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8-Day Hong Kong Xining Tibet Tour via Qinghai-Tibet Railway

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Overview

Tour Type: Private Tour: Flexible Travel Date & Travel Routes
Guide & Driver: Chinese-English-speaking guide & air-conditioned
  • Experience the world’s highest train ride along the Qinghai – Tibet Railway, with its incredible plateau and Himalayan mountain views;
  • Immerse yourself in the most important holy sites of Tibetan Buddhism – the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, the Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery;

Itinerary Day by Day

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Day1  Fly from Hongkong to Xining
After taking a connecting flight from Hong Kong to Xining, your local tour guide will greet you at the airport and take you by private vehicle to your downtown Xining hotel. You will have the rest of the day free to relax from your trip or to explore the local area around your hotel on your own.

Accommodation:Overnight in Xining

Day2  Qinghai Lake – Overnight Train to Lhasa
We will get an early this starting this morning, picking you up from your hotel by private car to take you on the 2 ½ hour drive from Xining to Qinghai Lake, the largest lake in all of China. This massive saltwater lake is located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Xining at an elevation of 3205 meters (10515 feet) above sea level. Bird Island, located in the western part of the lake, is a popular stopover on the migratory routes of many species of birds in Asia. If the weather permits, we can take a boat cruise around the lake for some fantastic views around the lake area. Enroute to the lake we can see Riyue (Sun & Moon) Mountain.

After your visit to Qinghai Lake, that afternoon we will drive back to Xining and transfer you to the Xining train station to board your overnight train to Lhasa, Tibet.

Accommodation:Overnight on the train

Day3  Qinghai – Tibet Railway – Arrival in Lhasa
Today will feature the most beautiful scenery along the Qinghai – Tibet Railway in the morning with vast grasslands and the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayan mountain range coming in to view. Upon your arrival at the Lhasa train station around noon, your local tour guide will meet you to take you by private car to your downtown Lhasa hotel and check in. You will have the rest of the day free to relax from your train journey and get used to the higher elevation of Lhasa.

Tips for High Altitude Acclimatization:

1) Go for a leisurely walk in the fresh high altitude air, but avoid any strenuous activity after your arrival.
2) It's better to avoid taking a bath to avoid catching a cold.
3) Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, and eat some fresh fruit.
4) Get plenty of rest.

Accommodation:Overnight in Lhasa

Day4  Lhasa – Potala Palace, Jokang Temple and Barkhor Street
Start your exploration of Lhasa today with a visit to a world-famous landmark - the Potala Palace, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful examples of architecture in the world. Climb up to the palace along zig-zagging stone paths alongside the white and red walls to the top of the palace where you can gain a greater appreciation of the exotic Tibetan-style buildings as well as for a great view of Lhasa's entire urban area. After admiring the sweeping outside views, explore the inner spaces of the Potala Palace to find the stately chapels and learn more about the fascinating history of this special place.

From one historic landmark to another, your next stop will be at the Jokhang Temple, considered as the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism. Every day thousands of pilgrims come from all over Tibet and other places to the temple to worship the Buddha. The Jokhang Temple is also known as the "House of Buddha" because it houses the precious Jowo Rinpoche, a life-sized (1.5 meter/5 feet) image of the Sakyamuni at the age of 12.

The last stop for today's Lhasa exploration is Barkhor Street, the wide, circular street that surrounds the Jokhang Temple. Local residents enjoy walking on the street, completing several circuits known as “kora" around the temple as a daily tradition of pilgrimage. The street also has many small shops selling a wide variety of traditional Tibetan goods, religious items and handicrafts.

Tips for today's tour:

1) There are 1,080 steps to the top of the Potala Palace, so it's best to take it slowly to avoid high altitude sickness.
2) Taking photos is not allowed inside the Potala Palace.
3) Most of today will be spent outside, so please bring a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses and some water with you to protect yourself from the more intense sun at the higher altitude.

Accommodation:Overnight in Lhasa

Day5  Lhasa – Norbulingka, Drepung and Sera Monasteries
After breakfast at your hotel, we will visit the beautiful Norbulingka Palace and Park, the location of the former summer palace of the Dalai Lamas from the 1780s up until 1959. It features the famous Potrang, the private palaces of former Dalai Lamas built in the grandiose style of traditional Tibetan architecture.

