people will ever make. Tibet is wild and barren and not the most comfortable of destinations, yet your fists sight of the great Potala Palace, the winter home of the Dalai Lama, will be a breathtaking reward.

Places of Interest in Tibet

The Samye Monastery
The Samye Monastery is at the foot of Mot.Haibusi on the north bank of the Yaluzangbu riber in Jialang county.Being the 1st monatery,it was built in 761.The 5th TobuKing Chisong Duosan sent envoys to Kashmir and India to invite famous lamas to teach Buddhism in Tibet. The monastery had been combined the Chinese ,tibetan and Indian styles ,in the centre of the Monastery is a big square 3-store hall with a floor space of over 8,900 squaremeters.the first floor Is of tibetan style,the 2nd Chinese and 3rd Indian.To the direction of the 4 corners of the hall,4 towers were bulilt respectively in red,white,green and black colors. The Sangsu Monastery is a typical buddhist building ,it deserves its place in the history of architecture.

The Changzhu Monastery
The Changzhu Monastery on the east bank of the Yalong River in the district of Shannan.there is a legend behind the Monastery. It is said that once upon a time, the site of the Monastery was an extremely deep lake. In the lake there is a five-head dragon. After Srontsan Gampo got the control of Tibet, he wanted to drain the lake and build a castle there. So he invited two Masters to lure a big bird to attack the dragon. the two Masters first of all imitated the sound of the bird and lured the dragon out, then they imitated the sound of the dragon to lure the bird out. So the dragon and the bird started a fight. The bird at last chopped off two of the dragon's heads with its wings. Seven days later , the lake disappeared. Some pearls were buried as the cornerstone for the monastery. That is how the Monastery got its name.

The Sakya Monastery - An Art Gallery
The Sakya Monastery is divided into the south and the North two parts.The construction of the monastery was started in 1073 by Kung GungQuijiepuo with the order from basba.It is of typical Yuan Dynasty style resembling castles. There are a lot of historical articles in the monastery,among them are found a lot of the imperial certificates,gold signets,crowns,costumes bestowed by the Yuan Dynasty emperors.There are also a lot of statues of Buddha,ritual articles,and articles of lections of handwritten scriptures in gold powder or cinnabar.It has over 10,000 volumes of tibetan books on astronomy, medicine, callingraphy, and history.So the Shaja Monastery enjoys the title " the Second Dunhuang Cave".

The Potala Palace
The Potala Palace, a pearl on the plateau The construction of the world famous Potala Palace was started in the 7th century during the time of the Tubo King srontsan gampo. on the top of Mt. Putup, it is looming over the whold Lhasa city. As high as 110m, the Potala Palace consists of two palaces-the Red Palace and the White Place.. With over 1000 rooms, the 1 storeyed palae covers an area of 10,000 square metres. it witnessed the life of the Dalai Lamas and the important political and religious activites in the past centuries. There are grand palaces within palaces. the Palace stands up so high that it resembles a magnificent castle in the heaven. It makes itself a good example of the ancient tibetan culture and architecture. The statues of the Tubo King Srongtsan gamoi and his wife Princess Wen Cheng are being worshipped in the Palace. Among the 8 tomb pagodas of the Dalai Lamas, the 5th tomb is the mst extravagant. It stands as high as 14m and used 11,000 ounces of gold in its gold plating. the designs and decorations on them all are inlaid with diamonds, peals, turquoises, agates, corals etc. There also stored the world treasre-the gold hand-written Buddhist scriptures, valuable gifts from the Chinese emperors and a lot of pricless antiques. You will be amazed by the colorful sculptures and paintings. The Potala Palace deserves the title of art gallery and museum. It is a symbol of the wisdom and power of the Tibetan people.

The Tashihunpo Monsatery
The Tashilhunpo Monastery sprawls on the slope of Mt.Niser,southwest of Shigatse .It covers an area of about 300,000 square meters with a floor space of about 30,000 sqiare ,eters.Painted in red and white, the buildings in the monastery stand closely together in terraced rows,offering a grand and majestic view. The monastery was founded in 1447 by Gendun Zhuba, one of the principal disciples of the Founder of the Yellow Sect Zongkaba, and was then enlarged consistently by different generations of panchen Lama until it acquired its present dimensions.Gendun Zhuba was first abbot of the monastery,and in 1600 at the invitation of the monastery,the 4th Panchen lama became the 16th abbot of it,thus made the monastery abode of the succeeding Panchen lamas ever since. There are many valuable and rare historical articles in the monastery,among them are found a lot of gold and jade signets, and imperial certificates bestowed by Emoerors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties as well as a seal of "Daitu" of the Yuan Dynasty scribed in the new Mongolian language reformed by Basba.They are of great value for the study of history.

Tours in Tibet

Himalayan Tibet Tour

» 7 Nights / 8 Days

Day 1 - Fly from Kathmandu to Lhasa. On arrival, transfer to hotel. Rest of the day free to relax and acclimitize to the high altitude.

Day 2 - Guided tour of Drepung monastery. Also visit Lhasa's holiest site and the most sacerd temple in all Tibet, in the old town - the 7th century Jokhang monastery, which draws devotees from across Tibet; people prostrate night and day in front of its doors and pilgrims line up every morning and also visit the fascinating Barkhor market.

Day 3 - Tour of Potala Palace, the 1,100 room citadel of the Dalai Lama which rises above Lhasa like a fairytale fortress sprung magically from its rocky pedestal. Also visit Sera monastery and Norbulinka.

Day 4 - Drive to Gyantse - Tibet's third largest city via Yamdrok Tso, a huge turquoise blue lake complete with with seagulls and yaks grazing along its shores. Actually Gyantse is little more than a pastoral farming village. Sight seeing of Phalkor Choden monastery which has exquisite 15th century murals and images in the Nepalese style. Its greatest treasure is the unique nine-level stupa called 'Kumbam' or '100,00 Images'.

Day 5 - Drive to Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city. Sight seeing of Tashilumpo monasterey, seat of the Panchen Lama, an impressive collection of occhre buildings roofed in glittering gold. Explore Shigatse's wide streets filled with shoppers; bargain in the old Khampa bazar for antiques and trinkets; climb to the old fortress towering over the city, or wander through the fascinating old quarter.

Day 6 - Drive to Tingri

Day 7 - Drive to Zhangmu, the bustling frontier outpost, perched upon a hill.

Day 8 - Leaveing Tibet, we cross the friendship bridge and after Chinese immigration formalities, drive to Kodari, Nepal's border town and after Nepalese immigration formalities, drive back to Kathmandu.

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» 3 Nights / 4 Days

Day 1. Fly from Kathmandu to Lhasa. Upon arrival in Lhasa, you will be met, assisted and transferred to your hotel. Rest of the day free to relax in order to acclimatize to the high altitude. Arriving in Lhasa, you'll discover a city unlike any other. While the outskirts are crowded with sprawling modern concrete buildings, the core of the old town remains practically untouched.

Day 2. Guided sight seeing tour of Potala Palace, the winter palace of the Dalai Lama - an unforgettable introduction to the fabled city of Lhasa - and Drepung the biggest monastic university of Tibet.

Day 3. Guided sight seeing tour of Jokhang, the central Cathedral and holiest temple in Tibet, Barkhor market and the Tibetean Medical Centre.

Day 4. After early morning breakfast, transfer to the airport to connect flight to Kathmandu.

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