2025 Shoton Festival 9-Day Lhasa Everest Yamdrok Lake Tour

Upon arrival at the airport, our staff will greet you with the warmest smiles and rosy cheeks typical of the high-altitude region. As a newly arrived visitor to the plateau, the best advice is to slow down and relax. We will transfer you to your hotel for ample rest, allowing your body to gradually acclimate to the high altitude environment. Tashi Delek!! (Tibetan for ‘Good Luck and Blessings’)” You will have the rest of the day and evening to rest and relax to become acclimatized the high altitude of Tibet.  

【Notice】

• Please note that due to the early morning departure required to attend the Buddha Thangka Unveiling Ceremony at Drepung Monastery on Day 2, we recommend booking flights arriving in Lhasa by the morning. Spend the remainder of the day resting to conserve energy for the ceremony.
• Pick up/drop off: Foreign and Taiwanese travelers need a tour guide to pick up/drop off according to the regulations of the Tourism Administration. Chinese traveler without foreign partner will pick up/drop off by local professional Transfer Center. Our staff/guide will contact you in advance, please ensure that your mobile phone is unobstructed.

Altitude sickness：With its much higher elevation, some visitors may experience symptoms of altitude sickness. We recommend taking everything slowly, getting plenty of rest the first day and staying very well hydrated by drinking plenty of water to minimize the effects of the high altitude. Usually, you will be fine by the second day, but if you do experience severe and/or worsening symptoms, please contact your guide or a member of our staff immediately

【Drepung Monastery】 – The Buddha Thangka Unveiling Ceremony

Each year during Shoton Festival, Drepung Monastery’s Buddha Thangka Unveiling Ceremony captivates global attention. Before dawn, devout pilgrims from far and wide flood the monastery with heartfelt devotion, spinning prayer wheels and reciting mantras as they journey toward the holy site. As the first light of dawn breaks, the air resonates with the melodious chanting of Buddhist hymns. Monks in crimson robes solemnly carry the enormous Thangka (a sacred Buddhist painting) of Sakyamuni Buddha from the monastery’s treasure chamber. Exquisitely crafted over generations, the Thangka’s vibrant colors remain undiminished by time, each brushstroke embodying the artisans’ dedication and faith.

On command, monks synchronize their efforts to unfurl the Thangka along the steep cliffs of the monastery’s rear mountain. People of all ages converge here through shared belief, collectively praying for harmonious weather, lasting blessings, and prosperous lives. More than a mere religious ritual, Drepung Monastery’s Shoton Festival Buddha Thangka ceremony vividly embodies the transmission of Tibetan culture and the unity of national spirit, leaving an indelible impression on every participant.

【Sera Monastery】

The monks’ debate is held in the courtyard almost every Monday to Saturday between 3:00pm and 5:30pm. Please note that in case of some special monastery activities such as the Dharma Meeting or the reception of VIPs, the monks’ debate may be canceled that day. After our visit to the monastery, feel free to stroll around the streets of Lhasa as you absorb the atmosphere and spirit of the devoted Tibetan people, or you may return to your hotel to rest and relax from this wonderful Tibetan cultural experience.

【Johkang Temple】

The Jokhang Temple is the final destination for pilgrims. A statue of the 12-year-old Sakyamuni, who lived in India in the fifth century BC, and who was the creator of Buddhism, is collected in the monastery. This is the reason why Buddhists consider Lhasa a Sacred Land.

【Ticketing tips for the Jokhang Temple】：

• The Jokhang Templeneeds real-name online ticketing. Every day, from 7:00am to 23:59pm the tickets for the next day will be open to book through the We Chat applet “Jokhang Temple Reservation” until the number of reservations is full. Therefore, tickets must be reserved one day in advance. Please follow tour guide’s instruction to make the reservation
• The Jokhang Temple is a religious temple rather than a tourist attraction. Please note if encountering important religious activities, it will be closedto tourists.

【Traditional Handicraft Art center】

Today we will take you to fully immerse yourself in experiencing traditional Tibetan handcraft Center, including making Tibetan incense, woodblock printing and learning about the Tibetan language.

While learning about how the refreshing Tibetan incense is made, you can also participate in making it with your own hands, which is of quite different significance from the purchased Tibetan incense. Knowledgeable teachers will introduce to you the origin of the Tibetan language and help you write Tibetan blessings or your own Tibetan name. Meanwhile, you can also experience the traditional woodblock printing. The incense, printed words and Tibetan calligraphy can all be taken home as souvenirs.

【Potala Palace】

Initially built in 641 AD and listed as a world heritage site in 1994, the Potala Palace is the most popular tourist attraction in Tibet. The halls, murals, statues and mountain views will make you shocked even if you are not a Buddhist.

