5-day Tibet Real Life Tour

Welcome to Tibet! Your local guide will meet you upon your arrival in Gonggar airport and will escort you to Lhasa. On the 2-hour drive way, you'll enjoy the heart-stopping views along the Yarlong Tsangpo River. After checking in, the rest of the day is for you to acclimate to the high altitude and weather of Lhasa. Avoid strenuous physical activities during this first day since that may cause high altitude sickness.

    Guide Tips: 1) avoid vigorous activities but do take some leisurely walks in the city to acclimatize to the air and high altitude of Lhasa city (altitude of 3600m); 2) do not drink liquor in the arrival day, instead plenty of water and fruits are recommended.

The overwhelming Potala Palace is your first stop. As the symbol of Tibet, it was built in 641 AD and was the winter palace of Dalai Lama who is Tibet's pope. Impressive Tibetan architecture, huge golden Buddha statues, red-robed lamas and devoted pilgrims all make it a must-visit.
In the afternoon, you'll visit the Jokhang Temple, the spiritual center of Tibet. Every day, pilgrims from every corner of Tibet trek here from long distances to worship. Finally, walk the special circular pilgrimage route as local followers always do at Barkhor Street.

After breakfast, you are driven to visit the Norbulingka Park, the former summer palace of Dalai Lama, and then come to Drepung Monastery, once the largest Monastery housing 10,000 monks in its heyday.Your tour ends at Sera Monastery, and the 'Buddhism Scriptures Debating' in Sera is very famous. Enjoy the debate!

Besides the exotic culture of Tibet, picturesque Namtso Lake, 220km from Lhasa city, lends its natural beauty.  Namtso Lake, in Tibetan, means the Heaven Lake. It covers more than 1,920 square kilometers shaping lake a rectangle, and locates about 4,718 meters above the sea level, which makes Namtso the highest lake in the world. The pure water waves slightly under the pure and blue sky. Along the shore are enormous well-proportioned Mani stones. The colorful prayer flags hanged on the hills and monasteries make Namtso Lake holy and mysterious. A lot huge stones have existed along the Namtso for thousands years, and are related to some beautiful Tibetan stories. Namtso Lake is also the heaven for animals. It is natural pasture for nomads of northern Tibet. You have chance to see the sheep and yaks grazing leisurely on the grassland. Famous as one of three holy lakes in Tibet, Namtso lake is also a popular place for pilgrimage and meditation.

    After the sightseeing, drive back to Lhasa. (Optional: if you want, you can spend a night there to watch amazing sunset and sunrise. But this arrangement needs you add one extra day to your tour.)

    Guide Tips  1) Get well prepared for the high altitude(nearly 5,000m); 2) The weather is changeable. Rains, hail and snow usually come unexpectedly. So bring both thick and portable clothes with you. Also bring sunglasses and sun cream to prevent from strong sunlight and ultraviolet ray.

Today you could learn the process of how to make Tibetan joss stick, or Tibetan porcelain, or Tangka, etc. Or you could learn how Tibetans turn the yak dung into a good fuel, or how they gather in the harvest. You could join into them if you want. Different season, different activities until to be transferred to the airport in time for your flight to next destination.