How to book a tour
Tibet and Kampa Exploration
Tour code: TB004
Duration: 15 days
Route: Kunming, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Zhongdian,Lhasa, Shigatse, Chengdu
Attractions: Xizhou Morning Market,Tiger Leaping Gorge,Jade Dragon Snow Mountain-Mu Prince Mansion,Lashi Lake, old town of Lijiang-Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhore Street, Drepong Monastery, Sera Monastery, Norbulingka, etc
Itinerary:
Day 1 (D)
Arrive / Kunming
Upon arrival, be met & transferred to your hotel in Stone Forest, about 90 km from Downtown Kunming, enjoy the beautiful surroundings while the crowd of visitors do not disturb you. The night of Stone forest is so unique, which you can not find in other place of the world.
Stone Forest is located in Shilin County, 89 kilometers from Kunming. The area, covering 350 square kilometers, is the highest karst terrain in the world and a national scenic area in China.
Day 2 (B, L, )
Kunming / Dali
Transfer via: MU5951 (0945/1015)
Transfer to Dali by air. Visit Three Pagodas, and the old town, the Ancient Wall Gate, Sinoway sugggests you have dinnier at an old traditional restaurant called "Plum Well" (optional). More details of Dali...
Three Pagodas:are located northwest of Dali at the foot Cangshan Mountains. With Qianxun Pagoda, completed in 876 during the Tang dynasty (618-907AD).
Day 3 (B, L, )
Dali / Lijiang
Morning visit of a small Catholic church in old town of Dali, drive to Xizhou Morning Market & the typical living house of Bai Minority. enjoy the tea ceremony of Bai Ethnic, take as more pictures of the colorful costumes of Bai Ethics, listening to their stories... Drive to Lijiang after lunch.
Xizhou House: live Bai minority people. You will see the their typical traditions, dresses there.
Day 4 (B, L, )
Lijiang
Visit the old town of Lijiang, escorted tour to Square Street, Mu Prince Mansion in the morning. Drive to Lashi Lake to visit Naxi Village in the afternoon, take a canoe ride on the lake.
The Lijiang ancient town of Dayan: The town was built in the late song dynasty and the early Yuan dynasty and was listed by the UNESCO on the list of the world's major cultural heritages in 1997.
Day 5 (B, L, )
Lijiang
Full day visit the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Yak Meadow, the old house of Joseph Rock, who stayed in Lijiang for 27 years from 1922 to 1949 & Yuhu village.
The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: The mountain has 13 peaks of which the highest is 18000 feet above sea level. It is a treasure of wild plants and rare animals.
Yuhu Village, a village at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, where Mr. Joseph Rock, a famous Russian Scientist lived for 27 years from 1922 to 1949, enjoy hundreds of photos and articles of the culture in this area.
Day 6 (B, L, )
Lijiang / Zhongdian
Moring drive to Zhongdian and stop at Tiger Leaping Gorge, continue our driving to Zhongdian. When arrival, visit the Songtseling Lamasery Temple.
The Tiger Leaping Gorge: one of the world's four great gorges - is located in Hutiaoxia Town in Zhongdian County,is honored as one of the deepest and most marvelous gorges on the globe.
Songzanlin Monastery, or 'Little Potala' as it is affectionately known, is a spiritual place that invites you to discover the mystery and traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the 5th Dalai Lama chose the site through divination in 1679, the monastery has grown into the most important community of its kind in Yunnan.
Day 7 (B, L )
Zhongdian
Drive to visit the Baishuitai in the early morning, then visit Bita Lake, Shudu Lake and a Tibetan Family, also called Puda tso national park.
Bitahai Nature Reserve, located 35 kilometers east of the county seat of Zhongdian, it is an intact natural attraction with outstanding flora and fauna and picturesque landscapes.In the reserve itself, century-old pines and cypresses grow around Bitahai Lake, in which the water is crystal clear. In the lake there is an islet covered by cedars and azaleas. In spring, when the withered azalea flowers fall to the lake and are eaten by fish, the fish seem to be unconscious and almost drunk. They float on the surface with their abdomen facing the sky. Around the lake are virgin forests-the ideal habitat for rare animals including red-footed pheasant, silver pheasant, wild bull, leopard and lynx.
Day 8(B, )
Zhongdian / Lhasa
Transfer via: by air
Transfer to airport for flight to Lhasa, be met & transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure to acclimatize yourself to the high latituder.
