Lhasa & Everest Base Camp: Tibet Holiday

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Highlights & Route

This is the long way into Tibet, and the most rewarding. Instead of flying to Lhasa, the route leaves Kathmandu by road, crosses the Gyirong (Kyirong) border and climbs in stages across the Tibetan plateau: Gyirong, Tingri, Shigatse, then Lhasa with its Potala Palace and Jokhang temple, before swinging back west to the Rongbuk valley and the Everest Base Camp on the Tibetan side, where the north face of the mountain rises straight ahead with nothing in between. Two weeks allow proper acclimatisation and give time at each monastery rather than a rushed glance.

For Indian travellers the route has a practical logic. Indian passport holders cannot get a Chinese visa for Tibet on their own; they must travel on a Tibet Group Visa issued by the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu together with a Tibet Travel Permit arranged by a registered Tibetan agency. Both take a few working days, which is why the yatra begins with two nights of Kathmandu local darshan while the paperwork is processed. Our partner agency handles the applications, the guide meets you at the border with the original permit, and the group travels together as the visa requires.

The scenery is enormous: the turquoise Peiku Tso lake below Shishapangma, the Yamdrok lake and Kharola glacier on the Gyantse road, Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse with its 26 m Maitreya, Sakya’s grey walls, and the barley fields and prayer flags of the Lhasa valley. The programme is for fit adults who can handle long drives and sleeping above 4,000 m; it is not recommended for small children or anyone with heart or lung conditions.

Route

Kathmandu (2 nights, visa processing) → Rasuwagadhi / Gyirong border → Gyirong (2 nights) → Peiku Tso → New Tingri → Shigatse → Gyantse → Yamdrok → Lhasa (3 nights) → Sakya → Lhatse → Rongbuk / Everest Base Camp → New Tingri → Gyirong → Kathmandu → departure

Good to know before you book

Indian passport holders enter Tibet on a Chinese Group Visa from the embassy in Kathmandu (3-5 working days; your original passport is submitted) plus a Tibet Travel Permit; both are arranged by us and included. The group must enter and leave Tibet together.
Passports must be valid for at least six months beyond the travel dates with blank pages. Submit scanned copies at least 30 days before departure.
Altitude is the main challenge: Lhasa is about 3,650 m, Shigatse 3,840 m, Tingri about 4,300 m, and the Everest Base Camp area around 5,200 m. A doctor’s fitness check before booking is strongly advised.
The Tibet side of Everest is best visited from April to early June and September to November; the plateau is very cold from December to February and the Gyirong road can be affected by monsoon landslides on the Nepal side in July and August.
The final stretch to the base camp is by regulated shuttle bus; private vehicles stop at Rongbuk. Time at the viewpoint is limited by the park rules.
Photography is restricted inside the Potala, Jokhang and most monastery chapels, and at border and military posts.

Yatra Highlights

Potala Palace, Jokhang temple, Sera and Tashilhunpo monasteries on a steadily acclimatising route
Everest's north face from the Rongbuk valley at about 5,200 m
Chinese Group Visa and Tibet Travel Permit arranged for Indian passport holders, with Kathmandu local darshan while they are processed

Day 1 :

Arrive Kathmandu, Budhanilkantha

Meet at Tribhuvan International Airport, your arrival point (airport, railway station or hotel) at the agreed time, and transfer to the hotel. Original passports are collected today for the Chinese Group Visa application; the embassy accepts applications on working days, so arrival dates are fixed accordingly. In the afternoon drive to Budhanilkantha to see the reclining Vishnu in its tank at the foot of the Shivapuri hill. Evening briefing on altitude, packing and the border procedure.

Overnight: Kathmandu

Day 2 :

Kathmandu valley heritage day

With the visa under process, a full day of the valley's World Heritage monuments: early darshan at Pashupatinath (Indian nationals enter the main temple free), the hilltop stupa of Swayambhunath, Patan Durbar Square with its Krishna Mandir and museum, and the great stupa of Boudhanath in the late afternoon. Buy any last warm clothing in Thamel this evening; it is far cheaper here than in Tibet.

