
This overland tour is designed for those who prefer to soak in the sights by driving around. This tour gives you an opportunity to discover the real Tibet. From the bustling old cities to the ancient villages and settlements, you get to observe Tibetan lifestyle at close quarters.
This overland tour connects two old capital cities, Lhasa in Tibet and Kathmandu in Nepal. The tour begins in Lhasa and ends in Kathmandu.
Tibet, which boasts of spectacular mountain scenery and a rich cultural heritage, is a place worth visiting. As you drive across the Tibetan plateau, you will be expertly guided around all the Tibetan monasteries, temples, monuments and important tourist sites by expert local Tibetan guide. In Lhasa you explore the Potala Palace, Sera Monastery, Norbulingka, Jokhang Temple, Drepung Monastery and the busy Barkhor Square.
Leaving Lhasa on a 4WD, you will be driven past picturesque Tibetan settlements where nomadic herdsmen can be seen wandering across the wide arid plateau. This overland journey takes you over several high mountain passes with spectacular mountain views, including those of the majestic Mount Everest, Cho Oyu, Makalu and Shishapangma. Your adventure tour continues to the historic cities of Shigatse and Gyantse. As you explore the ancient monasteries, forts and citadels you get an insight into the rich Tibetan culture and history. As you leave Zhangmu and cross the Friendship Bridge, you enter Nepal. Your overland tour comes to a finale.
OUTLINE ITINERARY
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu.
Day 02: Visa Preparation and sightseeing day.
Day 03: Fly to Lhasa (3660m)
Day 04: Sightseeing in Lhasa
Day 05: Another Sightseeing Day in Lhasa
Day 06: Drive to Gyantse (3950m) 261 km
Day 07: Sightseeing & drive to Shigatse (3900m) 90km
Day 08: Sightseeing & drive to Shegar (4050m) 244km
Day 09: Drive to Zhangmu (2300m) 181km
Day 10: Drive back to Kathmandu (1400m) 123km
Day 11: Free day in Kathmandu for sightseeing and shopping.
Day 12: Final Departure
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu.
Arrival in Kathmandu Intl airport, Marron Treks representative welcomes you and escorts towards your designated hotel. You are served the welcome drinks upon your arrival. Then room allocation and rest of time free for your own excursion.
Day 02: Visa Preparation and Sightseeing
This day is for visa preparation and if time permitted you are carried for sightseeing at Durbar Square and Swyambhunath or other world heritage sites of the city.
Day 03: Fly to Lhasa (3660 m).
You will be met at Gonggar Airport by your Tibetan guide. After immigration formalities, you will be driven to Lhasa (3650 meters). It takes around 45 minutes to reach the old city. After checking in at your hotel, you are advised to take rest and take it easy. Drink plenty of fluids and let your body get used to Lhasas high altitude. Note: There is no program arranged for today.
Day 04: Sightseeing in Lhasa.
After breakfast, you will be briefed on the days program. An experienced guide will take you on a tour to Sera Monastery, Norbulingka and the Barkhor Square. At the famous Sera Monastery, you will get an insight into the important aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. You pay a visit to Norbulingka, the summer retreat of the Dalai Lama. Completed in 1956, the handsome building is ornately decorated with Tibetan carvings and paintings. Jokhang temple provides yet another glimpse of the rich Tibetan cultural heritage. You will also get the chance to stroll around the busy Barkhor Square, the nerve centre of Lhasa. After the days tour, you will be escorted back to your hotel.
Day 05: Another Sightseeing Day in Lhasa.
After an early breakfast, you will be escorted by your guide to the majestic Potala Palace. The imposing structure of the palace dominates the landscape of Lhasa. As you are guided through the ancient chambers of the palace, you get to see Tibetan art at its best. The Potala Palace has a vast array of intricate Tibetan murals and beautiful statues. You will also get to view the tombs of the eight Dalai Lamas. Later in the day you will visit the beautifully landscaped Drepung Monastery where you can observe nuns and monks chanting and performing religious discourses. After the days tour is over, you are escorted back to your hotel for a well- earned rest. Note: Since only a limited number of visitors are allowed to Potala Palace every day, the order of sightseeing places will be decided by your guide.
Day 06: Drive to Gyantse (3950m).