Lhasa, a palace for the Dalai Lama at the very beginning and later served as the whole governmental administration. It is the heart and soul of Tibet and an object of devout pilgrimage, is still a city of wonders. "Lhasa" in Tibetan means "the land of gods" and is the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. More informations of Lhasa...
Day 9 (B, L )
Lhasa
Full day trip to Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhore Street.
The Potala Palace is a landmark of Lhasa and Lama Buddism. It is a 13 storey and 1000 rooms' palace and once winter residence of the Dalai Lama. The construction of the present structure began during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1645 and took more than 50 years to complete.
The Jokhang Temple is the spiritual centre of Tibet - a destination for millions of Tibetan pilgrims. The oldest part of the temple dates back to the 7th century AD - being one of the two temples built by King Songsten Gampo to house the statues of the Buddha that his two foreign wives brought to Tibet from China and Nepal.
The Barkhor Street is Lhasa's inner pilgrim circuit shaped roughly like an octagon that runs around the Jokhang. The circuit is lined with markets, shops, stalls and street vendors providing every conceivable item a Tibetan could need. The best place to start the circuit is right outside the Jokhang in a clockwise direction.
Day 10 (B, L )
Lhasa
Full day trip to Drepong Monastery, Sera Monastery and the Carpet Factory.
The Drepong Monastery: a cluster of white buildings resembling a riceheap, against the backdrop of Mount Gyenbuwndze. Founded in 1416, Drepong is the biggest and richest monastery in Tibet that was divided into four Tantric colleges - that specialised in different branches of knowledge.
The Sera Monastery lies on the northern edge of Lhasa at the base of Tatipu Hill. 'Sera' means 'merciful hail' denoting its rivalry with the 'Rice Heap' (Drepong) since hail destroys rice. Sera was smaller than Drepong with about 7,000 monks but was very rich and comparable in power.
The Carpet Factory: The highland of Tibet is the actual home of the oriental carpets. By visiting Carpet Factory you will have a general idea of how carpets are produced.
Day 11 (B, L, )
Lhasa / Shigatse
Drive from Lhasa to Shigatse (about 347km). On the way visit Yamdrok Lake, Tashilumpo Monastery. Stay overnight in Shigatse.
Yamdrok Lake: It is within Langkamu county, with an area of 638 square km and a coastal line of 250 km.
Tashilumpo Monastery: Painted in red and white, the buildings in the monastery stand closely together in terraced rows, offering a grand and majestic view.
Day 12 (B, L, )
Shigatse / Lhasa
Visit Karola Glacier and Baiju Monastery, then free time in Lhasa. Drive along the Yaluzangbu River back to Lhasa.
Baiju Monastery: It is with 9 stories, 108 doors and 77 rooms. Each room contains a different statue of Buddha and the wall frescoes telling the story about it.
Day 13 (B, )
Lhasa / Chengdu
Transfer to Chengdu by air. Be met and transfer to visit the Panda - Breeding Base, a close visit to lovely Panda and a tour to Wenshu Buddism Temple in the afternoon.
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is situated on the Axe Hill 10 kilometers from the north suburb of Chengdu City. It covers an area of 600 acres. The environment here is exquisitely designed; the air is refreshing with the bamboo growing luxuriantly and flocks of wild birds flying around. There are 43 giant pandas and tens of specious animals such as red pandas and black-necked cranes.
Wenshu Monastery (wenshu yuan), this Buddhist monastery in central Chengdu is dedicated to the God of Wisdom - Wenshu and was founded during the Tang dynasty (618-907AD). Most of the buildings date back to the 17th century and today Wenshu Monastery is the largest temple in Chengdu with almost 200 buildings within the complex.
Day 14 (B, L)
Chengdu
Today you will be trasnferred to have boat ride on Min Jiangto visiting Leshan. Then transferred to visit the Dujiangyan Irrigation System.
The Grand Buddha is 71 meters high, carved into a cliff face overlooking the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers.
The Dujiangyan Irrigation System lies on the Ming River in the northwest of Dujiangyan City, some 60 km away from Chengdu. It was built over 2200 years ago around 250B.C.under the direction of LingBing, the governor of the Shu Prefecture of the Qin State. It is famed for its fantastic view as well as its history and civilization of long standing.
The Ming River running across the vast Chengdu Plain used to harm the people down the river in the ancient times. After making careful survey on the spot Li Bing had a channel cut through Mt.Yulei in the west of the city, thus a man-made river came into existence. In the middle of the Min River, a dyke was built to divide the river into two parts: the inner river and the outer river.
Day 15 (B, )
Chengdu / Depart
Transfer to airport for return flight to sweet home.