7 Days Lhasa to Kathmandu Overland Tour

Distance: 70 km (about 1 hr) from Gonggar Airport; 20 km (about 30 min) from Lhasa Railway Station | Meals: Self-arranged | Hotel: Hotel in Lhasa (3,650m)

Tashi Delek! Your local Tibetan guide and driver will meet you at Lhasa Gonggar Airport or Lhasa Railway Station and transfer you to the hotel.

If you arrive by air, the drive into Lhasa follows the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley and gives you an easy first look at the high plateau. After checking in, the rest of the day is free, with no sightseeing planned.

Use the afternoon and evening to rest and settle into the altitude before the city tour begins tomorrow.

Overnight in Lhasa.

CHIBET Travel Advice: Complimentary airport pick-up is available from 08:00 to 22:00, while train station pick-up operates 24 hours. Keep your first day easy and avoid strenuous activity while you adjust to the altitude.

Distance: Approx. 10 km local driving | Meals: Breakfast | Hotel: Hotel in Lhasa (3,650m)

Today focuses on two of Lhasa’s major Gelug monasteries, with a comfortable city schedule that still leaves time to continue adjusting to the altitude.

Start at Drepung Monastery, once one of Tibet’s largest monastic communities. Walk through the hillside courtyards, assembly halls and old lanes while your guide explains how the monastery became an important center of Buddhist study.

In the afternoon, continue to Sera Monastery. The main experience here is the monk debate session, usually held in the courtyard, where monks use questions, claps and quick gestures as part of their Buddhist philosophy training.

The debates are energetic and easy to follow even if you know very little about Tibetan Buddhism. Afterward, return to the hotel and rest.

Overnight in Lhasa.

Distance: Approx. 4 km local driving | Meals: Breakfast, Local Sweet Tea, Tibetan Welcome Dinner | Hotel: Hotel in Lhasa (3,650m)

Spend today in the historic heart of Lhasa, moving from the city’s best-known palace to its busiest pilgrimage streets.

Begin at the Potala Palace. Climb through the White Palace and Red Palace, where former living quarters, chapels, murals and memorial stupas help explain how the palace was used over the centuries.

Later, visit Jokhang Temple, where pilgrims come to pray and make offerings throughout the day. Step outside onto Barkhor Street and follow the traditional clockwise kora around the temple with local worshippers.

Around the old quarter, stop at a local teahouse for Tibetan sweet tea. A traditional Tibetan costume photoshoot is also arranged, with clothing, makeup and photography around the historic lanes.

In the evening, meet the rest of the group for a Tibetan welcome dinner before the overland section begins tomorrow.

Overnight in Lhasa.

CHIBET Travel Notice: Potala Palace uses fixed entry times and daily visitor limits, so your guide may adjust the order of today’s sightseeing to match the confirmed ticket time. Photography is restricted inside some areas.

Distance: 360 km (about 8 hrs driving) | Meals: Breakfast | Hotel: Hotel in Shigatse (3,840m)

Leave Lhasa early and begin the overland journey west toward Shigatse. It is a full day on the road, but the lake, glacier and changing plateau scenery break up the drive well.

The first major stop is Gampala Pass, where Yamdrok Lake suddenly opens below the road. From the high viewpoint, the water stretches between dry mountain ridges, with Mount Nojin Kangsang rising in the distance.

After the viewpoint, drive down toward the lakeshore for a closer look before continuing west. The road then reaches Karola Glacier, where the ice descends unusually close to the highway and can be seen without a long hike.

Continue across the farming plains of the Nyang Chu Valley and arrive in Shigatse later in the day.

Overnight in Shigatse.

CHIBET Travel Advice: Gampala Pass can be windy and cold even when Lhasa feels comfortable. Keep a windproof layer in your daypack, and bring motion-sickness medicine if you are sensitive to winding mountain roads.

Distance: 340 km (about 8 hrs driving) | Meals: Breakfast, Tibetan Yak Hotpot | Hotel: EBC Tent Guesthouse (5,200m) or Hotel in Dingri (4,300m)

Start the morning at Tashilhunpo Monastery, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas. Walk through its courtyards and prayer halls, including the Maitreya Buddha, before leaving Shigatse for the Himalayas.

The road then climbs toward Gyatso La Pass. On a clear day, Mount Everest may appear in the distance for the first time, still small on the horizon above the plateau.

The wider Himalayan panorama comes later at Gawula Pass. When the weather is clear, Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma can all be seen across the skyline. From here, the road descends through the famous 108 Switchbacks, with Everest gradually growing larger as you move closer.

Reach Everest Base Camp in the late afternoon and spend time facing the north side of the mountain. If the weather cooperates, there may be a sunset over Everest before dinner.

Dinner tonight is a warm Tibetan yak hotpot, a welcome meal after the long drive into the Everest region.

Accommodation Options:

EBC Tent Guesthouse: the upgraded tent accommodation offers cleaner, more comfortable sleeping areas and improved shared toilet facilities. It is still simple high-altitude accommodation, but the location keeps you close to Everest for sunset, stars and a possible sunrise.

Dingri Vienna International Hotel: a warmer private room with heating and a private bathroom at a lower altitude. Guests staying here return to town in the evening and do not come back to EBC for sunrise.

Rongbuk Monastery Hotel Upgrade: a basic private room near EBC, available with a supplement and subject to seasonal availability.

Overnight at EBC Tent Camp or in Dingri.

CHIBET Travel Notice: Everest views, sunset and stars are weather-dependent. Nights around EBC are cold, so bring warm layers. Guests staying in Dingri do not return to EBC for sunrise.

Distance: 390 km (about 8 hrs driving) | Meals: Breakfast | Hotel: Hotel in Gyirong Town (2,800m)

Guests staying near Everest can rise early for another chance to see the mountain at sunrise. When the sky is clear, the first light reaches the upper snow slopes before the valley below. Guests staying at the Vienna International Hotel do not return to EBC for sunrise.

After breakfast, leave the Everest area and turn south toward the Nepal border region. The road crosses a quieter section of the plateau, with wide grasslands and the Himalayas staying close for much of the day.

Along the way, look toward Shishapangma, the only 8,000-meter mountain located entirely within Tibet, then stop at Pelkhu Tso Lake, where the open water sits below the surrounding snow mountains.

The biggest change comes after crossing Gongtang La Pass. The road drops quickly into the Gyirong Valley, where the dry plateau gives way to pine forest, waterfalls and deeper river gorges.

Arrive in Gyirong Town and check in for the night.

Overnight in Gyirong Town.

CHIBET Travel Advice: Everest sunrise and mountain views depend on the weather. In rare cases, if Gyirong Port is closed, the border route may be changed to Zhangmu Port.

Distance: 40 km (about 1 hr driving) to the border | Meals: Breakfast | Hotel: /

After breakfast, drive through the Gyirong Valley toward Gyirong Port. The final stretch is greener than the plateau behind you, with forested slopes, rivers and small villages along the road.

At the border, your Tibetan guide and driver assist with luggage and the Chinese-side departure formalities before you cross into Nepal at Rasuwagadhi.

Your 7-day Tibet group tour ends at the border.

CHIBET Travel Notice: Ground transportation from the Nepal border to Kathmandu is not included in the standard tour package. We can help arrange a private transfer in Nepal through a local operating partner for an additional cost.