Shoton Festival - 10 days

Day 01  Arrive in Chengdu

Upon arrival in Chengdu, you will be met and transferred to hotel.

Day 02  : Arrive in Lhasa 

A mid - morning flight Chengdu will take you over to Lhasa, the exciting capital of Tibet. You will be met at the airport by a representative of Third Eye Travel in Lhasa and transferred to Hotel. Evening Free

Day 03 : In Lhasa

Today will be spent exploring palaces. First on your list will be thePotala Palace. The palace of the Dalai Lama, a treasure of Tibetan culture was, till 1965 the seat of both religion and politics in Tibet and quite possibly, the singularly most important building in all Tibet. It was built in the seventh century by Tsongtsen Gampo as a fort and later renovated by the fifth Dalai Lama in the seventeenth century to its present specifications. Your next stop will be the Jokhang Temple. This is the holiest shrine of Tibet and houses a golden statue of the Buddha which was brought to Tibet by the Chinese princess “Wen Chen”. You then stop off at Barkhor Bazaar outside the Jokhang monastery. This is a bustling flea market and is, generally, the place to buy souvenirs and meet other tourists.

Day 04  : In Lhasa

Today the guide will take you to see the Shoton festival which is second biggest festival in Tibet. The festival started from the time of the 5th Dalai Lams which was in the 17th century. This was the great day for him as he took the political power from the Karmapa and became both religious and political ruler of Tibet. The festival is held in Drepung monastery. Early morning on this day, thousand of local people gather at Drepung monastery and wait for the display of the huge Thanka of Shakyamuni Buddha. The Thanka is 100 x 100 meter which needs about 60 monks to carry. The monks at Sera monastery also display a huge Thanka on the same day. From the next day the traditional Tibetan Opera starts in Norbulinka palace which last for 3 days. Most of the older people enjoy the show for three days.

Day 05: In Lhasa

Visit the Norbulinka palace to see the glimpse of the Opera.

Day 06 : Lhasa – Gyangtse – Shigatse 

An early morning start from Lhasa and a 160 miles will get you to Gyantse via Yamdrok Tso or the “Turquoise Lake”. Overnight at Gyangtse Hotel. A short drive of 60 miles will see you at Xigatse at an elevation of 12500 feet / 3810 m. Xigatse is the second largest city in Tibet and the capital of the province of Tsang. The rulers of this province had domonion over all of Tibet prior to 1642 AD. At Xigatse you will visit Tashilunpo Monastery which is the seat of the Panchen Lama who is second in spiritual importance only to the Dalai Lama. The monastery was built in 1447 by Gendun Drup and once housed upward of 3400 monks. Of particular interest at Tashilunpo is a nine story gilded statue of Maitreya - the “Future Buddha”.

Day 07 : Shigatse – Nylam

From Xigatse you will drive to Xegar via Sakya Monastery. The Monastery is 143 km south of Xigatse and was built in the thirteenth century by Konchok Gyalpo and houses some 30,000 volumes of ancient Buddhist scriptures or Sutras. The total distance between Xigatse and Xegar is 245 km. Overnight Xegar Hotel. From Xegar, it is a 251 km drive to Zhangmu which is a bustling trading town near the Nepalese border. Overnight at Zhangmu Hotel.

Day 08 : Nylam- Bhaktapur

A representative of Himalayan Journeys will meet you a Kodari, on the Nepalese side of the border across the Friendship Bridge. You will board the waiting vehicle and drive to Bhaktapur in Nepal

Day 09 Bhaktapur -  Kathmandu

Morning Tour of Bhaktapu, the city of devotees, is located nine miles to the east of Kathmandu. The tour visits:Durbar Square, the main palace square of the city containing many temples and other architectural showpieces, including the Golden Gate, described as the finest piece of art in the Kingdom. Nyatapola Temple, The five-storied pagoda style temple built in 1708 AD. the largest and the most famous example of Nepalese pagoda architecture.Dattatraya Temple, a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva built in 1427 AD. Nearby is the monastery with exquisitely carved windows, which now serves as the National Works Museum.

Continue to Kathmandu and visit  Pasupatinath : Situated near the banks of sacred Bagmati River the temple of lord Siva-Pasupatinath with two tiered golden roof and silver doors is famous for its superb Newari architecture. Baudhanath : This colossal and ancient Stupa, one of Nepal’s most unique monument and said to be the world biggest, attracts Nepalese pilgrimage of Tibetan stock from as far as Dolpo and Mugu as well as Tibet, Ladhak in India and Bhutan.

Day 10  Departure

Transfer to airport for onward flight.

***End of the Tour***