9-Day 4+2 Biking Tour from Lhasa to Namtso, Retring and Drigung Til

Overview
Itinerary
Service Inclusion
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Trip Overview

In this 9-Day driving and biking Tour in Tibet, you will visit Lhasa, the cultural center of Tibet and its surroundings, learn about Tibetan Buddhism from monastery to monastery. This special biking tour combines 4WD and the bicycle, so when getting tired, you can stop to take the car. On the way, you will pass by the vastly Tibetan agricultural areas, view the local lifestyle of nomads. After your long journey, bathing in the hot spring beside the Drigung Til Monastery will release from exhaustion. It is a golden opportunity to experience cycling on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in your life.

Best Time to Visit

All Year Round
Physical Demands

Strenuous tour; strong physical condition for the high altitude;

Day by Day Itinerary

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Day 1: Arrive in Lhasa

Our local guide and driver will warmly welcome you with a white Hada in Tibetan, and transfer you to the hotel. In order to acclimatize on the high elevation, we will not offer any activities on your arrival, so you can have a good relaxation in your room or do a very small walking nearby the hotel to adjust.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 2: Sightseeing in Lhasa

Jokhang Temple

Barkhor Street

After your delicious breakfast, you will start your Tibetan Buddhist journey today. Certainly, the Potala Palace, reputed as the landmark of Tibet, must be the first site. It is enclosed with the White Palace and the Red Palace ancillary buildings of the Potala Palace which rise from Red Mountain in the center of Lhasa Valley (3700m). The most valuable burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and meditation Cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet are housed inside.

Having a lunch, you will continue to visit the "spiritual heart of the city" and the most sacred monastery in Tibet - the holy Jokhang Monastery. The monastery is located at Barkhor Square in Lhasa, in general, considered as the most important and sacred monastery by Tibetan. In fact, it is packed with pilgrims from four corners to pray. Therefore, not only will you see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve, also the pilgrims making prostrating in front of Jokhang Temple.

After visiting the monastery, you can stroll along the Barkhor Street surrounding the monastery where you can take part in the pilgrimage to do kora, a religious circle around a building or mountains, or wandering to buy some Tibetan handicrafts and so on.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 3: Sightseeing in Lhasa

Drepung Monastery

Sera Monastery

Today, you will go on basking in Tibetan Buddhism. Drepung Monastery, as the beginning site of today’s journey, is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet. It is founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choge, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples, also the biggest monastery among Tibetan Buddhist buildings. Here, we will offer you an opportunity to visit the biggest monastery kitchen, and enjoy the rock paintings, then, the tour guide will lead you to see Buddhist Sculpture Carving workshop near Drepung Monastery.

In addition, after your meal, continue to visit another Gelug monastery in Tibet - Sera Monastery. As we all know, the highlight of touring Sera Monastery is to watch an excellent Monks Debate lasting from 3 pm to 5 pm. Then, you can explore the Choding Khang which is the hermitage located just behind the Great Assembly Hall (on the hill slope of Sera Utse).

(Notes; due to the ticket reservation of Potala during the peak season, the Sightseeings on “Day2 and Day3” need to be switched sometimes.)

Overnight in Lhasa

Day 4: Lhasa to Lake Namtso (250km)

Biking Tour to Namtso

Lake Namtso

Highlights: Northern Grassland, Mt Nyanchen Thanglha and Namtso lake.

Drive 90km to Yangpajan via beautiful valley of Tholung, then start your 4+2 cycling tour on the plateau. Today the biking tour will be divided into two sections:

Section1: Yangpajan to Nyanchen Thanglha Pass (4,800m).

Section 2: Lagen La pass 5,190m to Tashi Dor.

About 40km ascending 500m by cycling along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway with the beautiful view of northern grassland and Nyanchen Thanglha Range, this road has a big traffic jam, so you must ride carefully. Then drive to Damxiong county, you will have a lunch there. After lunch, we will drive 30km to Lagen La Pass (5,190m), from there you can start your 2nd section until you reach Tashi Dor Island (30km). This will be a very nice riding through the nomads' tents with the stunning view of Namtso lake and the north face of Mt Nyanchen Thanglha.

Overnight in Tashi Dor guesthouse

Day 5: One Day Exploration at Lake Namtseo

Lake Namtso

The Sunrise of Namtso

Around Tashi Dor Island ride bicycle and pay a visit to the holy caves and temples around the island, appreciating the ancient rock paintings, sunrise,and sunset of NamtsoLake are the main highlights of the day.