Following Friendship Highway, you drive past Khamba La at 4794 m with a brief halt to savor majestic views of Yamdrok-tso Lake and Nazin Kang Sa standing proud at 7252m. On turning westwards, you come across another Karo La pass at 5045m. If you glance at the road, you can see huge glaciers tumbling down into the road. After hours of driving for 261 km, magnificently landscaped Tibetan villages become visible as you enter the town of Gyantse.
Day 07: Sightseeing & drive to Shigatse (3900m) 90km.
Gyantse prides on Gyantse Dzong and Kumbum. Gyantse Dzong is a historical fort built in the 14th century and overlooks a mesmerizing view of entire Gyantse and surrounding Nyang Chu Valley. Kumbum has large gold-domed stupa and houses several chapels and Tibetan Buddhist murals. After you enjoy exploring Gyantse, you will take a 90 km drive to Shigatse. Having driven to an altitude of 3900 meter, you find yourself at Shigatse, second largest city of Tibet. Tashilhunpo Monastery being one of the largest functioning monasteries in Tibet is a major attraction of Shigatse.
Day 08: Sightseeing & drive to Shegar (4050m) 244km.
Today you will traverse along the Friendship Highway amidst picturesque landscape driving past small town of Lhatse and Gyamtso La pass at 5220m. As the route opens into plains, many monasteries and camps of nomadic herders become visible en route to Shegar.
Day 09: Drive to Zhangmu (2300m) 181km.
You will drive past Tingri crossing Lalung La pass at 5,124m and Shung La pass at 5200m. Savoring the enchanting views of the surrounding peaks of Shishapangma, Cho Oyu, Menlungtse and Gauri Shankar, you descend from the arid Tibetan Plateau to verdant Zhangmu on the Nepalese border. After driving for 181 km, you find yourself amidst the lush and verdant vegetation of Zhangmu at 2300 m.
Day 10: Drive to Kathmandu (1400m) 123km.
Few kilometers drive away from Zhangmu to Friendship Bridge across Bhote Koshi River brings you closer to Immigration Control in Kodari where you will part with your Tibetan guide and driver, and walk across the river to meet your Nepalese escort who will drive you to Kathmandu. After 5 hours of driving for 123 km, you finally arrive in Kathmandu.
Day 11: Free day in Kathmandu.
This day is totally free as per your wish either totally relaxation or sightseeing in world heritage Sites Pashupatinaht, Boudhanath, Patan and Bhaktapur.
Day 12: Final Departure
Marron Treks airport representative transfers you towards Kathmandu International airport for your final departure or expand your trip for Everest Scenic Mountain flight, Paragliding, short sightseeing tours, rafting or Jungle safari tours.
Accommodation:
During Lhasa-Kathmandu Over Land Tour we opt you accomodate on
3 star or 5 star hotels like
Hotel Royal Singhi (3 star),
Hotel Manaslu (3 star),
Radisson (5 star),
Yak & Yeti (5 star) or similar in
Kathmandu City.
While you are in Tibet, we arrange 3-4 star Standard Hotel to the local budget hotels as per your requirement. But in other towns like Tsedang, Gyantse, Shigatse, Shegar, Zhangmo etc. there are 2-3 star hotel one at each towns charging US$ 45 to 65 per night for double room. If you wish to skip these hotels there are no other choices but to stay in local BUDGET guest house, local lodges etc which you may not find as to your expectation.
Meals:
We arrange the best quality food for all trekkers while Lhasa-Kathmandu Over Land Tour. Basically we recommend you local community foods of
Tibet like
Tsampa(staple food of Tibet),
Buttered tea, Meat and other
Tibetian Food so that you could enjoy the culture, the way of living of local people around there.Other than that many kind of Continental, Chinese, Italian and Indian cuisine like Pizza, Spaghetti, French Fries, Soups, Breads etc are also available in most of the places based upon your requirement.
Best Season
In general speaking, from April to October is the best season for Tibet tour.
Our Guides:
The Guides play a very active role during the trip.Marron Treks has experienced and helpful treking guides who make your trip enjoyable as well as successful. To make our visitors journey fruitful, the team of MarronTreks has got number of guides who have good knowledge about the culture, language, location of Tibet which would help our trekkers to enjoy the full potential of the trail and communicate easily with the people along the trail.
Travel Insurance:
Before starting your journey with MarronTreks it is advised that you arrange your travel insurance before leaving your homeland. The main thing is to make sure your insurance covers you for both medical and evacuation costs. In some places it is not necessary but it would be better if you have the travel insurance with you all the time. That would make your trip save and hassle free.
