This tour will bring you a wonderful contrast impression. You will visit the ancient China capital city Beijing with remote holy city Lhasa. Both the best highlights in Beijing and Lhasa have been included in a single trip. Another feature is the spectacular train to Tibet from Beijing - you will ride a train passing through the sparsely populated Kekexili Nature reserve and harsh Tanggula Mountains in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Highlights of this tour:
- Explore the world-famous Heritage Sites in Beijing, including Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, Summer Palace, etc.;
- Enjoy the breathtaking landscape of Qinghai Tibet Plateau along the railway;
- Visit the most featured sites in Lhasa City, including Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Sera Monastery, etc.;
- Experience authentic Tibetan culture in the holy city.
Tour Brief Information
- Tour price: from Request
- Tour code: TD-BT-03
- Tour Type: Private Customizable Tour Package
- Destination: Beijing / Lhasa
- Duration: 8 days and 7 nights
- Departure: Flexible
- Travel Theme:
- Best Time:
- Physical Level
- Tour Pace
- Max Altitude
5,068m
- Itinerary Details
- Price Guide & Booking
- Trip FAQs
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Your tour - at a glance
Day 1~3 Arrival & Beijing Tour
Day 4~5 Train to Tibet
Day 6~7 Lhasa City Tour
Day 8 Lhasa Departure
Itinerary Details - Day by Day
Day 1 Beijing Arrival
Welcome to the capital city of China! Upon arriving at the airport/train station, you will be met by your local tour guide, and then drive to your downtown hotel in Beijing City. After the hotel check-in, you are free to take a rest or explore around on your own.
Day 2 Beijing ( B, L )
China has more than 4000 years’ history of Imperial Social System. While Beijing is the best place in China to experience the magnificent history and culture of ancient China. Today your guide will pick you up in the hotel after your breakfast, then start the wonderful ancient China culture and history tour!
You will firstly get to the world's largest plaza – Tian’anmen Sqaure. The grandiose Tianmen Gate was the place where the chairman Mao announced the establishement of the People’s Republic of China to the world. Passing through Tiananmen Gate, you will enter the splendid Forbidden City, the previous home to 24 emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties for 600 years. Magnificent architectures, intricate ornaments and touching legends make it a must-see of China.
In the afternoon, you are going to accomplish the Great Wall dream. You will be escorted about 70km from the downtown Beijing to the world-famous Mutianyu Great Wall which has fewer tourists compared with Badaling Great Wall. At the same time, it is the best Great Wall section to view the delicately beautiful scenery while appreciating the grandness of the Walls. After arriving at the ticket office, you will take a cable car to the walls of Mutianyu, and then hike about 2 hours on the Great Wall.
After the Mutianyu Great Wall hiking, you will drive back to the city.
- A corner of the Forbidden City in Bejing
- Hiking on the beautiful Mutianyu Great Wall
- Visit Tiananmen Square
Day 3 Beijing - Lhasa by Train ( B, L )
After breakfast, you'll have a visit to the charming Beihai Park to appreciate the beautiful White Pagoda and the Nine-Dragon Screen. Later move on to visit the most famous Hutongs which are some old alleys with traditional architecture originated from Yuan Dynasty (CD 1271~1368. Today, there are still many local Beijingers living in these old quarters, while in the Qing Dynasty (CD 1636~1912), there were even some noble royal families resided here. You can wander leisurely around these narrow alleys to experience the original features of people’s living in old time, or take a relaxing rickshaw through. Lunch will be arranged at a local family. If you like, you can learn to cook some Chinese dumplings by yourself.
After the lunch, head to marvel at one of the greatest masterpiece in Chinese architecture history - the Temple of Heaven, where the ancient emperors used to preside at various rituals for a national good harvest in ancient times. Today, the outer area of the Temple of Heaven is a public park for locals to gather to play Taichi, fly kites, chatting… while the inner area is the historical site for tourists to learn about the ancient Chinese history and culture.
Tonight, you'll be driven to the Beijing West Railway Station, and you take the overnight train Z21 starting at 20:00 for Lhasa.
Train Z21 will arrive at Lhasa Railway Station at 12:45 on the third day, running almost 40 hours and 45 minutes.
