Essential Things You Should Know Before You Go to Tibet Tour

Even though there are many things you should know before you going to Tibet, here are 5 essential things you should know before you go to Tibet since Tibet is absolutely unique and different in its culture, religion, customs and the landscape so on, . Tibet is one of the five national autonomous regions of the People’s Republic of China. It is located in the southwest of China and the southwest of Qinghai Tibet Plateau. The land area of the whole region is more than 1.22 million square kilometers, accounting for 12.8% of the total area of the country. The oldest Bon religion in Tibet and the Tibetan Buddhism, which dominate the politics, economy and culture of Tibetan society, permeate all aspects of social life, thus forming the folk customs and aesthetic tastes different from other nationalities. Tibet’s folk culture is rich in content and rich in cultural relics.

Tibet not only has a unique high plateau with countless snow-capped mountains’ scenery, but also has a charming green natural landscape, beautiful lakes and vast grassland, inhabited by thousands of Tibetan nomads. Up to now, there are many Tibetan people whose living customs are far away from the modern people outside the plateau. Just because of the distance, everything in Tibet has an ornamental value.

1. How to get to Tibet?

One of the 5 essential things you should know before you go to Tibet is how to get to Tibet. There are three ways to travel to Tibet, you can choose by plane, train or by land. You can fly to Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet from almost all the cities in mainland China and internationally, from Kathmandu to Lhasa. You can also take train to Tibet from most parts of the cities in mainland China but the best way to get to Tibet by train is from Xining which is located in the northwest of China and the capital city of Qinghai Tibetan plateau. The train from Xining to Lhasa takes 21 hours and it is the best part of the high plateau train trip landscape. You can come to Tibet by land by taking Sichuan Tibet highway overland tour, Qinghai Tibet highland overland tour and Yunnan Tibet highway overland tour. Internationally, there are two ways to go to Tibet by land, one is from Kathmandu to Kyirong border and another is from Kashgar to Kailash.

• When is the best time to trip to Tibet?

The best time to go to Tibet is from April till end of October because during this period of time, the weather warms up, all the scenery turns into green and little bit of rain to fresh up and gives more oxygen for the sunny and dried weather in Tibet. The best time for trekking in Tibet is from May to June and September to end of October but for a short trekking around Mount Kailash is available from May till end of October.

• When is the cheapest and less touristic time when you go to Tibet?

One of the 5 essential things to know before you go to Tibet is to know when the cheapest and less touristic time when you go to Tibet. The cheapest and less touristic time when you go to Tibet is in the winter time and nowadays, we highly recommend Tibet winter tour because the tourism supply and nationwide facility has been improved a lot and in many major cities including Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet, Tsetang, cradle of Tibet located to the south of Lhasa city, Shigatse, fertile land and western cultural center of Tibet located to the west of Lhasa, Nyingtri, the eastern forest region of Tibet located to the east of Lhasa city, we can provide very good hotels with 24 hours hot water, rooms are heated for 24 hours as well.

There are also plenty of restaurants and most of the scenic spots are opened like summer. The price of the flights are 50% cheaper, it is very easy to get train tickets, most of the scenic spots and vehicle transportation is 30% cheaper and human resource including Tibet travel guide is around 20% cheaper. During winter in Tibet, the sun shines so brightly and during the day time, as long as there is sunshine, you never feel very cold. In every scenic spots, you will see thousands of Tibetan pilgrims coming from different regions of Tibet including Amdo, the far north eastern part of Tibet and Kham, the far south eastern part of Tibet. There are thousands of Tibetans, doing prostration in front of Jokang temple to do their daily Buddhist practices. There are also quite many religious and other Tibetan traditional festivals are going on during winter time in Tibet so traveling to Tibet in winter makes your Tibet trip more cheaper and gives more authentic experience of Tibet travel.  

• What are the things to see during your Tibet travel?

