China (Beijing) Tibet Nepal Bhutan Tour

*Please note that travelers need to obtain a China visa in their home country and collect the Tibet Travel Permit. This permit will be provided in hard copy at your hotel in Beijing.

Upon your arrival at the airport in Beijing, our Asia experiences representative will approach you there. From the airport, you will head straight to your hotel. In the way, he/she will give you a short orientation about the tour. After reaching the hotel, you can rest for the day. Towards the evening, head out for a stroll and try some of the local Chinese cuisines. Chinese food is the main reason people love to visit this nation, and our guide will suggest you some of the unmissable delicacies to gulp in this tour. Overnight in Beijing.

Beijing is a large city with some of the most beautiful destinations in China. We will cover some of the best places reflecting Chinese culture, history, and architecture today. After breakfast, we will head towards the UNESCO world heritage site, the Forbidden City. One of the most visited places in China the Forbidden City is a preserved Palace complex aging 600 years back with some 980 historical and architecturally masterpiece buildings in it. You can get the full extent of the town from the nearby Jingsan Hull. The Forbidden City is the best place to learn about medieval Chinese lifestyle, art form, and culture from near.
After returning, we will have our lunch and head towards the Great Wall of China. Among the Seven Wonders of the World, this wall is the only human-made object even visible from the moon. Throughout the wall, we can see various towers and small monuments to enjoy. The views from the wall of the beautiful sunset are pristine too. Overnight at Beijing.

We will continue our Beijing tour today after breakfast. Our first destination is Tiananmen Square. This square is among the most extensive city square of the world with an area of over 440,000 square meters. Many historical moments took place in this square, and one can experience the bustling local life here. We will head towards the Summer Palace of the former kings of Qing dynasty. After some time here, we will head towards the Temple of heaven, one of the four major royal temples in Beijing made by the former kings here. It is believed that praying here results in the good harvest of the crops and happiness.

Return to your hotel from the temple and rest for the day — overnight in Beijing.

We will take a flight to Tibet today after our breakfast in Beijing. This 5-hour flight provides us with some of the magnificent views of Landscape over China. After Landing in Lhasa, you will head straight to your hotel. After some snacks, you can rest for the day here. In the evening, try visiting the local markets of Lhasa and experience the local art of trading. Overnight at Lhasa.

We will commence the Sightseeing tour of Lhasa today with a warm Tibetan tea in the hotel. Our visit today will constitute of two significant attractions alongside brief stopping in some of the places. We will visit the Potala Palace, the former ruling seat of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet first today. The Palace is an architectural masterpiece with the best showcasing of vibrant Tibetan Art and culture. You can visit the grand chapels, state rooms, large courtyards, and beautiful gardens throughout the palace premises. The decorations, sculptures, paintings, and other components of the palace is alluring as well.

From Potala, we will next visit the Summer Palace of Dalai Lamas, Norbulingka Palace. The Palace gardens are the most beautiful component alongside the architecture, local houses, and small prayer shrines. We will head towards the Tibet Museum to watch the culture, history, and artwork of this fantastic state from near in the late afternoon. Overnight in Lhasa.

Our Lhasa sightseeing continues today with some of the other great attractions here. We will visit the Deprug Monastery here first. Built in the 14th-century Drepung Monastery is among the biggest monastery in the world. This beautiful monastery was once home to over 10,000- 12,000 monks, which now have declined with time and revolutions from the past years. Similar to Drepung monastery Sera monastery, our next destination, is amongst the top three Gelug sect monastery of Tibet. The white walls with a golden roof, courtyards, halls, and library here makes Sera monastery a must-see place in Tibet. From here we will head towards the UNESCO world heritage site, Jokhang temple. Jokhang Monastery is the most prominent and sacred site for the people in Tibet. Said to be built around 652 AD, Jokhang is an ideal way to explore culture and lifestyle in Tibet. We will stroll around the famous Barkhor street surrounding Jokhang temple and rest for the day. Overnight at Lhasa.