After visiting the palaces and park at Norbulingka, we will travel around 5 kilometers to the western outskirts of Lhasa to visit the Drepung Monastery. The word "drepung" in Tibetan language means "prosperity". Since its establishment in 1416, Drepung Monastery has served as one of the most important Buddhist monasteries in Tibet. During its prime, more than 10,000 monks lived and studied in the monastery. Throughout its history, many important and famous Tibetan leaders studied at this monastery, including the Dalai Lamas. Accordingly, Drepung Monastery is also respectfully known as the “Mother School of Dalai Lamas”.

In the afternoon, we will escort you on to another famous monastery in Lhasa - the Sera Monastery. Sera Monastery is famous for its spectacular “Buddhist Debates”. As a daily routine, the monks gather in a courtyard, and debate on the various Buddhist doctrines with exaggerated gestures, which is thought to be helpful in facilitating a better comprehension of the Buddhist philosophy to attain higher levels of study. After enjoying the "Buddhist Debates", we will take you back to your hotel with the rest of the day and evening to relax or explore on your own.

Tips for Proper Etiquette While Visiting Monasteries

1) For clothing, shorts and/or bare shoulders are not allowed.
2) Hats and sunglasses should be removed before entering the chapels.
3) Taking photos is usually not allowed inside the chapels.

Accommodation:Overnight in Lhasa

Day6  Lhasa - Namtso
This morning we will take a drive to one of the holiest lakes in Tibetan Buddhism – Namtso Lake. As the largest saltwater lake in Tibet, Namtso Lake is renowned for its spectacular natural beauty. En route to the lake we will pass by the Nyenchen Tanggula Mountains through a vast grassland area where we will see nomadic herdsmen grazing sheep and yaks along the grassy slopes of the mountains At an elevation of 4718 meters (15479 feet) above sea level, this is the highest lake in the world as well as one of the “Four Holy Lakes” of Tibetan Buddhism. We will have the rest of the day free to explore around the lake area and watch the amazing sunset across the lake before checking in to the Namtso Guesthouse to stay overnight.

Accommodation:Overnight in Dangxiong

Day7  Namtso – Lhasa Via Yangpachen Hot Spring
This morning we can wake up early to watch the sunrise across the beautiful lake and walk along the shoreline to the Tashi Dor Island to see the famous meditation caves, a destination for centuries of Tibetan pilgrims.

For lunch we will stop in Damxung, located about 160 kilometers from Lhasa in the middle of Tibet and considered the gateway to the Tibetan capital. After lunch we will journey on to the Yangpachen Hot Spring, where there are both indoor and outdoor swimming pools filled with geothermal hot spring water. We will then travel on back to Lhasa and check in to your hotel for the overnight stay.

Accommodation:Overnight in Lhasa

Day8  Departure from Lhasa
Today you will have free time until we meet you in the lobby of your hotel to transfer you to the Lhasa airport or train station for your departing flight or train.

Today's Tips:

1) Please take care to pack all of your belongings, particularly the small things that are easy to forget about, such as phone and camera chargers, power adapters, mobile phones, wallets, etc.
2) If your flight or train is in the afternoon, please be sure to check out of your hotel room by 12 p.m.

Accommodation:None

What's Included

Experience the world’s highest train ride along the Qinghai – Tibet Railway, with its incredible plateau and Himalayan mountain views;
Immerse yourself in the most important holy sites of Tibetan Buddhism – the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, the Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery;
International flight to and from China.
China visa.
Sightseeing not listed in the itinerary.
Meals not listed in the itinerary.
Personal expenses such as laundry, drink, fax, telephone call, optional tour activities, etc.
Tips to guides, drivers, bellboys, etc.
Entrance tickets not listed in the itinerary
Single room supplement.

Additional Info

Alterations of Itineraries

The travel date, service items, itinerary and number of visitors, visitors’ ID information, etc. can be modified free of charge 30 days or more before the trip. If the visitor needs to make a second modification, an additional service fee of 5% of the deposit will be charged. Every time the content of the travel contract is modified, the company reserves the right to re-quote.

Cancellation Policy

Once the deposit is paid, your trip is confirmed. If you need to change or cancel your itinerary, please contact your travel consultant by email, phone, instant messenger, etc. There will be a charge for Cancellation or modification. The policy is as follows:

1. Notice of trip cancellation due to personal reasons before the trip starts
Cancellation 30 days or more before the trip starts, 10% penalty of the deposit.
Cancellation 29-15 days before the trip starts, 20% penalty of the deposit.
Cancellation 14-7 days before the trip starts, 30% penalty of the deposit.
Cancellation 6-2 days before the trip starts, 50% penalty of the deposit.
Cancellation within 48 hours prior to the trip starts, no refund of your deposit.

