Tsurphu – Yangpachen Trek

Starting in Lhasa, visit the majestic Potala Palace, the sacred Jokhang Temple, and the lively Barkhor market. Continue to the Norbulingka Summer Palace, and on your way out of town, stop by Drepung Monastery and the debating courtyard at Sera Monastery. From Tsurphu Monastery, embark on a trek through a lush valley crisscrossed with mountain streams, keeping an eye out for mountain goats. Stop in a yak-hair tent for tea before crossing over a mountain pass. Gaze out over the wide-open plateau, where cracked patches of tundra lie below a deep blue sky. Travel through small villages, climb over gently rolling hills, and camp at a nunnery. Conclude the trek at Yangpachen Monastery, which offers views of the Trans-Himalaya range.

Highlights

• Famous sites of Lhasa
• Classic, natural beauty of the Tibetan plateau
• Tea with nomads and nuns

Details

• 9-day trip begins and ends in Lhasa, Tibet
• 5 nights in hotels, 4 nights camping
• Altitude from 3500-4800m

Day 1: Arrive in Lhasa

Welcome to Lhasa! Transfer to your hotel and get settled.

Day 2: Lhasa

In the morning, visit the Potala Palace, the most monumental structure in all of Tibet. Then, visit the Jokhang Temple, located in Barkhor Square in Lhasa. The Barkhor is a famous shopping street filled with goods and souvenirs from Tibet, Nepal, and India. Pilgrims from all over Tibet come to the Barkhor to pray in front of the Jokhang.

Potala Palace in Tibet

Day 3: Lhasa

Visit Sera Monastery, where you can watch monks debate in the courtyard. Afterwards, visit the Norbulingka, the summer palace of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Day 4: Lhasa/Tsurphu Monastery

Drive from Lhasa to Tsurphu Monastery, a journey of about 2 hours, with an altitude gain up to 4,480m. Spend the day acclimatizing and visiting Tsurphu Monastery. Overnight at Tsurphu Monastery.

Day 5: Tsurphu Monastery – Leten (trekking 4 hours, 11km)

Start your trek with a spectacular journey up a green valley crisscrossed with mountain streams. Keep an eye out for various species of mountain goats. Several small nomadic communities camp here during the summer herding months, and you may stop in a yak-hair tent for a cup of butter tea or some fresh yak milk. After four hours of trekking, crest the ridge and emerge onto a high plateau with scattered rock-enclosed huts. Find a flat area for camping. From day one, the scenery is breathtaking, showcasing classic Tibetan beauty.

Day 6: Leten – Bartso (trekking 5-6 hours, 15km)

Cross your first small pass, the Damchen Nyingtri. Bear left at the cairns at the crest and descend into a magical valley filled with lichen-coated boulders, meandering streams, and an expansive, powder-blue sky. After three hours, you will cross the Lasar La and descend into the Yangpachen Valley, with its wide-open plateaus, spiky grass hummocks, and tundra-like cracked patches of earth. Head towards Bartso, where the views of Brize (translated as “female yak herder”) and Tarze (horse keeper) are superb. Camp near Bartso, a drokpa (nomad) village of five or six houses, surrounded by juniper used for incense across the Tibetan world.

Day 7: Bartso – Dorje Ling Nunnery (trekking 4 hours, 15km)

Leave the village of Bartso behind and follow a wide trail leading across the valley and over another ridge, where you’ll be rewarded with views of Nyenchen Tanglha (7,111m), the holiest mountain in central Tibet. Emerge at Tajung village, then climb gently up rolling hills where young nomadic boys and girls picnic on the plateaus as they watch their yaks and sheep graze. The vistas are, once again, amazing! By midday, you should reach the small Dorje Ling Ani Gompa (nunnery), where you will set up camp. These friendly nuns may invite you into the gompa’s tea-house and offer you a plate of yak meat (use the bowie knife provided to hack a piece off) before engaging in a photo session.

Day 8: Dorje Ling Nunnery – Yangpachen Monastery and Hot Springs – Lhasa (trekking 4 hours, 14km)

Today, walk for three to four hours, following the oxbow Nyango Chu River as it snakes through the grassy valley, and head for Yangpachen Gompa. This old Kagyupa monastery, guarded by Tibetan mastiffs, overlooks part of the Trans-Himalaya range. Your Land Cruiser will be waiting for you at the monastery to take you to the hot springs at Yangbachen, and then back to Lhasa.

Day 9: Depart Lhasa

Say goodbye to Tibet!

Itineraries are subject to change without prior notice.