One of the 5 essential things to know before you go to Tibet is there are many beautiful natural scenic sights and famous monasteries and temples in Tibet. During your travel in Tibet, you can’t miss visiting the Potala Palace and Jokhang temple in Lhasa. The Potala Palace is located in the center of Lhasa city. The Potala Palace was built in 7^th century by the 33^rd King of Tibet called Songtsan Gampo during Tubo Dynasty. The king married two princes Princess, princess Bhrikuti Devi from Nepal and Princess Wencheng of the Tang court. Both princess brought the most sacred statues of Buddha Shakyamuni as their dowry. The Potala Palace was destroyed badly by fire in around 9^th century and in around 17^th century, the 5^th Dalai Lama rebuilt the Potala Palace into the present size and since then the Potala Palace has become the winter palace of the Dalai Lama and now it has been listed as the UNESCO world heritage site.  

Jokhang Temple also known as “zulakang” (In Tibetan, means Buddha Hall), located in the center of the old urban area of Lhasa, is a Tibetan Buddhist temple built by Tibetang King Songtsan Gampo, with a history of more than 1300 years, and has the supreme status in Tibetan Buddhism. Jokang temple is the most brilliant building in Tibet, and also the earliest Tibetan traditional building in Tibet.

There are many important and interesting monasteries and temples to visit in Tibet including Drepung and Sera monasteries, Ramoche temple, Ganden monastery inside Lhasa, Samye monastery, Palchoe monastery, Tashi Lhunpo monastery, Traduk temple and Yumbu Lhakang so on. During your Tibet trip, you should not miss visiting the most important scenic sights including the Mt Everest, Mt Kailash, several most famous sacred lakes of Tibet including Namtso lake, Yamdrok lake, Mansarovar lake, Dhangra Yumtso lake, Tso Ngonpo lake ( Kokonor ) etc.

• What are the etiquette and Taboos in Tibet that you should know before going to Tibet?

One of the 5 essential things to know before you go to Tibet is etiquette and Taboos. Tibet is divided into different regions but the most important place that you should not miss visiting when you are going to Tibet is Lhasa so today we are going to give some information about etiquette and Taboos of the Tibetans in Lhasa.

Lhasa has a pleasant climate and has long been the political, religious, economic and cultural center of Tibet. There are so many interesting scenic spots and cultural sights to visit in Lhasa. The area is known for its strict dress code. Lhasa women use wool to make short sleeved summer clothes.

Lhasa women wear the most beautiful Tibetan gowns made of the best used wool and the women who are married wear a waistlines or known as apron made of various colors of wool or silk. Whenever there is a traditional festival or during Tibetan new year, all the Lhasa women, including young generations will have to wear this beautiful Tibetan traditional gown and Tibetan traditional hat made of the best woolen cloth and a little bit murmured hair. In Tibet, to dress in a beautiful traditional way is to give a respect to the older ones, leaders or your friends. Especially when they have special celebration. Tibetans believe that people who come to your home with beautiful clothes can bring you good luck.

The people in Lhasa are very polite and when you are talking to older people, teachers, leaders, monks or nuns, you always speak softly and use the respectful words in Tibetan. The younger generations always touch their right hand on their head and as if they are scratching on their head when they are talking to older people, teachers, leaders so on, It is also another way of paying respect. People in Lhasa raise their hands and bow their head when they meet some friends or people they know in the market or street, that is to greet the people. Tibetans take off the hat during their visit to the monasteries or temples which is also respect to Buddha. Tibetans don’t have any entertainment or parties if someone dies in their family for 49 days. They also don’t sing or dance during those 49 days. Tibetans offer white scarf to Buddha or statues of Bodhisattva during their visit inside the monastery which is a respect to Buddha and symbol of displaying  their white and pure heart to Buddha in order to clear their sin.

When people have parties, Tibetans always touch the glass with each other before you drink. They never drink alone by themselves without making cheer to their party friends. Tibetans don’t go empty hands when they visit a relative, friend or work maters, they take fruit, milk, some Kg of meat or butter to the visiting family. Tibetans always go to visit the hospital if some of their friends or relatives are sick with some present or envelope. Tibetans always take good care of their old parents and most of the families live together with the parents even they are married.

The biggest taboo of Tibetans is to kill animals by themselves because in the Buddhist text, it is taught very strictly that people are not allowed to slaughter and kill animals so they don’t kill animals by themselves in this respect. Although they eat Yak meat, beef and mutton, they do not kill them by themselves. Tibetans are absolutely forbidden to eat donkey, horse and dog meat, and in some regions, they also do not eat fish. When you eat, Tibetans should not eat with full of mouth, bite or drink slightly. When drinking butter tea, the host pours the tea, and the guest can only take it. When the host’s hands are in front of you, avoid spitting on other people’s backs and clapping hands.