【Ticketing tips for Potala Palace】：

• The Potala Palacerequires real-name online ticketing and valid document (such as ID card, household registration book or passport) is required to make the reservation. Once the reservation made, the ticket cannot be re-booked within 7 days from the day of visit. If you can not enter the Potala Palace due to the wrong documents provided by yourself, we do not bear any responsibility or Therefore, it is important to take the valid documents. If the name or ID number is inconsistent with the actual ID used, you will not be able to enter the Potala Palace. Please note the ticket fee has actually been incurred and cannot be refunded.
• The visiting time of the Potala Palace is randomly issued by the Potala Palace Management Office and it can not designate the visiting time. Please note the actual visiting route sequences may be different from the provided one.
• In peak season, there has restrictions in visiting the Potala Palace and each travel agency has limited groupbookings quotas every day. In order to ensure the group tour visiting, we solve the problem through different channels. Due to the special requirements for ticket purchases in different channels, you are requested to follow the tour guide’s  The normal arrangements are as below：
  1）The group tour may be divided into multiple small groups (tourists who book together might be divided, and they join with other small group to visit the Potala Palace).
  2）Each small group is divided into different times/dates to visit.
  3）Each small group follows the different guide to visit.

【Norbulingka】

As the summer palace and the place where the Dalai Lama conducted political affairs, Norbulingka was initially built in the 1740s of the 18th century by the 7th Dalai Lama, Kelzang Gyatso. After more than 200 years of expansion, the entire garden covers an area of 360,000 square meters. It is the largest, most beautiful and richest in historical sites among the man-made gardens in Tibet. It is not only the place where successive Dalai Lamas worked in summer and received Buddhist and secular officials, but also has rich historical, cultural and artistic values. There are more than 100 species of plants in the garden, including common flowers and trees in Lhasa, rare flowers and plants from the north and south foot of the Himalayas, as well as precious flowers introduced from the inland of China and abroad. It can be regarded as a plateau botanical garden.

Norbulingka has gates on all four sides, and the eastern gate is the main entrance. Kangsong Siling is the most eye-catching pavilion on the front. It was originally a small Chinese-style pavilion, and later was renovated into an opera viewing building. An open area convenient for performances was added to the east, specially for the Dalai Lama to watch operas. Next to it is the Shabden Lhakhang, which is a place for religious ceremonies.

During the Shoton Festival, the traditional eight Tibetan operas are performed in turn. The actors wear colorful masks to perform traditional classic Tibetan opera repertoires. Combined with the accompaniment of drums and cymbals and Tibetan songs and dances, it showcases the charm of intangible cultural heritage.

1 free meal: Tibetan or Nepalese specialty dishes

This morning we’ll take a drive up to the Kampala Pass (elevation 4797 meters) where you’ll have a glimpse of 【Yamdrok Lake】down below as well as spectacular views of the holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar in the distance. You will need your camera ready for the turquoise waters of Yamdrok Lake, which is one of the three holy lakes of Tibet, and the beautiful Mt. Nyenchen Khangsar glacier as seen from the Karol la Pass. Later on we’ll be able to visit the【Karola Glacier】.

【Notice】

• Foreign travelers who will visit Mt. Everest need to apply Aliens’Travel Permit in Shigatse. The tour guide may adjust the itinerary according to the travel permit application status.

Please expect for a long queue time for the travel permit application during peak seasons due to system failure or a sudden increase in the number of applicants

After breakfast we’ll set out towards the peak of the world – Mount Everest. Departing from Shigatse you will see some of the most beautiful and unique scenery in the world – incredibly blue skies, floating high clouds, endless grasslands and the highest mountain peaks in the world. We’ll also stop by the【Rongbuk Monastery】– the world’s highest altitude monastery before spending the night at the【Everest Base Camp】.

1 free meal: Mount Everest Hot pot

【Notice】

• Tibetan Tent or guesthouse (8-15 pax/tent, multi-beds room, public bathroom). Every year due to cold weather, the tents will be evacuated from the Everest Base Camp, travelers will stay in Basongcun/Tashizongcun guesthouse instead(multi-beds room with public bathroom)

The food and accommodation is poor, the altitude is high, and the temperature is low at the Everest Base Camp. Please pay attention to keep warm and prevent altitude sickness. The temperature is about 0-8 degrees in summer night, so please bring down jackets, or rent one in the Base Camp

We will get an early start today to cross the【Gyatso La Pass】, also known as the Dingri Boundary, At an altitude of 5248 meters. In the afternoon we will drive back to Shigatse.

【Notice】

If you are lucky enough, you can enjoy the sunrise at the Base Camp. It depends on the weather conditions and other factors

【Tashi Lhunpo Monastery】

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the seat of Tibet’s second highest incarnation-the Panchen Lama. The immense complex is a rambling warren of chapels, shrines, and halls linked by mysterious alleyways and steep staircases. At the center of the monastery is a courtyard that was used as a theater for religious dances. Just off the great courtyard in Tashi Lhunpo’s main hall, where, like the explorer Sven Hedin, we may hear “the monks…intone a chant…enthralling, mystical, full of yearning…soothing as a cradle, intoxicating as wine, and sedative as morphia.” We’ll visit this dark and evocative chamber and its many side altars, as well as a distinctive red building called the Jamkhang Chenmo, which houses a massive yet lyrical 90-feet tall statue of Maitreya, the Future Buddha, built in 1914 by the Ninth Panchen Lama while Europe was madly at war.

【Notice】

Please note we will arrange you to take train or tourist vehicle back to Lhasa from Shigatse according to conditions. No designation will be acceptable.

Today you will have free time until your tour guide escorts you to the Lhasa train station or airport for your departing train or flight from Lhasa. This will end your tour services in Tibet.