2. Trip cancellation due to irresistible factors before the trip starts

If you have to cancel the itinerary due to irresistible reasons such as traffic, weather, politics, etc., the deposit will be fully refunded by the company (for loss related to air ticket/train ticket, please take reference of the first item).

Reviews

 Mary C
Travel Date:July 6, 2019

We worked with Shirley to build an itinerary of cycling through Tibet to EBC. She was incredibly helpful and responsive. She designed a trip that met our requests and exceeded our expectations. She worked with our tour members who would be traveling from North America and China to make sure we were all set with plenty of time to get visas and permits.

Our trip was 10 days in Tibet, with a rest and sightseeing day in Lhasa (Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple). Our amazing guide Phuntsok handled travel, permit, and hotel logistics with expertise and flexibility. He was a 5-star guide in every way- making sure we had everything we wanted and needed, giving cultural + historical context to the sights we saw, and having lots of fun with us.

We had 2 drivers (the van and a truck for our bikes) who were both very helpful, friendly, and good company.

We were worried it would get into rain season while we were there - instead we had beautiful, sunny days 9.5 out of our 10 days.

Thank you to all at Tibet Odyssey Tours for a trip we will remember for a lifetime.

 Teoh chin kok
Travel Date:June 15th 2018

With the accompaniment of our experienced driver and guide-Lomsang. I forgot the name of our driver. Terribly sorry. He did a great job. Our guide is fluent in English, we had no problem in communicating. He made us laugh during the long drive and took care of my daughter. We had altitude sickness when we were at the tent of Everest Base Camp, he didn’t sleep well also in order to look after us. He also explained tibetan culture clearly which I find it pretty interesting. We would like to thank him for making our trip in tibet extraordinary. We were lucky to book a tour with Tibet odyssey tours.

 thewhalecat3
Travel Date:July 20, 2019

This trip has been part of our family’s bragging card at get togethers and parties ever since we stepped foot out of Tibet. But it would have not been without the preparation and help from Xiao Yu, our tour planner from Chengdu. In addition our tour guide Julia was extremely informative and a joy to be around for those 8 days. The hotels were extremely nice and the places along the way were magnificent. Our family felt very welcomed to the area and we enjoyed the endless insight into the beautiful culture and religion (It helped out the person taking world history next year in our family). We would definitely recommend this trip to other family and friends as it is worth every single petty bit of the high elevation fatigue.

 Sharon C
Travel Date:April 23, 2019

Tibet has been one of my top travel destinations. As a Buddhism, visiting places tapping into sacred goddess and Mother Nature becomes a dream for me to achieve. At the age of 40, I am so happy I have finally made my dream come true.

The trip planning to Tibet has never been easy for Taiwanese. To grant a permit by a trust worthy travel agent is already a hassle, my first trip plan didn’t get though two years ago. I am glad I found odyssey travel agent for my second try. The whole process started off with zero trust, trip advisor and Facebook helped me to validate its credibility, and further more I had even asked for reference check from the agent. Thanks Kay for being a nice and patient coordinator during this planning process.

With all had prepared, our group has been one of the most peaceful and harmony travel company I have been with. With years of experience, I have not been with a group of >20 until this time, apart from school and company team building. To spend 9 days with who I meet the first time and could probably the only time caused me zero worry with the brilliant tour guide Xiao Gao!

If you’ll and would like to have a joyful and unforgettable journey in Tibet, going up to the Everest base camp is definitely the only option. So is odyssey travel.

 Logen143
Travel Date:May 27, 2019

Amy local agent have done great job in arrange the 15days tour. She is always ready to answer any queries and keep checking on us during the trip. Our guide Ngawang local Tibet guy was excellent in guide and take care us individually to complete this tour without any problem.with his expertise manage guide us well and very accommodating for all our needs.

For first time traveler to TIbet, please clear all your doubts and explain well your expectations on food and accommodation so Amy will able arrange it accordingly. Overall it was pleasant trip.Thanks to Amy and Ngawang

 philcori
Travel Date:May 29, 2019

Wonderful moments in Tibet thanks to Odyssey Travel. It was all so well organized thanks to Amy who had been so professional and supportive.

The beauty of landscapes and people in Tibet were simply mesmerizing. Our guide and driver were amazing companions for this travel. The Kora of Mount Khalash was the highlight of this wonderful journey. I learned a lot about the culture of Tibet.

Thank you Odissey!

Philippe cori