Overview

Eastern side of Mount Everest and Karma Valley were praised to be one of the “Top Ten Landscapes in the World”, “the most beautiful valley in the world” and “one of the top ten classic trekking routes in the world” by American and British explorers last century. The whole trekking route is inside the Mount Everest Nature Reserve with overwhelming landscapes. You can appreciate Mount Everest (World first), Mount Lhotse (World fourth) and Mount Makalu (World fifth). The whole valley is an untraveled region with a large area of virgin forest. You can appreciate rapid replacement of natural sceneries from river valley (in more than 2000 meters) to high peaks (in more than 8000 meters) from eastern side of Himalayas within dozens of kilometers. You can also see broad-leaved forest, needle-leaved forest, brushwood, Alpine meadow, Alpine desert, permanent snow zone, majestic snow-capped mountains and glaciers.

Brief of the Itinerary

Day	Place	Activities	Meals	Hotel
01	Arrival Lhasa	Airport to hotel transfer	/	Local 4-Star Hotel
02	Lhasa Day Tour	Lhasa City Tour*Potala Palace*Johkang Temple*Barkor Street	BWelcome Dinner	Local 4-Star Hotel
03	Lhasa-Gyantse-Shigatse	*Yamdrotso Lake*Karola Glacier*Simila Pass and Manla Reservoir*Gyantse Kumbum & Pelkor Monastery	B	Local 4-Star Hotel
04	Shigatse to Chutang to Youpa Village		B，D	Camping
05	Trek Youpa Village to Showotso	Trekking	B,L,D	Camping
06	Showotso – Shauwula Pass(4900m) – Orchid Valley	Trekking	B,L,D	Camping
07	Orchid Valley –Tsonangtso- Tangsung	Trekking	B,L,D	Camping
08	Tangsung – Karma Valley –Patang-Rabga-Paltang	Trekking	B,L,D	Camping
09	Paltang-Eastern face of Mt.Everest-Rabga-Paltang	Trekking	B,L,D	Camping
10	Paltang-Patang-Tangshang	Trekking	B,L,D	Camping
11	Tangshang to Tso-shorim	Trekking	B,L,D	Camping
12	Tso-shorim -Nangma-la-Lhundupling		B,L,D	Camping
13	Lhundupling-TashiTsong-EBC- Shigatse	*Everest Base Camp*Rongpuk Monastery	B	Local 4-Star Hotel
14	Shigatse to Lhasa(270km)	*Tashilunpo Monastery*River View of Brahmaputra	B	Local 4-Star Hotel
15	Depart from Lhasa	Hotel to Airport/Train station transfer at designated periosd of timeEnd the tour	B

Due to the need for official reservations for the Potala Palace visit, we are unable to confirm the specific timing of the Potala Palace ticket reservation in advance. The sequence of the itinerary may undergo adjustments.

Day by Day Itinerary

Day1: Arrive Lhasa and rest

After arriving in Lhasa, local tour guide will welcome you at the airport/train station, then transfer the guests to the hotel. Acclimatize the high altitude in the hotel.

Overnight in Lhasa

Day2: Lhasa city tour. Potala palace, Jorkhang temple

The tour will begin from UNESCO World Heritage site – Potala Palace, which is also the winter palace of Dalai Lama. It’s situated at 12,139 feet above sea level. It’s a 13-story high building that contains over 1,000 rooms, various statues, stupas, murals and artifacts.

Then continue to Jokhang Temple, another UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s a spiritual center for Buddhists in Tibet. Next to the temple there is Bakhor Street, filled with pilgrims and street vendors, selling traditional Tibetan items such as prayer wheels and jewelry.

Overnight in Lhasa

Day 3: Lhasa,Gyantse ,Shigatse: Yamdrotso Lake, Karola Glacieer, Gyantse Kunbum Monastery

Drive from Lhasa to Gyantse. Admire the Gampala pass (4790 m) on the way, and get a glimpse of Yamdrok-tso (4400m), which is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains. Then continue to drive west towards Gyantse. In Gyantse, tourists will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery and Gyantse Kumbum. After one and a half hour’s drive, clients will arrive in Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet.

Overnight in Shigatse

Day 4: Enjoy the road ride from Shigatse to Chutang Village and then Youpa Village, prepare for trekking

In the morning, we will take the tour vehicle and head to Tingri via Lhatse. On the way, you will stop by the famous Gawu La Pass (5198m). It is the best place to enjoy mind-blowing vistas of top 5 highest peaks (all above 8000m) along majestic Himalayas. Then we will follow the winding road to Youpa Village and acclimatize to the new altitude. You may get prepared for the trekking and yak registration.

Stay in camp in Youpa Village

Day 5: Youpa Village-Showotso

The real challenge of trekking starts from Youpa village. This part of journey with an altitude of 3750-4656m. Shortly after tourists hit the road, they have to ascend mountains and after going through a pass, the road ahead will be bumpy and full of rocks. As the altitude gets higher, the temperature drops considerably, especially when passing the pass where strong wind with snowfall often occurs. No village is visible except for a few numbers of small lakes. When reach Showotso (4650m), the unrivalled scenery will dispel all your tiredness. Small and tranquil, Showotso flows gently in the corner of the valley. In May, Buds of orchid can be seen on the banks of the lake, and a lovely smell of orchid permeates the air. In the background, there are snow-capped mountains, vague and far away.