Overnight: Kathmandu

Day 3 :

Kathmandu to Gyirong across the border

Depart early with packed breakfast for the drive north through the Trishuli valley to Rasuwagadhi, about 150 km but six to seven hours on a rough hill road. Nepali exit formalities, then walk across the bridge to the Chinese immigration post at Gyirong Port, where the Tibetan guide meets the group with the original permit. Baggage is checked thoroughly; keep books, maps and religious images about Tibet out of your luggage. Continue 25 km up to Gyirong town (about 2,700 m) and rest.

Overnight: Gyirong

Day 4 :

Acclimatisation in Gyirong

A deliberately light day to let the body adjust. Gyirong is a green valley of pine and rhododendron, unusual for Tibet. Walk up to the meditation cave associated with Guru Padmasambhava above the town, visit the small Phakpa Lhakhang temple with its tiered roof, and spend the rest of the day resting, drinking water and avoiding alcohol. The guide checks oxygen saturation in the evening.

Overnight: Gyirong

Day 5 :

Gyirong to New Tingri via Peiku Tso

A long plateau day of about eight hours. The road climbs out of the valley past a shrine linked to the poet-yogi Milarepa and over passes above 5,000 m to Peiku Tso, a large turquoise lake with Shishapangma (8,027 m) standing beyond it. Continue east across open grassland with yaks and nomad tents to New Tingri (Shegar), about 4,300 m, the base town for Everest. Early night; headaches are common at this stage and the guide carries oxygen.

Overnight: New Tingri

Day 6 :

New Tingri to Shigatse, Tashilhunpo

Drive about 240 km east along the Friendship Highway to Shigatse, Tibet's second city at 3,840 m. In the afternoon visit Tashilhunpo monastery, seat of the Panchen Lamas, founded in 1447. Its chapels hold a gilded Maitreya statue about 26 m tall and the tombs of past Panchen Lamas; monks debate in the courtyards in the late afternoon. Evening at the old Tibetan market below the monastery.

Overnight: Shigatse

Day 7 :

Shigatse to Lhasa by the Gyantse road

Take the southern road to Lhasa for its scenery. Stop at Gyantse to see the Pelkor Chode (Palcho) monastery and its nine-storey Kumbum stupa with over seventy chapels. Climb to the Kharola pass (about 5,020 m) where a glacier hangs almost to the road, then descend alongside the long turquoise Yamdrok lake (4,441 m) before crossing the Kamba La pass and dropping into the Lhasa valley. Arrive in Lhasa (3,650 m) by evening.

Overnight: Lhasa

Day 8 :

Potala Palace and Jokhang

The Potala Palace, winter residence of the Dalai Lamas, is visited at a pre-booked time slot with passports in hand; visitor numbers are capped daily and about an hour is allowed inside the White and Red Palaces with their chapels and tombs. In the afternoon walk the Barkhor circuit around the Jokhang temple, the holiest in Tibet, where pilgrims prostrate before the 7th-century Jowo Shakyamuni image. The Barkhor lanes are the best place in Tibet for souvenirs.

Overnight: Lhasa

Day 9 :

Sera monastery and Norbulingka

Morning at Sera monastery on the northern edge of the city, founded in 1419, famous for the monks' debating session held in the courtyard most afternoons (visit timed accordingly). Visit the Norbulingka summer palace gardens or Drepung monastery, once the largest in the world, depending on the group's energy. Free time in the evening for the Barkhor.

Overnight: Lhasa

Day 10 :

Lhasa to Lhatse via Sakya

Leave Lhasa west along the Yarlung Tsangpo and the Friendship Highway, past Shigatse, to Sakya monastery, the grey-walled fortress-like seat of the Sakya school with a famous library of ancient scriptures. Continue to Lhatse (about 4,050 m), a highway town where the Everest road branches off.

Overnight: Lhatse

Day 11 :

Everest Base Camp

Drive over the Gyatso La pass (about 5,200 m) and then the switchback road over Pang La, where a clear day shows five 8,000 m peaks in a row: Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma. Enter the Qomolangma reserve and continue to Rongbuk monastery (about 5,000 m), the highest in the world. From here the park's shuttle buses carry visitors the last few kilometres to the base camp viewpoint at roughly 5,200 m, with the north face of Everest filling the valley ahead. Time at the viewpoint is limited by the park. Return to New Tingri for the night.

