Kailash Mansarovar Everest Base Camp Tour

On your arrival at the Kathmandu Airport, the representative of Nepal Trekking Routes welcomes to the naturally gifted nation, Nepal. Afterwards, s/he directs you towards the hotel booked for your accommodation where you take a rest after your lunch. Then, you can take a short walk around the tourist hub Thamel and purchasethe trekking gears as recommended by the trekking guide. In the evening, the trekking guide who is going to accompany you throughout the journey will meet you at the hotel. And he gives you the instructions about the detailed information of Kailash Everest Base Camp itinerary.

Today, after breakfast at the hotel, the tour guide of Nepal Trekking Routes takes you ona sightseeing tour in Kathmandu. You will be guided through the UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Swayambhunath Stupa, Pashupatinath Temple, Patan Durbar Square and Bouddhanath Stupa. The ancient art and architecture used in these religious, cultural and historical sites of Nepal are the subject of interest for you. In the north of Kathmandu valley liesBudhanilkantha Temple, famous for the giant idol of Lord Bishnu sleeping on the serpent-bed. You can go to the temple almost attached with the Shivapuri National Park and a couple of Buddhist gompas newly built. The view of the entire valley is really amazing experience from the monasteries on top of hills. In the evening, the trekking complanyorganizes a welcome dinner at a cultural restaurant as a part of hospitality.

You are going to begin the holy journey towards Kailash Mansarovar early in the morning after you have breakfast at the hotel. You drive in a private jeep or a comfortable tourist coach along the PasangLhamu Highway connected with Rasuwagadhi. You have three alternative routes to reach Trishuli Bazaar of Nuwakot district before reaching Syabrubesi for night stay. You move ahead by following the banks of the Trishuli River, one of the rivers in Nepal suitable for white water rafting. You will enjoy an enchanting view of the snowcapped peaks of Langtang region and Manaslu region while driving further. The trade centers along the highway situated on the riverbed and surrounded by the green forests are equally beautiful. After driving for about 8 hours, you reach Syabrubesi, the gateway to Lantang region, Ganesh Himal and Tamang Cultural Heritage trekking. Overnight stay at a hotel by relishing the mountain views of Langtang region and Ganesh Himal.

As soon as you take your breakfast at the hotel, you move ahead in a bus by following the newly constructed roadway. The final destination for today’s drive is Kerung, an aspiring city in Tibetan Autonomous Region for the night station. You pass by Rasuwagadhi (1,800m) which is a vantage point for alluring landscapes and snow-clad peaks of Langtang region. The team member of Nepal Trekking Routes deals on the legal documents at the border between Rasuwa and Kerung and you continue the journey. After reaching Kerung, you can take a day tour around this small city to explore its natural and cultural assets.

Generally, acclimatization is necessary while ascending towards the higher elevation from the lower height, especially for those who are new to the location. You are going to spend a day in Kerung so that you won’t have any problem of altitude sickness or Acute Mountain Sickness. It helps you further to drive to a place located over 4,500m in the days to come during Kailash Mt. Everest tour. Explore around Kerung City by relishing the breathtaking vistas of Ganesh Himal and LangtangHimal standing like a wall between Tibet and Nepal.

You can take a short hike up to the hill which is known as holy place for Tibetan Shamanism nearby Kerung town. This hill is believed to be the home of the 11th century great Chinese scholar and saint, Milarepa. The saint, who visited the Himalayas in search of knowledge, got enlightenment after he did a long and deep penance in here. The respectful poet and folk laurate, recognized for his tantric wisdom is still sung by the shepherds and the countrymen.

You start the drive towards Dongba following the road that passes along the Tibetan Plateau immediately after having breakfast in Kerung. Dongba is overnight station during Kailash Everest Base Camp tour and is located in the largest plateau in the world. On the way ahead, you meet with the road that goes towards Nylam and Zhangmu which are the two salt lakes in the Inner Tibet. You also drive past two passes: Thong La (5,120m) and La Lung (5,050m) which rewards you with the welcoming sight of Paikutsho Lake.

While driving forward, you can enjoy the large valleys where many Himalayan rivers gather to move to reach the ocean. The wonderful sight of the pasture landscapes suitable for yaks, sheep and Himalayan goats grazing are equally memorable. Last but not the least, the distant view of the snowy peaks soaring to the sky are other features of the journey. By going across the Brahmaputra River a.k.a the YarlungTsangpo, you reach the beautiful city of Saga which stands on the riverbanks. Saga is a growing city center having all types of modern facilities like hotels, lodges, banks and other amenities to help the tourists in this region..