- Gate of the Temple of Heaven
Day 4 Train Travel
The 3753 kilometers’ railway between Beijing and Lhasa takes you to travel from northern China to the southwestern Tibet plateau, crossing 1110 km over the world's highest Qinghai-Tibet Railway. En route, you will enjoy the great contrast of cultural shock and marvelous landscape. It takes about 40.5 hours to get to Lhasa, allowing enough time for visitors to fully adapt to the high altitude before arriving at Tibet.
- The Stunning Landscape along the Golmud-Lhasa Railway
Day 5 Lhasa Arrival
You are in Golmud, Qinghai Province when you are awake, and heading towards to Lhasa, the last part of your train tour. The highest point will reach 5,072 meters above sea level, snow-capped mountain sightseeing all around.
Arrival at Lhasa at around 12:45, and your tour guide and driver will transfer you to your hotel in Lhasa. Free for the rest of the day to acclimate yourself to the high altitude.
- Snow-Capped Tanggula Mountains along the Qinghai Tibet Railway
Day 6 Lhasa ( B )
Start today’s Lhasa exploration with an exciting visit to the landmark - Potala Palace which is regarded as one of the most beautiful architectural building in the world. You will climb up the palace along the zigzag stone paths with white-and-red walls to the top of the palace where you can not only appreciate the exotic Tibetan-style architecture, but also get a great view of Lhasa’s urban areas, then walk into the inner space of Potala Palace to explore the stately chapels and learn about the history of the palace.
Continuing your exploration, you will then get to Jokhang Temple which is considered as the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism. Each day, there are thousands of pilgrims coming from different places in Tibet to the temple to worship to the Buddha. This temple is also known as the “house of Buddha” because it keeps the precious Jowo Rinpoche, the life-sized (5 foot/1.5m) image of the Shakyamuni at the age of 12. The last site for today’s exploration is the famous Barkor Street. It is a circular and wide street encircling the Jokhang Temple. The local people like to walk on the street for several circles usually in the late afternoon as a daily tradition of pilgrimage. The street also has many shops selling a wide variety of traditional Tibetan goods, religious items and handcrafts.
Tips of today: 1) there are 1,080 steps up to climb to the top of Potala Palace, so don’t walk in a rush, which may cause high altitude sickness; 2) taking photos is not allowed inside the palace; 3) today you will be mainly outside, please bring some water, a hat, sun cream, and sun glasses with you.
- Towering Picturesque is the holy center of Tibet
- Entrance of Jokhang Temple with Pilgrims Praying
- Old Tibetan Lady Welcomes with Smiles
Day 7 Lhasa ( B )
After breakfast, you will firstly go to visit the beautiful Norbulingka which used to be the former summer palace of Dalai Lamas in the ancient time, and now is a public park. It is famous for its Potrang, the private palaces of former Dalai lamas with grandiose Tibetan architecture style. Next, drive several kilometers to the western outskirts of Lhasa to visit Drepung Monastery. Drepung, in Tibetan, means “prosperity”. Since its establishment, Drepung Monastery has always been one of the most important Buddhist monasteries in Tibet. In its heyday, there were more than 10,000 monks lived and studied in the monastery. Throughout its history, many important and famous Tibetan leaders used to study here, especially the Dalai Lamas. So Drepung Monastery is also respectfully known as the “Mother School of Dalai Lamas”.
In the afternoon, you will be taken to another famous monastery in Lhasa - Sera Monastery. It is famous for the spectacular “Buddhism Debating”. As a daily routine, the monks gather in a courtyard, and debate on the Buddhist doctrines with supplemented gestures, which is thought to be helpful to facilitates better comprehension of the Buddhist philosophy to attain higher levels of study. After enjoying the "Buddhism Debating", you will be transferred back to the city. The rest time is your own free time to rest.
The Etiquette of Visiting Monastery: 1) you shouldn’t wear short and uncover shoulders; 2) taking off your sunglasses and hat before entering the chapels; 3) taking photos is usually not allowed inside the chapels.
- Sera Monastery Is Famous for Its Buddhism Debating
- Six-letter Mantra Rock Painting
- Enjoy the bright flowers in Norblingka
Day 8 Lhasa Departure ( B )
Today is free for you until your tour guide transfer you to the airport in time for your flight or drop you off at Lhasa train station.