Overnight: New Tingri

Day 12 :

New Tingri to Gyirong

Retrace the plateau road westward past Peiku Tso and down into the Gyirong valley, around seven to eight hours. The descent into the forested valley is a relief after a week above 4,000 m.

Overnight: Gyirong

Day 13 :

Gyirong to Kathmandu

Morning drive to the border, Chinese exit and Nepali entry formalities, then the six to seven hour descent to Kathmandu. Check in at the hotel and celebrate with a farewell dinner.

Overnight: Kathmandu

Day 14 :

Departure

Breakfast and transfer to Kathmandu airport or your departure point (airport, railway station or hotel) for your flight home.

Overnight: Not applicable (departure day)

Night	Place	Hotel (or similar)	Room type
1	Kathmandu	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
2	Kathmandu	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
3	Gyirong	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
4	Gyirong	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
5	New Tingri	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
6	Shigatse	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
7	Lhasa	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
8	Lhasa	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
9	Lhasa	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
10	Lhatse	Hotel confirmed at booking (guesthouse)	Standard room, sharing basis
11	New Tingri	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
12	Gyirong	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
13	Kathmandu	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis

Frequently Asked Questions

Expand all

Do Indian passport holders need a visa for Tibet?

Yes. Indians need a Chinese visa and a Tibet Travel Permit. For entry from Nepal the visa is a Group Visa issued by the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, listing all members on one sheet of paper; it takes about three to five working days and your original passport is needed. The Tibet Travel Permit is applied for by the Tibetan agency using your passport copy a few weeks in advance. Both are included in this package and our team handles the paperwork.

Why does the yatra spend two nights in Kathmandu first?

The embassy needs working days to issue the group visa, so the group arrives, submits passports and uses that time to see the Kathmandu valley. Arrival must therefore avoid Nepali and Chinese public holidays; we fix departure dates with this in mind.

How bad is the altitude?

It is the single biggest factor on this yatra. Lhasa is at 3,650 m, roughly the height of Kedarnath, and Everest Base Camp is at about 5,200 m, higher than Kailash’s Dolma La pass is to many pilgrims. The route climbs in stages with a rest day at Gyirong, the vehicle carries oxygen, and the guide monitors everyone. Most healthy adults manage with mild headaches for a day or two; anyone with heart or lung problems should not go.

When is the best time to go?

April to early June and September to November give clear skies for Everest and comfortable daytime temperatures. July-August is the Tibetan summer with some rain and heavy monsoon on the Nepal side of the border. December to February is extremely cold with possible road closures, and Tibet is often closed to foreign visitors in late February and March.

Will we actually see Everest?

From the Pang La pass and the base camp viewpoint the north face is directly ahead on a clear day, and autumn mornings are usually clear. Cloud can hide it at any time of year, so views cannot be guaranteed.

Is vegetarian food available in Tibet?

Yes, with limits. Hotels and restaurants in Lhasa and Shigatse serve rice, noodles, vegetables, potatoes, eggs and some Chinese-style vegetarian dishes; in small highway towns the choice is narrower. Our escort carries Indian pickles, ready mixes and tea for the group, and we recommend bringing dry snacks you like.

Can we use mobile phones and cards in Tibet?

Indian SIM roaming is expensive or unavailable; a Chinese or Nepali SIM with roaming can be arranged in Kathmandu. Many Indian apps and websites are blocked in China. Indian cards rarely work in Tibet, so carry cash in Chinese yuan, exchanged in Kathmandu, for lunches and shopping.

What should we not carry in our luggage when crossing into Tibet?

Baggage is checked thoroughly at the Gyirong border post on Day 3. Keep books, maps and religious images relating to Tibet out of your luggage, and expect photography to be restricted at border and military posts. Your original passport goes for the group visa in Kathmandu on Day 1, and the Tibetan guide meets the group at the border with the original permit. Buy warm clothing in Thamel before leaving.

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Lhasa & Everest Base Camp: Tibet Holiday

Get the plan and price for your dates

Highlights & Route

Route

Good to know before you book

Yatra Highlights

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Inclusions & Exclusions

Included

Not included

Hotels

Documents & Fitness

Documents to carry

Fitness and health

Cancellation Policy

Frequently Asked Questions

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