After breakfast, we will prepare and start our overland tour from Lhasa to Kathmandu. We will drive to Shigatse via Gyantse tour today. The road trip from Lhasa quickly joins the friendship highway and towards the Khamba La pass at 4794 meters. For the first part of the drive, you can savor the breathtaking views of Yamdrok-Tso Lake and Nazin Kang Sa Mountain (7252 m). Heading towards Gyantse, you can also enjoy the sightings of snow-capped mountains and massive glaciers from the road. We will pass small Tibetan settlements where we can try some snacks before reaching the town of Gyantse. This historically significant town is in a beautiful valley and was one of the major cities where multiple trading routes were mixed. Our stay here will be brief, and we will visit some of the dzong ad monasteries in the stop. Our journey continues for about a couple of hours from Gyantse and ends today at Shigatse. The second-largest city in Tibet, Shigatse is beautiful and full of life. We will visit the Tashilupo monastery which is the seat of Panchen lamas of Tibet and one of the largest functioning monasteries here. Overnight at a hotel in Shigatse.

The drive of today to the famous Rongbuk Monastery from Shigatse is packed with wonderful views of the landscape and natural scenery. The road is smooth, and we will be passing the highest point of the tour, the Gyatchu La pass at 5,220 m today. We will first cross Lhatse and drive through a pass nearby. Moving on from small stops where we will have our lunch, we will pass by Tingri village. Another two to three hours of the relaxed drive, followed by small patches of settlements, will take us to Rongbuk monastery (5000 m). The north face of Everest is a sight to relish here in Rongbuk. Rongbuk monastery is also the starting point to hike to the northern Everest Base Camp. Witness a beautiful sunset over Mt. Everest (8848 m). Overnight at Rongbuk.

We will wake up with the monks in Rongbuk and start our drive to the China-Nepal border at Kerung/Gyirong. With a beautiful view of the sunrise and the Everest, we will start the journey early. For the first portion of the drive, we will do high passes with views of steep hills and snow-covered mountains. We will cross the Lalung La (5,124 m) and Tong La (5,120 m) and the views of Mt. Cho Oyu, Everest and Sishapangma are pristine in a clear sky from the passes. We will drop some altitude, and the landscape also begins to change as we get nearer to Kerung/Gyirong. We will stay on the Chinese side for the day. Overnight at a hotel in Kerung/Gyirong.

After bidding farewell to your Tibetan guide and driver, we will start our journey to the Nepalese Capital from Kerung today. The drive is thrilling beside the green hills and Trishuli River straight from the mountains. We will stop in the intermediate hill settlements to have our lunch in the way. The windy roads will lead you to the valley, and you'll head straight to to your hotel here. Overnight at a hotel in Kathmandu.

We will start the heritage tour of Kathmandu valley today which includes four of the UNESCO world heritage sites among others. After having our breakfast, we will visit the Kathmandu/Basantapur Durbar square near your hotel. One of the three major palace squares in Kathmandu, it holds the historical, architectural, religious, and monumental components from medieval Nepal. We will head towards 'the monkey temple' Swyambhunath next. From the top of the temple, we can have a complete birds-eye view of Kathmandu Valley. The holy Hindu temple of Pashupatinath is next in our heritage tour. In the banks of Bagmati River, this temple complex constitutes of over 500 small and big shrines. Towards the evening, we will head north to the Boudhanath stupa. We can enjoy the peaceful setting and gaze at the beautiful sunset over this extensive dome here. Overnight at Kathmandu.

Our tour of today is a complete tour of Bhaktapur city. After breakfast, we will drive to the small settlement of Thimi. You can explore the pottery, masks, and other handwoven handicrafts reflecting the Newari culture here. The Bhaktapur durbar square is the next place on our list. The fifty-five windows palace, Nyatapola temple square, and Museum here are the main attractions. You can try the King curd "juju dhau" here as a delicacy popular all over the country. We will head towards the Changunarayan temple, which is about half an hour of drive from Bhaktapur. One of the oldest temples in Nepal, Chanunarayan is devoted to the Hindu god Bishnu. The stone inscriptions and manuscripts in the premises of the Temple ages back from 3rd to the 11th century. After some time here we will head towards the hilltop village of Nagarkot and rest for the day at a hotel there. Overnight at Nagarkot.

