12 Days Chengdu Lhasa Namtso Everest Train Tour with Panda Visit; Chengdu Tibet Train Tour; Tibet Train Tour from Chengdu

Overview
Itinerary
Service Inclusion
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Trip Overview

A mind-blowing sightseeing trip, the 12-day Chengdu Tibet train tour includes a visit to Chengdu Giant Panda, an overnight trip to the heavenly Namsto Lake, and a witness to the glorious Mount Everest. You will first enjoy your time with the adorable Giant Panda in Chengdu, before taking the train to Lhasa. Then in Lhasa, you will be able to see the imposing Potala Palace, holy Jokhang Temple, and get to know the daily life of Tibetans at Barkhor. What’s followed is the surprisingly beautiful Namtso Lake, the largest and one of three holy lakes in Tibet. Then, you will move to the famous Everest Base Camp to appreciate the stunning view of Everest Peak. At the end of the journey, a visit to the majestic Tashilhunpo Monastery will again let you understand more of Tibetan culture and Buddhism.

Best Time to Visit

All year round
Physical Demands

Very leisure tour; light physical demand for the high altitude

Day by Day Itinerary

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Day 1 Arrive in Chengdu and Visit Jinli Street, Wenshu Monastery

Welcome to Chengdu! Upon arrival at Chengdu, your tour guide will hold a board with your name on it at the exit of the airport or railway station to welcome you. Then you will be transferred to your hotel in Chengdu.

The rest of the day is at leisure. You can enjoy a short walk at the ancient Jinli Street. Later, drive to Wenshu Monastery to have wonderful taste of the vegetarian food for dinner. Then enjoy the cultural show - Sichuan Opera.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

Day 2 Visit Chengdu Panda Breeding and Board Train to Lhasa

Chengdu Giant Panda

Chengdu Train Station

In the morning, drive for about half an hour to Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center, the home to giant pandas, where you will catch pandas' feeding time. They are at their most active, both adults and babies. There's a wealth of information and a panda museum in this 230-hectare park 10 km (6 miles) north of Chengdu. It takes about 2.5 hours to visit this site.

Then, the whole afternoon can be free for you to explore around the city.

In the evening, you will be transferred to Chengdu Train Station for the Train Z322 to Lhasa. The train departs from Chengdu North Railway Station at 21:37. It takes about 1 hour to check in as the train takes about 1000 passengers. Please be sure to arrive in train station 1 hour or a half before the train departure.

Stay overnight on the train

Note: Your Tibet Permit will need to be checked when you check in.

Day 3 Train to Lhasa

Xining City

Qinghai-Tibet Railway

It is quite a long journey that will take about 36 hours, two days and two nights on the train. On the first day you will pass through two important provincial capital cities in northwest China, Lanzhou and Xining. Xining is known as the beginning of Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Travelling along the rail line, you could see the scenery of countryside and city in northwest China.

Stay overnight on the train

Day 4 Scenery View of Tibet Railway and Arrive in Lhasa

Kekexili Grand Prairie

Lhasa Train Station

Today, you will witness the most beautiful scenery of Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The land of snows, the desert, the grassland, snow mountains and the lakes will continually appear and strongly attract your heart. Remember to choose a good angle to take beautiful pictures of Kekexili Grand Prairie and the continuous snow-capped mountains.

You will arrive in Lhasa at about 9:55. Your tour guide will hold a board with your name on it at the exit of the train station to welcome you. A private car will take you from the train station to the reserved hotel.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 5 Lhasa Tour: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street

Potala Palace

Johkang Temple

In the morning, you will visit the famous Potala Palace and explore the grandest chapels. You will experience its audience halls, the jeweled and golden burial chortens (stupa tombs) of past Dalai Lamas, and tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, Thangkas, combinations of mandala etc.

In the afternoon, you will continue your visit to the holiest temple in Tibet, the Jokhang Temple, built during Songtsen Ganpo's Reign by Princess Wencheng of Tang Dynasty, 647 A.D, and its famous Barkhor Street, where you can buy or appreciate traditional Tibetan artifacts, religious implements, antiques, books, Tibetan music instrument, Thangkas, and tradition Tibetan clothes etc. You will have a chance to get close to appreciate how the artists draw Thangkas at the Thangka workroom at Barkhor.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 6 Lhasa Tour: Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery

Drepung Monastery

Scriptures Debating in Sera Monastery

Today, you will visit two important monasteries in Lhasa, the Drepung and the Sera. Drepung Monastery is situated at the foothill of a mountain and was founded by Jamyang Choeje in 1416. It was once home of 10000 monks and Ganden Podrang in Drepung is famous it was the government centre during fifth Dalai Lama and later moved to the famous Potala Palace during fifth Dalai Lama.