If you encounter religious facilities such as temples, stupas, etc., you must make a detour from left to right, while those who believe in Bon religion make a detour from right. Tibetans do not cross the magic weapon or incense fire pot. Do not cross the cushion inside the monastery. Do not jump on the books or scriptures. Do not walk over the prayer flags or wind horse. Don’t touch your hand on somebody’s head, especially the older people.

 When receiving guests, Tibetans offer white scarf which is the wish for good luck and happiness for the guess. When receiving guests, whether walking or talking, always give priority to the guests or the elderly, and use honorifics, such as adding the word “La” after the name, to show respect and amiability, and avoid calling their names directly without the word La. Welcome the guests, bow and bend knees, smile. Sit indoors, cross legged, not straight legs, feet facing people, not looking around. Accept gifts with both hands. For gifts, bow and raise your hands above your head. When offering tea, wine and cigarettes, you should put your hands on them, and your fingers should not be put into the mouth of the bowl. Tibetan people feed on grains such as wheat, rice and highland barley, which can grow on the plateau. Tibetans eat Tsampa made up from barley and Tsampa is the main food of Tibetan people.

How to celebrate Tibetan New Year- Festival tours in Tibet

Tibetan New Year, known as Losar is a very important festival for Tibetans which is held every year according to the Tibetan Lunar Calendar. The Tibetan New Year is always after the western new year and festivals and celebrations of all kinds have been held everywhere in Tibet since ancient times to the present time. Most ancient Tibetan festivals would celebrate in the end of cold weather, or before planting in spring and harvest in autumn, it was formed for a long time and gradually has become a kind of tradition habit.

Nowadays, many people from country side go to work in the cities and many family members in the city work in different places do not get time to gather but Tibetan new Year is a really good time for family gathering together, almost everyone comes back home during Losar and it becomes kinds of habits for the family members, especially for paresnt to wait for the gathering of family members. Each parents hope their children will be reunited with them at home during Losar, housewives are waiting for their husbands come back to celebrate Losar. At these really special days, Tibetans also have many significant customs.

According to historical records, Tibetans had our own calendar, Hundreds of years later, the YongZhong Benism (the original religion of Tibet) can accurately calculate the winter solstice return time and take it as the beginning of the year, forming festivals and various rituals. Many customs and lifestyles of modern Tibetans are also handed down from the age of ancient Shangshong Kingdom. Shangshong Kingdom was before the king Songtsan Gampo reunited Tibet and they practiced Bon religion by that time .

Each year, at the beginning of the twelfth month of the Tibetan calendar, people begin to prepare new year’s products. In the middle of twelve month of Tibetan calendar, each household successively makes a kind of bun called, Kasai in Tibetan. The ingredient of Kasai is white flour, sugar, milk, water, deeply fried in the butter. There are many kinds of buns and every single family has buns to offer during Tibetan New Year as a snack which is the symbol of auspiciousness and good luck for the new coming year.

When Losar is very close to arrive, each family must prepare a rectangular Chema, a bucket is filled with Tsampa, fried wheat grain, ginseng fruit and other food mixed with butter, which is painted with highland barley spike, cockscomb and color flower board made of butter. Piles of Kasai which is made of barley wheat flour, deep fried in the oil called Derkha in Tibetan to offer the Buddha. And they also prepare a sheep’s head made of colored butter. All of these have the meaning of celebrating for having a good harvest and wishing good weather and prosperity for people and animals in the new year. Two days before New Year’s Eve, people will clean the house clearly, put new card pads and paste New Year’s pictures. On the gate, a symbol of eternal auspiciousness is painted with lime powder to show that life is abundant and safe. On that night, the whole family was busy until the night. This evening, each family will have the dough noodles (Gutu). We specially make some dough with different shapes, such as stone, pepper, charcoal, wool, etc. each shape has a saying. Example,  stone indicates hard heart, charcoal indicates black heart, pepper indicates spicy mouth, and wool indicates soft temperature. People who eat these different dough will spit out on the spot and see what they get in their dough ball. When everyone in the family opens it, it gives sense of humor and makes everyone laugh at the new year’s Eve. This is a kind of special family gathering supper and entertainment activity. In the evening of new year’s Eve, every family arranges all kinds of food in front of the Buddha statue.