Stay in camp in Showotso

Day 6: Showo-tso – Showo-la Pass – Orchid Valley

The challenge each trekker facing after the departure from Showo-tso would be the climb of Showo-la Pass, which is considered as the most difficult route of the entire trekking. As long as tourists make it through this pass, the area of Karma Valley will be within reach. Yet Showola Pass is never a push over and is 4900m above the sea level. The journey makes it impossible to change route randomly, and it would be better of following the steps of professional guides and move slowly and steadily. If the weather turns out to be clear, Mt. Makalu will be visible from Showo-la Pass. One particular thing you have to pay special attention to is that as travelers descend from the mountain, steep and narrow path has to be dealt with utmost caution. One has to keep balance and stand on a solid ground before taking the next step. Do have a rest frequently if one feels out of breath.

Stay in camp in Orchid Valley

Day 7: Orchid Valley –Tsonang-tso-Tangsung

Compared with breathtaking alpine scenery seen in the previous days, the scenery at the bottom of the Orchid Valley takes on a completely different picture. Covered by lush vegetation and vibrant forest, Orchild Valley is blanketed with unknown flowers, and the air is filled with refreshing oxygen. In May, one can see Azalea in full blossom around every corner of the valley. The trees in Tangsung are extremely unusual and it is said that during heyday of Sakya dynasty, even the trees in sakytang wanted to live in Sakya Monastery. Therefore, all the branches of trees grew towards the direction of Sakya Monastery. In fact, the majority of the timber used for building Sakya Monaster came from Tangsung.

Stay in camp in Tangsung

Day 8: Tangsung – Karma Valley-Paltang

Tourists have to pass a swamp in the second half of the trek. To help travelers pass the swamp safely, locals bridged the swamp with trunks of trees. Even in these places with little human presence, one can still see the footprints of Sherpas who travel swiftly at ease on this mysterious and little known land. Sherpas are indeed the king of forests and are exceedingly hospitable to new visitors.

Stay in camp in Paltang

Day 9: Paltang-Eastern face of Mt.Everest-Paltang

No words could better describe one’s feelings than a mixture of excitement and exhaustion if one successfully made it so far. Though the final destination of Eastern face of Mt.Everest is just around the corner, one shall expect to handle the rest of journey with carefulness because the landslide often takes place on the mountains and tourists should follow the old path.

Stay in camp in Paltang

Day 10:  Paltang–Patang-Tangshang

Trekking back along the way we came and rest at Tangshang.

Stay in camp in Tangshang

Day 11:  Tangshang -Tso-shorim

Trekking up all the way, and soon after the ups and downs, they reached today’s camp, Jasper under the snow-capped mountains – Tso-shorim. In the distance are Mount Everest, Lhotse (8,516 meters) and Makalu (8,463 meters), and in front of you is a 7000-meter unclimbed mountain.

Stay in camp in Shorim

Day 12: Tso-shorim-Nangma-la pass-Lhundupling

After setting off, climb over the highest point of the itinerary, the Nangma-la pass at an altitude of 5344 meters and another pass above 5000m, pass through a deep lake-Lhatsetso, and arrive at Lhundupling Village in the afternoon

Stay in camp in Lhundupling Village

Day 13: Drive from Lhundupling to Tashizong village,  back to Shigatse after visiting EBC

Today, we will climb over two soaring mountain passes, one is the Nangma-la pass(5344m), the highest pass of entire trek, and the
other nameless one is above 5000m. Passing deep-blue Latsetso Lake, we will get to Lhundupling Village.

Overnight in Shigatse

Day 14: Shigatse to Lhasa 280km

Today,we arrive in Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet. In Shigatse, we may visit the home of Panchan Lama – Tashilunpo Monastery. It stands among the six most sacred Buddhist temples in Tibet and was built, in 1447, by the 1st Dalai Lama.

Afternoon,  drive back to Lhasa by following Yalong Valley. You can stand on the viewing platform and view the vast Yalong River bed. Finally the guide will transfer you back to your hotels in Lhasa.

Overnight in Lhasa

Day 15: leave Lhasa

The guide will transfer you to the airport or train station and help you get on board.

Service

Service included

• Tibet travel permit and all other necessary permits to Tibet;
• All entrance ticket fees for all tourist sites listed in the itinerary;
• English-speaking Tibetan local tour guide;
• comfortable vehicle ranging from 4WD land cruiser to minibus depending on your group size;
• All lodging listed in the itinerary;
• All meals listed in the above itinerary;
• tents, sleeping bags, matress, walking sticks,
• cook, yaks, yakman and helpers
• Tourist accident/casualty insurance;
• First aid kit;
• Drinking water, oxygen,etc
• Welcome Dinner

Service Excluded

• Domestic flight/train not listed in the itinerary. (We can provide you the domestic flight/train ticket booking service at the BEST discount price; please contact us our travel experts for the details.)
• Meals not specified in the itinerary;
• Tips and gratitude to tour guide, driver and helpers;
• Personal expenses, like laundry, phone call, snacks, soft drinks (please do the best to avoid the alcoholic beverages during your Tibet trip), etc.