Kathmandu and Lhasa Tour

Your arrival at the airport marks the first day of the journey. You will be greeted by one of Neal Hiking Team’s representatives who will proceed to explain the program further to you. Transferred to your hotel with no further planned activities for the day, you may relax for the remainder of the time. Overnight stay at the hotel in Kathmandu.

You would be touring various sites in Kathmandu Valley Today. All of the destinations are included on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List. Starting off the day, you would first visit the Kathmandu Durbar Square. Here, you can have a look at old monarchial palaces of Nepal that date back to medieval times and see temples and statues of various Gods and deities. The durbar square surrounds quadrangles, raveling old courtyards and temples. It is also known as the Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square because of the statue of Hanuman, the monkey devotee of Lord Ram at the entrance of the palace. Next, you would be visiting the Swayambhunath Stupa. It is an ancient religious architectural place of worship atop a hill in Kathmandu. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, the Swayambhunath Stupa is second only to Bouddhanath. It is also known as “The Monkey temple” as well because of its abundance of monkeys around the site. Moving on, the next destination is the Bouddhanath Stupa with its massive mandala which makes it one of the largest spherical structures in Nepal. The stupa also dominated the skyline and is one of the largest in the world. The influx of large population of refugee from Tibet has seen the construction of the most popular tourist site in the Kathmandu area. And lastly, you would be visiting the holy temple of Pashupatinath. It is a sacred religious site for Hindu people and you can sometimes see the cremation ceremony being performed on the banks of the Bagmati River beside the temple as well. You would also be obtaining your Chinese Visa today. Overnight stay at the Hotel in Kathmandu. Breakfast included.

Today, a flight will be taken from Kathmandu to Lhasa (3660m/12004ft). This flight to Tibet is considered one of the most beautiful air routes in the world because of the sweeping views of Everest, Kanchenjunga and other high peaks from the plane. If you are travelling via mainland China, there are a wide variety of flights in addition to the world’s highest train route to reach Lhasa. Upon your arrival there, you would be received by our Tibetan guide at the airport/train station. After approximately an hour of driving, you will be reaching Lhasa. It is advised to rest and take it easy for the remainder of the day due to Lhasa’s altitude. Overnight stay at the Hotel in Lhasa, Breakfast included.

You will spend the day visiting several monasteries in Lhasa today with the company of our guide and an interpreter. One of the monasteries you will visit is the Sera Monastery, a well-preserves monastery in Tibet that has white-washed walls and golden roofs. The Sera Monastery is also called the monastery of wild roses. The origin of its name is attributed to a fact that the site where the monastery was built was surrounded by wild roses in bloom. After lunch, you will have a visit to the Norbulingka Palace, a summer palace of the Dalai Lama. Also called the “Jeweled Park”, Norbulingka Palace has 374 rooms and is located 3 kilometers west of the Potala Palace. Excursing to the Jokhang Temple, you would be looking at the most sacred shrine in Tibet. Surrounding the Jokhang temple is the Barkhor- a maze of narrow cobbled streets that is the central market of Lhasa. Overnight stay at the Hotel. Breakfast included.

You will have a visit to the Potala Palace in the morning today. It is a palace that dominates the city of Lhasa. It is a spectacular building containing private quarters of the Dalai Lama as well as numerous grand state rooms and many important chapels. There has always been a palace since the 5^th or the 6^th century here, but the present palace was constructed in the 17^th century. After lunch, you shall visit the Drepung Monastery founded in the 14^th century. It used to be one of the largest monasteries in the world with a population of 10,000 monks. These days, the number has fallen down to a hundred. Overnight stay at the hotel. Breakfast included.

The tour of Lhasa ends today. A representative from Tibet will take you to the airport for your flight back to Kathmandu. Overnight stay at the Hotel in Kathmandu. Breakfast included.

You will have a tour of Bhaktapur and Patan today. “Bhaktapur” literally translated to “Place of Devotees” in Nepali. It has one of the best preserved palace courtyards and an old city centre. Listed on the World Heritage Site list by UNESCO, Bhaktapur is rich in culture, temples, wood, metal and stone carvings and artwork. The Durbar Square at Bhaktapur, the Nyatapol temple, the Bhairav Nath Temple, the Dattatreya Temple, Changu Narayan, Siddha Pokhari and the Kailashnath Mahadev statue are some of the major highlights of the tour. Moving on to Patan, you would be looking at traditional arts and crafts that decorate the third largest city of Nepal. Patan is also called “the city of festival and feasts”. Also called Lalitpur, Patan is brimming with water conduits, stone spouts, Jaladroni (water tanks), artistic gateways, Hindu temples and Buddhist Bihars. The Patan Durbar Square has intricate carvings on the wooden doors and windows and exquisite icons enhance the cultural beauty of the place. Terracotta and ivory art pieces are also found here. These artistic excellence and craftsmanship of the city makes the whole place look like an open museum. The fifty five window palace, the Golden Gate, The Taleju temple and the National Art Gallery also makes the tour more enriching and exciting. After the tour, you will return back to the Hotel. Overnight stay at the Hotel. Breakfast included

Approximately three hour before your scheduled flight, one of Nepal Hiking Team’s representatives will drop you off at the airport from where you will depart, hopefully with beautiful and fond memories of the tour.