While driving towards the holy lake Mansarovar, you enjoy the majestic views of the large Tibetan Plateaus which rewards with the distant sight of the silvery peaks. The road goes past some ethnic villages and yak herders’ sheds for seasonal residence to protect themselves from wind and snowfalls. The important stopover during Kailash Mansarovar holy tour, Paryang (4,450m) lies before you reach the dwelling place of Lord Shiva. Paryang is a small hilly town aving around 20 houses built as guest houses to promote Tibet tourism and help the travelers. Afterwards by crossing theMyam La Pass at an elevation of 5,150m, today’s trip ends atMansarovar for the night stay. You had better take a rest at Horpa town which shows you the very first view of Mt. Kailash standing like an Egyptian Pyramid.

Early in the morning, take a short hike to Chiu Monastery which offers the best view of the holy lake Mansarovar. The lake with the still blue and green water looks extremely tranquil, compassionate and blissful from the monastery premises. The pilgrimage tour to Mt.  Kailash, the holiest peak for the Hindus, Jain, Bon and Buddhists is incomplete unless you reach Mansarovar. In order to purify your body and the soul from any kind of sins, take a dip into the turquoise water. The pilgrims visit this heavenly lake to get salvation from the sins they have committed knowingly or unknowingly in their life.There are some rites and rituals like Pooja and hawan to be performed in the process of salvation. You are free to do these rituals according to the tradition you are following.

When you finish your religious activities at the lake, now, you will be driving towards a small beautiful village, Darchen. After checked in to the hotel, you can leave your baggage right there and move to make a side trip to Astapad. A Sanskrit word ‘Astapad’ means ‘eight steps’ and refers to eight smaller mountains surrounding Mt. Kailash from all sides. The composition of these eight mountains make a lotus flower as a tribute to Lord Shiva according to a myth. The central part of this lotus flower is believed to be Kailash Parvat itself! And more importantly, Darchen is the very place from where the Kailash Kora or circumambulation begins and ends at.

From religious point of view, today is an important day of the entire Kailash Everest Base Camp tour. You can begin the Kailash kora from Darchen which is a must-do religious activity while on Kailash Mansarovar tour. The pilgrims believe that completing the kora on foot is the holiest thing to do and ‘more the times; better the boon’!  However, if you can’t do it so, you can ride on a horseback to take a complete round of the Kailash Mountain.

If you are not performing the kora, after breakfast at the hotel in Darchen, you will drive up to Yama Dwar. The meaning of ‘Yama Dwar’ is the gateway to the Death Door and you can enjoy the Himalayan beauty from here. During the trek to Diraphuk, you had hire a horse or yak to carry the camping gears and other stuffs. If the crew has managed the camping gears and other required equipment, you spend tented camp, otherwise, at a mud house.

Today, you will be walking throughout the journey that continues for about nine hours including the highest pass of this religious trek to Kailash. Beginning early in the morning, you reach the highest landscape of the entire Tibet Mansarovar trek, Dolmo La Pass.  Dromo La is a sacredplacestationed at 5,470m/18,525ft where a big rock rests on the ground. The rock referring to the goddess Dolmo (Dromo or Tara), is decorated with hundreds of prayer flags, and greatly revered by the trekkers. DiraphukZhutalPhukhiking is one of the adventurous sections as the weather of the pass is difficult to predict. Later in the mornings, all of a sudden a blizzard may begin to obstruct your travel ahead. Therefore, you must begin the journey as early as possible in the morning to escape such misfortunes.

After enjoying the picturesque panorama fromDromo La, you pass by a village called, JarokDonkhag and then head towards famous Shiv-Tsal. ‘Tsal’, which means ‘pond’ is the place where the Hindu pilgrims symbolically die according to the myth associated with it. To escape any misfortune, they have to leave anything from their mortal body like a hair strand, tooth, nail or even cloth. Moving further to ZhutalPhuk, you come to see another pond called Gaurikunda and the foot prints of Lord Buddha. Overnight stay at tented camp or mud house which is made for the seasonal yak-herders to help the trekkers in this region.

You reach the bus station by walking on foot continuously for two hours in a private jeep from ZhutalPhuk. Then, along with other fellow trekkers retreating from Mansaroval Kailash Yatra, you catch a private jeep or other vehicle and drive to Saga.You relish the mountain beauty and the amazingly flat landscapes of the Tibetan Plateau. During the drive and you can even share the experience of this holy tour with your colleagues. About 6/7 hours’ drive brings you at Saga where you spend the night at a hotel.