After having lunch, continue to visit the Sera Monastery, which was founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa's disciple Jamchen Choeje. The most attractive is that monks debating is held there in the courtyard at around 3-5 in the afternoon section most of the time.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 7 Lhasa to Namtso Lake, drive back to Dunxumg or to Yampachen (approx. 350km)

Lake Namtso

In the morning you will be driven to the holy Lake Namtso, 250km north of Lhasa. En route you will pass the famous Nyenchen Tanggula Mountains, and you will get to see a lot of open landscape along the way. The foot of the mountains is a good place to see nomadic herdsmen grazing sheep and yaks on the grassy slopes.

Lake Namtso is one of the four Holy Lakes of Tibet, and is known as the “Heavenly Lake”. It is the largest lake in Tibet, and the second largest saltwater lake in China. At an elevation of 4,470 meters, it is the highest lake in the world, and is supplied by the Nyenchen Tanggula Mountains. Surrounded by lush grasslands and the best pasture land in Northern Tibet, the lake is also home to five small, uninhabited islands, and five peninsulas reach out into its turquoise waters.

You can enjoy a leisurely trek around Tashi Dor Island to take a look at the famous “meditation caves”, which still host many meditators and yogis from across the Tibetan Plateau. Then you’ll drive back to Dumxung or Yampachen. (For environment protection, the Lakeshore guesthouses were close by the government.)

Stay overnight in Dumxung or Yampanchen Town.

Day 8 Yampanchen to Shigatse via Dazhuka (385km)

Today, continue to Shigatse, the second biggest city in Tibet, you will go through a long distance of rough road between Yampanchen and Dazhuka, and finally get to Shigatse in the late afternoon.

Stay overnight in Shigatse

Day 9 Shigatse to Everest Base Camp via Lhatse, Shegar

Mt. Everest in the distance

Rongbuk Monastery

We’ll leave Shigatse after getting your Alien’s Travel Permit, and then drive to Lhatse. It is a small town where you can take lunch. After that, you will drive to Shegar and if the weather is clear enough then on the way down to Shegar you will view the Mt. Everest in the distance.

After 4 to 6 hours then you will arrive at Rongbuk Monastery. But on the way, you will pass one of the highest passes in Tibet, Gawula Pass(5198m), where you will view the whole five highest peaks in the world.

Stay overnight at Rongphu Monastery tent or guest house

Day 10 Rongbuk Monastery - Everest Base Camp, and Back to Shigatse

Sunrise over the Mt.Everest

Everest Base Camp

Early in the morning, you will see the sunrise from Rongbuk, then to view Mt. Everest. It is fabulous and splendid. You can hike up to the top of the photo point to take pictures of the splendid Mt. Everest.

Then late in the afternoon around 13:00 go down from E.B.C back to Shigatse.

Stay overnight in Shigatse

Day 11 Shigatse to Lhasa: Tashilunpo Monastery

Friendship Highway

Tashilunpo Monastery

Today, we will drive back to Lhasa on the Friendship Highway. The whole distance is almost 280km and it takes 6 hours along the Yarlung Tsangpo River / Bhamaputra River (the longest and largest river in Tibet).

On the way, we will visit the largest monastery in west Tibet, the Tashilunpo Monastery which is one of the six great Gelukpa institutions and was founded in 1447 by a disciple of Tsongkapa, contains the world's largest gilded copper image (26m high) of Future God Jampa.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 12 Depart from Lhasa

You will be transferred to Lhasa Airport for your flight to next destination.

Service Guide

Price Inclusions

Tibet Travel Permit and all other necessary permit to Tibet;
Domestic train/flight tickets as indicated in the itinerary, including the hard sleeper ticket of Chengdu-Lhasa train;
All lodging listed in the itinerary. If you travel individually, you will need to share one room with another tourist. If you prefer to stay in one room by yourself, you will have to pay the single room supplement;
Private transportation to the destinations and sites listed in the itinerary; ranging from 4WD land cruiser to bus depending on the group size and trip route; car gasoline, road toll and in-transport refreshments (free bottles of water, air pillow and headscarf) are included;
Meals listed in the itinerary;
Experienced English-speaking Tibetan local tour guide;
Entrance ticket fees for all the sight spots listed in the itinerary;
First aid kit;

Price Exclusions

Chinese visa;
International flight to and out of China;
Tips and gratuities for the trip leader and driver;
Meals not specified the itinerary (Averagely a meal in the 3rdpole region cost 3~15USD per person in Tibet Autonomous Region);
The expense of a personal nature like alcoholic beverages, laundry, phone call, etc;
Optional activities and excursions not specified in the itinerary;

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.