Tibet is a land of immense natural beauty and a fascinating culture built around an unbending Buddhist faith. Some of the truly memorable experiences you’ll encounter are the wispy puff clouds, the endless yak-trimmed grasslands, the vibrant pinks, peaches, lavenders of exposed twisted earth, the people’s spirit in their eyes and in their places of worship, and the tangible mystique of this long-sequestered land.

• Overland to Lhasa
  8 days travel (no trekking). Moderate. Overland Cultural Trip. Min/Max: 1,370m-5,220m.
  Driving from Kathmandu to Lhasa, across the vast Tibetan plateau, awakes a yearning to further explore this stark landscape of holy lakes, hidden caves, clustered mud-house villages, and wildlife inhabited pasturelands. The dirt highway leaves Nepal’s lush green valleys ehind as it passed over the Himlalaya nd onto the Tibetan moonscape. The 1,000km/3,280 mi drive crosses several passes upward of 5,000m/16,404ft en route to Lhasa, with overnights and sightseeing at Shegar, Shigatse, and Gyantse, and a side trip to Sakya. You’ll spend two days in Lhasa (3,650m/12,000ft) touring the Potala Palace, home of the Dalai Lama, the Jokhang (supreme temple), and Buddhist monasteries, the flight back to Kathmandu caps off this trio of superlatives with a bird’s eye view of Everest.
  
  
• On Wings to Lhasa
  8 days travel, no trekking. Moderate. Overland Cultural Trip. Min/Max: 1,370m-5,010m.
  Flying to and from Kathmandu affords extra time in Lhasa to visit the Potala Palace, numerous monasteries and nunneries, and the old bazaar. You’ll see the countryside as well on the drive to Shigatse, home of the Panchen Lama and Tashilhunpo Monastery, via Gyantse, an early trade-post. Picnic en route by the lovely Yamdrok Tso (lake), and return to Lhasa.
  
  
• Trek to Qomolangma (Everest) Base Camp
  17 days travel, including 8 days trekking. Challenging. Camping Trek and Overland Cultural Trip. Min/Max: 1,370m-5,030m.
  Qomolangma (Mt. Everest), know as “Mother of the Universe,” was revered by the Tibetans for its superiority long before modern measurements were made. It is visible in all of its glory from the northern vantage, guarded by the highest monastery in the world, Rongbuk. You begin the overland journey from Kathmandu, following the Overland to Lhasa route via Tingri, where the trek route leaves the road and crosses the grassy hills to Base Camp. You’ll camp near the Rongbut Glacier in full view of Qomolangma, and visit he highest monastery in the world. After 8 days of trekking and exploring local villagers, you’ll drive to Lhasa, visiting shegar, Shigatse, and Gyantse en route. Fly back to Kathmandu.
  
  
• Gyama to Samye Trek Extension
  9 days travel, including 5 days trekking. Moderately Challenging. Camping Trek and Overland cultural Trip. Min/Max: 3,400m-5,066m.
  This trek is a n extension to any of the above described Tibet trips. Drive east from Lhase. Visiting Ganden Monastery en route ot the fertile Gyama Valley. The trek climbs gradually up a grassy valley, through summer settlements where herder families live in yak wool tents. On the gigh ridges above camp, you might spot blue sheep or giant marmots in the soft evening light. On the southern side of the pass (5,066m/16,620ft), you’ll encounter rhododendron and wild rose busher. The route ends at he lodest monastery in Tibet, Samye before returning to Lhasa, or driving directly to the airport.
  
  
• Nam Tso and Tsurpu Extensions
  4 days travel, no trekking, moderate. Overland Cultural Trip with Camping. Min/Max: 3,650m-4,590m.
  This optional extension to any of the Tibet trips takes you to the home of the oyoung reincarnate Karmapa at Tsurpu monastery, and then to the hly Nam Tso (lake) region. Here a spectacular sight awaits you: the strikingly beautiful blue lake, over 100 km in length with wavelts lapping its eastern edge, is set amidst wide grassy plains and sandstone formations that jut toward to sky. Tibetans worship at simple monasteries built into the rocks, and antelope , fox, and pika share the plains with summer yak herders.