After having breakfast at the Saga hotel, the trips moves ahead towards Everest Base Camp, the other top site in the bucket list. You start the drive passing Old Tingri, a beautiful village offering you the eye-catching view of the unforgettable environment. Then, following the road filled with natural prettiness, you reach Rongbuk, a stopover during EBC Mansarovar tour. Rongbuk is named after the Rongbuk Monastery, also the highest monastery in the worldand has some quality lodges for night station. It is the vantage point for a spectacular vista of Mount Everest and other snowcapped peaks in Everest region.

On fine days with clear weather and sky, you can have a 360-degree view of three eight thousanders: Mount Everest, Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Cho Oyuincluding Mt. Makalu. Everest Base Camp is just 8 kilometers away from Rongbuk that you can either trek or drive in a private jeep up to there. You can have the close view of the snowcapped peaks of the Everest region with Mt. Pumori peeping from behind from the EBC. You can take a lot of photographs from the Base Camp of Mount Everest to keep them as a lifelong memory. After enjoying the invaluable scenery at the elevation of 5,200 meters, you return to Rongbuk for night station. You spend the night at a guest house by enjoying the delicious food to recharge your energy.

You enjoy the sunrise view of the three eight thousanders and other snowy peaks of Everest region during breakfast session. You begin driving towards Shigatse via Sakya, a hilly town popular for Sakya Monastery, the ancestral shrine of Sakyapa Sect of Tibetan Buddhist. You can enjoy the beautiful Mangolian art and architecture of ancient Tibetan civilization which are different from that of Lhasa and Yarlung. The amazing traditional Mangolian artistic patterns are used in building the Dajing Hall, the Buddhism Hall and the Sakya Archbishop Hall. Driving further, you go past the Gyasto La (5,220m), the highest pass on the roadway to Lhasa from Rongbuk. On days with fine weather and properly unleashed skies, you can have a wonderful glimpses of Mt. Cho Oyu and the Shishapangma, both over 8,000m high. You have a guest house for the night accommodation.

After having breakfast at the hotel, you go to visit Tashilhunpo Monastery having a very long historical and cultural significance. It is popularly known as having been built by the first Dalai Lama, GendunDrup in 1447 AD. The other cultural site to explore in Shigatse is Shalu Monastery which was constructed in 1040 and is renowned for its architecture and traditional mural paintings. Today, you drive ahead towards Lhasa via Gyantse which is also one of the stop-offs during the Lhasa Shigatse journey. In Shigatse, you can visit Khumbum Stupa, Phalkot Monastery and GyantseDzong, which is one of the preserved fortresses in Tibet bearing historical importance.

Moving ahead from Gyantse, you drive past two high passes: Karo La (5,010m) and Kamba La (4,794m) on the way. Then you move further by leaving the colourfulYamdrok Lake, one among the three sacred lakes of Tibetan Autonomous Province. Likewise, you go across the Brahmaputra River (also YarlungTsangpo in Tibetan dialect) which originates from the holy mountain Kailash Parbat. Overnight stay at a hotel of Lhasa.

It is obvious fact that Tibet tour turns to be incomplete without doing sightseeing tour of Lhasa, a beautiful major city. Therefore, you are going to explore the city of amazing cultural heritages that introduce China or Tibet in the world tourism market. You visit Jokhang Temple which is a sacred shrine crowded with thousands of devotees to worship their deity. Secondly, today’s day tour around Lhasa gives you a chance to take a round of Bharkhor, the central market place of the province. This city is full of hustling and bustling people who visit the market for shopping from household appliances to apartment furnishing items. Finally, you go to witness the 15th century Sera Monastery that has the golden plate roof and white cemented walls. It is located a few miles away from North Lhasa and is the home for hundreds of monks, the devotees of Buddhism. To get the overall fascination of the monastery, the best time to visit Sera Monastery is around 3-4 pm.

Today is the second day of Lhasa Sightseeing tour that takes you around a few historical and religious sites of the city. To make a complete tour of Tibet, trip to Potala Durbar is a must-do activity one in lifetime. This is an important man-made cultural and historical heritage reflecting the extremity of the eastern art and architecture. Built in the 7th century, this palace once used to be the palace of Dalai Lama. After that, you go to visit the Drebung Monastery, once the largest monastery in the world, around the end of the day. Located hidden behind the rocky cliffs and distant from the main city area, this monastery is the abode for over 10,000 monks. To you utter surprise, most part of this monastery remains untouched and unspoiled though it’s been already 1,300 or 1,400 years old.

Today, you have come to the end of Kailash Everest Base Camp tour 16 days itinerary that took you to Mt. Kailash and Everest region.Therefore, the tour guide will transfer you to the Gonggar Airport to catch the flight as per your schedule. You can fly back to your home country from there by storing the lifelong memories you had during the Nepal Tibet tour this season.