8-Day Tibet Overland Tour to Lhasa

8 Days, Kathmandu to Lhasa

Days 1 to 2  |  Into Tibet

Drive 153 kilometers from Kathmandu to the Friendship Bridge at Kodari, cross the border on foot, transfer into Land Cruisers with the Tibetan team, and start climbing. First night in Nyalam at 3,750 meters. Day Two is a six-hour drive over the Nyalamu and Lalung La passes toward Xegar, where the North Face of Mt. Everest comes into view on a clear day.

Days 3 to 4  |  High Passes and Monasteries

Eight hours across the plateau from Xegar to Xigatse, over the Gyatsola Pass at 5,220 meters (the highest point of the overland route), past the blue Pieko-Tso Lake and across the Yarlung Tsangpo, the river that becomes the Brahmaputra downstream in India. Xigatse holds the Tashilhunpo Monastery, founded in 1447 and the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. Then drive on to Gyantse and the Kumbum Stupa, one of the most unusual Buddhist buildings in Tibet.

Day 5  |  Yamdrok Lake and the Descent to Lhasa

The 300-kilometer drive from Gyantse to Lhasa runs above Yamdrok Lake, one of Tibet's four holy lakes, deep turquoise at over 4,400 meters. The Karola Glacier is visible from the same road. Descend into Lhasa at 3,650 meters.

Days 6 to 7  |  Lhasa

Two full days in Lhasa, the Place of the Gods. You visit the Potala Palace, 13 stories high on Marpo Ri hill above the city; Sera Monastery and its debating monks; the Jokhang Temple, the most sacred site in Tibetan Buddhism; the Barkhor Street circuit, which pilgrims have walked for centuries; and Norbulingka, the Jeweled Park, once the summer residence of the Dalai Lamas.

Day 8  |  Departure

Transfer to Gonggar Airport for the one-hour flight back over the Himalaya to Kathmandu. On a clear morning you can see the peaks below the wing.

Day by Day

Day 1  Kathmandu to Nyalam  (3,750m)

Early breakfast and trip briefing in Kathmandu, where the Sherpa team goes over the route, the altitude schedule, and what to expect at the border. The drive to Kodari covers 153 kilometers and takes six to seven hours as the valleys narrow and the hills steepen. At Kodari, complete Nepalese immigration formalities and cross the Friendship Bridge on foot into Zhangmu, the Chinese border town on the Tibetan side. After Chinese customs clearance, transfer into 4WD Land Cruisers with the Tibetan team while the Sherpa team loads the gear. Continue the climb to Nyalam, your first night at altitude. Eat lightly, drink plenty of water, and rest.

Stay: Guest House, Nyalam

Day 2  Nyalam to Xegar  (3,860m)

A six-hour drive over the Nyalamu and Lalung La passes, through high grassland with yak herds and the occasional nomad camp. On a clear day, somewhere above 5,000 meters, the North Face of Mt. Everest (8,849 meters) comes into view to the south. Most photographs, and most expedition teams, are on the south side in Nepal; the Tibetan face is broader and more severe. Most guests ask the driver to stop the first time they see it. Arrive in Xegar in the afternoon.

Stay: Guest House, Xegar

Day 3  Xegar to Xigatse  (3,900m)

The longest drive of the trip: eight hours across the plateau. The road passes Pieko-Tso Lake, which turns from deep blue to silver as clouds cross it, and crosses the Yarlung Tsangpo, the river that becomes the Brahmaputra as it bends south through India into Bangladesh. The Gyatsola Pass, at 5,220 meters, is the highest point of the overland route, with open land in every direction and no trees or buildings in sight. Arrive in Xigatse, Tibet's second-largest city, in the late afternoon.

Stay: Guest House, Xigatse

Day 4  Xigatse to Gyantse  (4,000m)

Morning visit to the Tashilhunpo Monastery, founded in 1447 by Gendun Drup, the first Dalai Lama, and the seat of the Panchen Lama since the 17th century. The monastery covers 300,000 square meters and housed over 4,000 monks at its peak, with temples, chapels, and courtyards around a central assembly hall and the large chorten holding the tombs of the Panchen Lamas. The Maitreya Chapel holds a 26-meter gilded bronze statue of the future Buddha, the largest in Tibet. Browse the Xigatse free market before the 90-kilometer drive to Gyantse. The Kumbum Stupa in Gyantse was built in the early 15th century as a three-dimensional mandala: a circular building with 77 chapels on nine levels, each decorated with murals and statues of different aspects of Buddhist teaching. The Palkhor Temple beside it houses monks from three different schools of Tibetan Buddhism, a mix that reflects Gyantse's history as a trading town.

Stay: Guest House, Gyantse

Day 5  Gyantse to Lhasa  (3,650m)

This 300-kilometer drive is the most scenic day of the overland route. The road climbs above Yamdrok Lake at 4,441 meters: a lake shaped roughly like a scorpion, deep turquoise, surrounded by dry brown hills. Yamdrok is one of Tibet's four holy lakes and is believed to be home to wrathful protective deities. Tibetans also see the lake as a measure of the country's spiritual health, and say that if it dries up, the land dies with it. The Karola Glacier is visible from the same road. Continue down to Lhasa at 3,650 meters, the lowest point since the Nepal border.

