Ganden to Samye valley trekking

Arrive at Lhasa airport or train station, meet our guide, reception and transfer to hotel in Lhasa. Rest of the day will be relaxing and acclimatizing on your own. Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast at hotel, your guide will come to see you around 8AM and start today’s sightseeing tour of Norbulingkha Palace, Jokhang temple and Sera Monastery. At first, you will visit the beautiful Sera monastery; the pictures you will see here are of these buildings with their white washed walls and golden roofs. At the moment, several thousands of monks dwell and study in this architecture. And, in the afternoon you will visit the Jokhang Temple and Norbulinkkha Palace. Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast, you will drive to Potala palace to visit the ancient quarters of the Dalai Lama. Potala palace will certainly be amazement as this grand palace has been regarded to exist before the 17th century. In the afternoon, you will visit Drepung Monastery which was once home to over 10,000 Tibetan monks. The Drepung Monastery is still a wonderful sight to see and remarkably it was one of the few sights to escape the Cultural Revolution without widespread damage. Overnight at hotel in Lhasa.

After breakfast at hotel, we will have a short drive to reach Ganden monastery. The day will be fully acclimatizing and exploring the surroundings. Further, there are many interesting things to see in this ancient town and the most beautiful highlight is the first Gelugpa Monastery. Although this monastery has been destroyed over the years, there is still much to see. Many pilgrims wish to walk the kora around this holy place and you can enjoy the rituals along the way. Overnight at guest house in Ganden.

After breakfast at guest house, the first day’s trek starts with the highest point on the Ganden Kora. From this point, we will pace towards a saddle trail with mesmerizing views after which we traverse the west side of the ridge before passing through the alpine Hepu village. Later in the day move through Ani Pagong, a narrow bottleneck in the trail and former site of a nunnery. We will finish today’s trek up to Yama Do, where our staff will make camp to stay the first night in a tent.

After breakfast, we leave the camp and lead our trail through a steep gully rising from the stream bank. Finally, we will ascend up the Shug La and start to descend through treacherous boulder fields. Later in the afternoon, we will cross Tsotup Chu, a large stream winding through the valley floor. Finally, we will set up our camp in herder fields. Overnight under tent.

After breakfast, we leave Tsotup Chu valley and move through the Tsotup Chu down along its tributary and pace towards the Chitu La pass. After ascending this amazing rocky pass, we will quickly walk down to reach an appropriate place to camp in the fields surrounding the stream. Overnight under tent.

After breakfast, we start an easy day; today’s trail gets easier as we walk through clean and pleasant forests in the main valley. Splashing streams and lush green forests keep entertain us as we walk. However, the desert is nearby. The next two to three hours walk is perhaps the most beautiful and mesmerizing part of our trek. A lot of verities of scrub trees, blossoming rhododendrons, and cosmic meadow will speculate us every step of the way! After passing through this stunning countryside we will trek pass the Changtang village. Towards evening, we will encounter the Samye valley along the splashing tributary stream and close to Samye; today is the last night of our trek under a tent.

After breakfast, we will enjoy the wide-ranging and pleasant sceneries from Pisha from where the entire Samye valley can be glanced at once. After getting the summit of Dragmar we will visit the numerous temples nearby. However, the Cultural riot worsened the temples. We will then get ready for a splendid site as we meet up with the jeep road and get even nearer to Samye valley. Samye Gompa (monastery), representing the Buddhist world, is the main target of the trip for most of the trekkers/visitors. We will have sufficient of time to explore this mushrooming number of buildings. In the evening, we will take a short drive and spend the night in Tibet’s 3rd biggest city; Tsedang. Overnight at a warm hotel with a hot shower.

After breakfast, we will start exploring Yarlung valley; the beautiful and regal area is extensively regarded to be the cradle of all of Tibetan civilization. The valley of the tombs is positioned at the origin of the Tibetan people. We will get a chance to discover this incredible site where both the massive burial grounds and Yumbulakhang can be observed. Yumbulakhang is a breathtaking architectural site hovering on a cliff and is one of the oldest buildings in all of Tibetan history. In the evening, we will drive back to Tsedang to spend the warm and cozy night at a hotel.

After breakfast, our guide will drop you off to airport or train station. Fare well your friends. We hope that this trip will certainly make you feel the awe-inspiring life changing journey in the land of religion and history!