We will have a majestic sunrise view with the hills and Himalayas from Nagarkot village today. After some time here we will head towards the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) and fly to the Paro airport in Bhutan. After arriving at Paro, our representative from Asiaexperiences will approach you and transfer you to your hotel in Thimphu. The guide will provide you a brief introduction about this tour on the way to Thimphu.

On the way to the Paro-Thimphu highway, visit the 16^th-century old Tachogang Lhakhang temple. The temple means the hill of the excellent horse. You need to cross an old bridge to visit the temple. From the bridge, enjoy the scenic views of the villages.

We will visit the major attractions in and around Thimphu today. After breakfast, we will head towards the King's Memorial Chorten. This beautiful Chorten is made in the memory of the late third king of Bhutan Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (1928-1972 AD). We will then head towards the nunnery temple and mini zoo in Thimphu. Here you can catch a glance at 'Takin', the national animal of Bhutan. We will pay a short visit to the traditional medicine institute here and watch some healing techniques. You can also explore the traditional paper factory, painting schools, and Bhutan Postal Museum in Thimphu today. After some time here, we will head towards the folk heritage museum and know Bhutan from a step closer. In the late afternoon, we will visit the Tashichho Dzong, one of the historically significant dzongs in Bhutan. We will end the tour with a visit to the largest Buddha statue of Bhutan, the Great Buddha Dordenma looking over the beautiful Thimphu Valley. If you have made the Trip overlapping weekends in Bhutan, you will have an opportunity to attend the weekend markets and experience the local trade and lifestyle here. Overnight at Thimphu.

We will drive to Punakha after breakfast today. On the way, we will stop at the Dochula Pass at 3,100 meters. From this pass, we can enjoy a fantastic view of the Himalayan range centered by Gangkhar Puensum (7,570 m: highest in Bhutan). The Druk Wangyal Chortens lies in the past and was made in honor of the war soldiers of Bhutan. From here we will make brief stops at the temple of the divine madman, and the temple of fertility before reaching Punakha. We will visit the longest Punakha Suspension Bridge which is also the oldest in Bhutan. It connects three villages of Bhutan and relish the beautiful surrounding views from the bridge. Next, visit the famous Punakha Dzong that is not so far from the bridge. The Dzong lies on the banks of the Pho Chu and Mo Chu rivers and spend some time in this magnificent Dzong. We will then take a return drive to Thimphu beside the hills and rice fields and rest for the day. Overnight at Thimphu.

We will take a short drive to Paro after breakfast and start our hike to the Tiger's Lair, Taktsang Monastery. The main highlight of Bhutan, this monastery is a beautiful place to be with magnificent landscape views of the surrounding regions. Located at a sharp face of a high hill, the hike to it is certainly not easy. However, with our experienced guides, you will be assured the safest route to it. Many legends are presented at this monastery with some claiming that one the great Guru Rinpoche meditated in the caves of this monastery. After spending some time here, we will return to Paro for lunch.

After lunch, visit the oldest sacred temple Kyichu Lhakhang. Then, a visit to the beautiful Paro Rinpung Dzong. Explore the fourteen shrines and chapels inside the dzong. Ta Dzong houses the National Museum of Bhutan above the hill of Rinpung Dzong which was once used as a watchtower. Presently, it is established as the National Museum of Bhutan. A great place for art and culture lovers as hundreds of ancient Bhutanese artworks and crafts embracing traditional costumes, armors, and handicraft tools of daily life are displayed there. Overnight at Paro.

The journey of these amazing Himalayan nations and fantastic destination ends today. With a heart full of memorable moments and wonderful stories, making up to them will give you a unique sensation of fulfillment. We will drop you to Paro airport, and you will depart to your next destination from here. Asia Experiences will be connected with you always for your feedback, experiences, and suggestions to us.