Tips of Today: 1) please pack your luggage carefully, especially for small things like camera charger, power adaptor, mobile phone, phone charger, wallet and towel; 2) if your flight is arranged in the afternoon, please make sure you check out the hotel before 12pm.
Useful Trip Notes
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- 1. Tibet Permits Guaranteed
To travel in Tibet, all Non-Chinese passport holders need to have a Tibet Travel Permit which is issued by Tibet Tourism Bureau in Lhasa. And only Chinese travel agencies like Tibet Discovery can apply for the permit on behalf of tourists. You must obtain it before your tour starting because the permit will be checked when you board your flight/train to Tibet. Traveling with Tibet Discovery, you don't have to worry about the complicated procedures of Tibet Travel Permit application. All you have to do is to confirm a tour package with us and send us your passport and Chinese visa copies at least 15~20 days in advance before your tour, then we will take care of all the rest things. Once the permit is issued, we will deliver to your address in China, such as your hotel, local travel agency, etc.
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- 2. Available Months to Visit Tibet
Generally speaking, April to October is the best time. July and August are the peak season and rainy season. It is usually snowy and cold in winter, which is not suitable for visit Mount Everest, Namtso and Mount Kailash regions. While other places such as Lhasa, Gyantse and Shigatse are suitable for travel all year around. The temperatures in daytime and night differs a lot, usually 5~15℃ in the daytime and -5~0℃ in the night, so please wear accordingly.
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- 3. High Altitude Sickness
The average altitude of Tibet is about 4000 meters above the sea level (Lhasa: 3700m; EBC: 5200m; Namtso: 4718m). You may suffer a bit from High Altitude Sickness in the beginning days of your Tibet trip if you haven’t had rich high plateau travel experience. But don’t worry too much, the high altitude can be acclimatized usually in 2~3 days. Our suggestion is to take a physical examination and get suggestions from your doctor, and also bring some medicines to prevent from High Altitude Sickness before your trip. While in Tibet, you should keep warm all the time, avoid strenuous activities, drink more water and eat more vegetables and carbohydrates. You’d better not take showers during the first two days after your arrival in Tibet. If you don’t feel well, get help from your tour guide or go to the hospital without any delay.
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- 4. How to Go to Tibet
Basically you have two options – flight and train. Currently, you can take a flight to Lhasa from Beijing(4.5hrs), Xian(3.7hrs), Chengdu(2.5hrs), Chongqing(3hrs), Kunming(3hrs), Kathmandu (1.5hrs), etc. Among all these cities, Chengdu and Xian have more frequent flights to Lhasa.
If you prefer a train travel, you can take a train to Tibet from Beijing(40.5hrs), Xian(32hrs), Chengdu(43hrs), Shanghai(47hrs), Chongqing(42hrs), Lanzhou(25hrs), Xining(22hrs), Guangzhou(54hrs). -
- 5. Packing and Wearing Ideas
Firstly you can’t forget your passport and Chinese Visa. A large backpack and a smaller one are recommended (the smaller one can be used for daily activities). Also bring necessary medicine you need. Other stuffs like sunglasses, snow glasses, hats, lip balm, sun block are recommended.
As for wearing, you are suggested to dress in layers (both thin and thick jackets). Down jacket is necessary in Spring and Autumn. A pair of durable and comfortable shoes is necessary.
Recommended Tibet Group Tour Packages
Escorted by a skilled driver and companied by a professional local tour guide to organize all the activities, all you have to do is to enjoy your fantastic Tibet journey.Following are some other recommended Tibet group tour packages that you may be interested in. You can also contact us to customize a trip if you want..
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Beijing / Lhasa
8 Days to See the Harsh Contrasts of Beijing and Tibet
Highlights: Forbidden City, Great Wall, Potala Palace, Barkhor Street
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Beijing / Xian / Lhasa
10 Days Brief China History Tour Plus Memorable Trip to Holy Land
Highlights: Forbidden City, Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, Potala Palace
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Beijing / Lhasa / Shigatse / Everest / Lhasa
12 Days Beijing Lhasa Everest Highlights Tour
Highlights: Forbidden City, Great Wall, Potala Palace, Mt. Everest