To Enter Tibet
There are two common routes for visiting Tibet. They are as follows:
1. Kathmandu to Lhasa by flight
2. Kathmandu-Kodari by over land
Visa Arrangement
We arrange Visas and travel permits. We need your tour confirmation and your passport details (Name, Sex, Nationality, Date of Birth, Passport Number, and Occupation).
Visa Obtaining Process
All foreigners are required to have a valid China Visa with the permit for Tibet to enter Tibet. However, it is not as easy as it seems to travel and get the visa to Tibet. Entry point must have been mentioned at the visa and clients are not allowed to enter Tibet from other than the point mentioned in visa. So we recommend you to leave all these visa tension to your travel agent as there are lots of process to do to get the visa which Marron Treks Pvt .Ltd. arranges in Kathmandu.
Visa Fee
Visa fee is changed every now and then by the authorities. Sometimes the fee is charged according to the Nationality of the clients and sometimes a flat rate is charged. However, expect to pay US$ 40-45 per person for the visa. Please contact us for further information, latest visa fee and regulation.
Following are the cost details that have been provided to you for your convinience. If you want to get more, then please dont hesitate to contact us
Cost Includes
- Hotel Accommodation in Kathmandu on BB basis
- Hotel Dhoodgu/Jinbo Garden in Lhasa (3 star) & best available en route with breakfast,
- Transportation by 4WD land cruiser (Toyota 4500, the best available in Tibet)
- Main Meals in Hotels in Kathmandu
- Sightseeing tours with English speaking local TIBETAN guide, all entry fees, Tibet travel permit/visa & airport transfers.
- Sightseeing in Kathmandu as per the itinerary
- Airport Pick up and drop service
Cost Excludes
- International airfare
- Airport tax
- Visa Fee
- Tip to Guide and Porter
- Hard/Cold Drinks
- Personal clothing & equipments
- Any expenses incurred in emergency evacuation/road block due to any reason
- Travel insurance
Required Equipments
T-Shirts
Sandals
Sneaker or Light Shoes
Sun Hat
SunGlasses(to protect you from Dust,wind & Sunrays)
Warm Clothes( if you are travelling in Cold season)
Water Proof Jacket
Shorts
Comfortable Pants
Clothing and equipments Accessories for Tea House and Camping Treks
The equipments and clothing list below is for a relatively longer trek involving a cold high altitude destination in
Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. If you are doing a short trek to a relatively lower altitude you may not need all these. The list below is for a guideline alone, you may have your own check list as well.
Duffle Bag and a good sleeping bag will by provided
by Marron Treks P.Ltd, which you should return after completion of your trip. Please note that most of the trekking items are easily available for buying or renting in Nepal and you are suggested not to bring unnecessary items with you.
For Head
- Cap for sun protection during trek
- sunglasses/goggles
- sunscreen lotion/sun balm
For Body
- T-shirts and long sleeved shirts
- fleece or thermal shirts for colder areas
- fleece jumper/sweaters
- Down jacket
- wind /water proof outer garment
For leg and hand
- Casual troussers for walking
- Water proof trouser
- Thermal legging for colder areas
- Hand gloves
Trekking Shoes For foot
- woolen and cotton socks
- Trainer or casual shoes
- Waterproof hiking boot
- Gaiter for rain and snow
Others
- Day sack to carry personal goods
- Personal medicines and first aid kit
- water bottle and iodine tablets
- Torch (better head torch)
- Camera and extra batteries
- toiletries and towel
- Large handkerchief
Optional items
- compass, binoculars, altimeters,
- Playing cards , books, guide book
For Peak climbing we suggest the following gears except above mentioned accessories.
Suggested Climbing Gear
- Climbing boots, Crampons.
- Ice axe, Harness.
- Karabiners.
- Tapes/slings
- Rock pegs, Helmet (crash hat).
- Warm climbing trousers, Long cotton hiking shirts.
- Waterproof climbing jacket, Gaiters.
- Sun hat, Light cotton athletic socks and wool.
- Climbing socks, long sleeved cotton/woolen shirts.
- T-shirts, Wool long underwear.
- Down high altitude, Sleeping bag.
- Down jacket/ trousers/vest, climbing sunglasses.
- Sunscreen, Lip salve.
- Lightweight fleece, Fleece/wool for climbing.
- Head torch /batteries/bulbs, Lightweight thermal/ insulated ski gloves.
Please do write us at info@marrontreks.com for furthermore information except those mentioned in above.