Stay: Hotel, Lhasa

Day 6  Lhasa  The Potala and History

The Potala Palace was begun by the 5th Dalai Lama in 1645 on the site of a 7th-century meditation retreat used by Songtsen Gampo, the king who unified Tibet and brought Buddhism to the country. Today's building is 13 stories tall, with over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines, and about 200,000 statues, and it was the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas until 1959. The Red Palace at the center holds the tombs of eight Dalai Lamas; the White Palace on either side held offices and living quarters. From the foot of Marpo Ri hill, the building seems to grow out of the rock. In the afternoon, visit the Tibet Museum, with prehistoric artifacts from the plateau, ancient sutras inscribed in gold, thangka paintings, and exhibits on the region's history from its first settlers to the present.

Stay: Hotel, Lhasa

Day 7  Lhasa  Monasteries and Markets

Sera Monastery was founded in 1419 and at its height housed about 5,000 monks. Several hundred live there today, and it is still an active center of Tibetan Buddhist education. The debating courtyard is open to visitors in the afternoon, when monks gather for the debates that are central to their training. The debates are physical as well as verbal: monks punctuate their arguments with hand claps, foot stamps, and swings of their prayer beads, and the courtyard gets loud. Norbulingka, the Jeweled Park, was laid out by the 7th Dalai Lama in the 18th century as a summer retreat, with palaces, temples, and gardens across 36 hectares. The Jokhang Temple, at the center of the old city, is the most sacred site in Tibetan Buddhism, built in the 7th century to house a statue of the Buddha brought to Tibet by the Chinese wife of King Songtsen Gampo. Pilgrims walk the Barkhor Street circuit around the temple every day, as they have for over 1,300 years.

Stay: Hotel, Lhasa

Day 8  Departure to Kathmandu

After breakfast, transfer to Gonggar Airport, 62 kilometers from Lhasa, for the flight back to Kathmandu. It takes about an hour to fly over ground that took five days to drive, and on a clear morning you can watch the land drop from plateau to foothills to the Kathmandu Valley.

Stay: International Departure from Kathmandu

The Sherpa Standard

Every SherpaHolidays trip is fully supported. Here is what that means on this one.

Accommodation and Logistics

• Overland Stays: Comfortable guest houses in Nyalam, Xegar, Xigatse, and Gyantse.
• Lhasa: Premium hotel in the city for three nights.
• Trek Pack: Full briefing and your trek pack before you leave Kathmandu.
• Sherpa Support: The Sherpa team travels with you and manages food, equipment, and logistics across the border and the plateau.

Leadership and Culture

• Dual Team: Nepalese Sherpa staff and local Tibetan guides working together across the full route.
• Monastic Access: Guided visits to Tashilhunpo, Palkhor, Sera, and the Potala Palace with a guide who explains what you are seeing.
• City Walking: Guided walks through Barkhor Street, Norbulingka Park, and the Jokhang Temple circuit.

Permits and Transport

• Border Formalities: Full help with the Nepal-China border crossing and Chinese customs clearance at Zhangmu.
• 4WD Vehicles: Dedicated Land Cruisers with professional Tibetan drivers for the full overland route.
• Return Flight: Flight from Lhasa Gonggar Airport back to Kathmandu.
• Permit Management: The Tibet Travel Permit (TAR permit) and every other permit the route requires, with all permit fees, plus Chinese Group Visa processing and monument entry fees.

What Is Not Included

• Chinese Group Visa fee (we handle the application for you)
• Nepal entry visa fees
• Comprehensive travel insurance, which is a condition of every booking. Your policy must cover emergency medical treatment and evacuation at high altitude, trip cancellation and interruption, and repatriation. We can recommend providers.
• Personal expenses, including Chinese Yuan for shopping, beverages, and laundry
• Tips for Tibetan drivers, local guides, and Sherpa crew
• Single supplement (for those taking a private room)

Five Highlights

The Potala Palace

Thirteen stories on a hill above Lhasa, begun in 1645 on the site of a 7th-century royal meditation retreat. The Potala was the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas for over 300 years. It has more than 1,000 rooms and 10,000 shrines, and the Red Palace at its center holds the tombs of eight Dalai Lamas in gold chortens. From below, the building seems to grow out of the rock it stands on.

The North Face of Everest

Most photographs of Mt. Everest show the south side, in Nepal. The north face is in Tibet, broader and more severe, and you see it from the high road between Nyalam and Xegar at over 5,000 meters. Most guests ask the driver to stop the first time it comes into view. The summit, at 8,849 meters, stands nearly 4,000 meters above the road.

Yamdrok Lake

One of Tibet's four holy lakes, Yamdrok sits at 4,441 meters. Its deep turquoise comes from glacial minerals and the thin, clear air at this altitude. The road runs along the hills above the lake, and the view from the top is one of the best-known images of Tibet. Tibetans believe wrathful protective deities live in the lake, and they see its water level as a measure of the country's spiritual health.

The Sera Debates

Every afternoon, monks at Sera Monastery gather in a courtyard for the debates that are central to Tibetan Buddhist monastic education. The debates are physical: monks punctuate their arguments with hand claps, foot stamps, and swings of their prayer beads, and you hear the courtyard before you see it. It is a centuries-old way of testing each other's grasp of Buddhist philosophy, and visitors are welcome to watch.

The Gyantse Kumbum

Built in the early 15th century as a three-dimensional mandala, the Kumbum Stupa in Gyantse is a nine-level circular building with 77 chapels, each decorated with murals and statues of different aspects of Buddhist teaching. Pilgrims climb through it level by level, a walk that stands for the path from the everyday world toward enlightenment. Its murals are some of the finest 15th-century Tibetan art that survives.