Overnight again in Tashi Dor guesthouse

Day 6: Namtso to Reting Monastery (170km)

Riding to Reting Manostery

Reting Manostery

Highlights: Reting Monastery

Drive all the way back by the same route, after a 20-kilometer trip, passing through Damxiong county, you will meet the way to turn to Reting and start your 30-kilometer cycling tour to Phudo valley, through the beautiful valley and the head of Lhasa river, you will reach Phudo Dam side. Even it’s not a natural lake, its color is very beautiful so you can try to ride as far as you can via the artificial lake or drive from Phudo to Reting Monastery. You will visit Reting monastery in the afternoon and it’s also very nice to do a Kora around Reting.

Overnight at Reting Monastery

Day 7: Reting to Drikung Til/Tedrom Nunnery (140km)

Drigung Til Monastery

Tidrum Hot Spring

Highlights: beautiful Lungsho Valley, Drigung Til Monastery, Tedrom Nunnery and hot spring.

Drive back to Phudo, about 40km, and you will start your daily cycling along the upper Lhasa River and beautiful valley of Lungsho to Nyima Jiangra.

From there drive 40km ascending 400m in a deep valley to Drikung Til monastery, visit Til monastery then drive to Tedrom Nunnery where you can enjoy the hot spring with local pilgrims.

Overnight in Tedrom guesthouse

Day 8: Drigung to Lhasa (150km)

Today you can start your cycling from the beginning of the day, ride all the way back via the same route to Nyima Jianra and eat lunch there. After lunch, drive 2 hours back to Lhasa through Meldo Kongkar and upper Lhasa Valley.

Free sightseeing in Lhasa in the afternoon and enjoy your last day in Lhasa, you can relax in a local Tibetan tea house to enjoy a lazy afternoon or go shopping at the market to buy some souvenirs.

Overnight in Lhasa

Day 9: Lhasa Departure

In the morning, your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport or train station and say goodbye to Tibet. Your trip is successfully end.

Service Guide

Price Inclusions

Tibet Travel Permit and all the other travel documents needed in Tibet;
Personal transportation to the destinations and sites listed in the itinerary; ranging from 4WD land cruiser to minibus depending on the group size;
Lodging: Comfortable Hotel Accommodations (not include single room supplement. If you are a solo traveler, you need to share one room with another tourist (same sex in most cases); if you prefer to stay in one room by yourself, you will have to pay the single room supplement. And the exact price depends on market fluctuation in high and off season of Tibet tour. For the exact price, please refer to your travel consultant.)
Experienced English-speaking Tibetan local tour guide;
Entrance ticket fees for all the sight spots listed in the itinerary;
Welcome Dinner in local restaurant when group members meet in Lhasa. Meals as specified in the itinerary;
First aid kit;
Service Charge & Government Taxes;
Arrangements include planning, handling, operational and communication charges;
A coverage of 300,000RMB Chartis travel insurance

Price Exclusions

International and domestic flight/train to Lhasa (Note: we accept the domestic flight/train tickets booking to Lhasa from other cities in advance, check the updated ticket availability and cost with your travel consultant);
Meals that are not specified in the itinerary (Averagely a meal in the 3rdpole region cost 3~15USD per person in Tibet Autonomous Region);
Tips and gratuities for the trip leader and driver;
The expense of a personal nature like alcoholic beverages, laundry, phone call, etc;
Optional activities and excursions not specified in the itinerary;
China Entry visa fees;
Tips to tour guide and driver, you are suggested to tip them 7 USD/day in total;

Itinerary Alteration

Once we receive your tour deposit, which is followed by signing the contract, your reservation is secured with legitimacy. Our staff will reserve the accommodation, vehicle, site tickets, meals and more, and pay the deposit for our suppliers. So if you want to alter to another itinerary, you need to cover the deposit we've paid, while no service charge is needed if you make some changes on the itinerary you booked.

Cancellation and Refund Policy

If you cancel the tour beacuse of your personal issues, you will be liable to pay cancellation charges that are bounded by 3rdpoletour.com cancellation policy as follows:

1.) If you cancel the tour more than 30 days before the trip starts, you will forfeit 10% of the total land cost per person;
2.) If you cancel the tour 15-30 days prior to your trip start date, 20% of your total land tour cost will be forfeited as a cancellation fee.
3.) If you cancel the tour 7-15 days before the trip starts, you will forfeit 30% of land cost.
4.) If you cancel the tour 7 days prior to your tour start date, you will forfeit 50% of land cost.
5.) If you fail to show up or cancel at your scheduled arrival time without prior notice or later than that, you will forfeit 100% of the land cost.

If the tour has to be cancelled because of the natural disaster or the government restrictions that is beyond both parties control, we will charge only USD50 per person, this is just the service fee and larbor fee during the preparation. This is a rare occurrence!

The cancellation fee charged by 3rdpoletour.com will be kept under your name (person who contacted us) for a usable period of 2 years. Within the applicable period you can use it for next time or you can kindly pass your authority to any of your family, friends or colleagues to use by booking a tour with 3rdpoletour.com. A certifying email from you is necessary to pass the cancellation fee to others, but it is only applicable for private group.