Whatever kinds of festivals that Tibetans have, we always first think the God and so called three jewels of Buddha. Whatever we eat or drink or wear, we always must offer to the three jewels of Buddha before eating or drinking ourselves so during the Tibetan New Year, it is very important to make offering to the Buddha in the family’s chapel to pray for peace, happiness, prosperity, good luck for all the sentient beings in the coming New Year.  

At the first day of the new year, the young crops, oil seeds, different kinds of fruit, dried nuts, butter, cheese, milk, butter lamp, sheep’s heads, and five grain cups are placed on the tea table in the shrine before eating yourselves. In the very morning of the first day of the new year, the housewife carries back the “auspicious water” from the river, she wakes up the whole family, sits down according to the rank of generations, and the elders bring the five grain dipper to each of them to grab a few grains first, throw them to the sky to express the sacrifice to the gods, and then grab one point in turn and put them into their mouths. Since then, the elders have wished “Tashi Delek” (good luck) in order, and the descendants have congratulated “Tashi Delek Phunsum Tsok” (good luck and prosperity ). After the ceremony, they ate the ginseng fruit cooked in oatmeal and butter called Droma Dreisil which is the symbol of the auspiciousness and good luck and then toast each other with barley wine. On the first day of the new year, sweeping the floor is generally forbidden and unlucky words are not allowed, visitors are not allowed to visit each other. On the second day of the the new year, relatives and friends go to visit each other to celebrate the new year and give each other Khada, Tibetan scarf. Men, women, old and young are all dressed up for the festival. They meet each other and say “Tashi Delek” and “happy festival”. This activity lasts for fifteen days or even longer. During the Tibetan New Year, in the square or open grassland, everyone is singing and dancing in a circle and string dance. With the accompaniment of six stringed guitar, cymbals and other musical instruments, people step on the ground hand-in-hand to celebrate. Children set off firecrackers. The whole area is immersed in the festive atmosphere of joy, celebration and peace. Singing Tibetan Opera in urban and rural areas, dancing together In the pastoral areas, and singing all night long. People also engaged in wrestling, throwing, tug of war, horse and Yak racing, archery and other activities.

 As soon as twelfth of the Tibetan lunar calendar comes, every household begins to make New Year’s reserves. In the first few days of the New Year, no matter in the farming or pastoral areas, men of all ages should shave their hair and woman’s hair should be washed and braided. For example, if a man has long hair at the New Year, and a woman does not wash and comb her hair at that day, it means that her family or their heart is full of grief and she has no intention of dressing up in this year. Washing, combing and dressing are good luck for the coming year. From 28^th of twelfth Lunar month, Tibetans begin cleaning the inside and outside of the house, village walkways, corners, and even the drawers inside the house. When cleaning the ceiling and chimney, you need to choose a good day, such as 3, 5, 7, 9, etc. Then, the whole family kneaded a witch with Tsamba, and poured the leftover “Gu Tu” and bones into the bowl. Holding the witch and scraps of food, then running outside by a woman, a man lit a group of hay closely with the woman and read: “devil out, devil out!” Let the hay burn to ashes with the witch and the leftovers. At the same time, the children set off firecrackers to drive away demons and usher in the auspicious New Year. It is believed to drive all the evils spirit, bad luck and all the disease out of the family and bring all the good luck for the New Year.

In the new year, you should wear the most beautiful clothes and the most precious jewelry. Even those with poor financial conditions should prepare a new year’s robe and one or two decorations. Of course, come from the nature of Tibetan people’s love for beauty. However, it is said that wearing new clothes during the new year means pleasing God.

On the first day of the Tibetan New Year, the host held “Chema” in both hands to bless the guests. The guests pinched some Tsampa and highland barley from “Chema” and threw them into the sky. Then they tasted some in their mouths and said: “Tashi Delek” (good luck). Then, the hostess held the copper pot with Khadha in it and toasted the guests frequently. During the festival, blessings are everywhere, toasts are everywhere, singing and dancing are everywhere, whether you know it or not about the traditional habit, you can’t pass without drinking three bowls.

From the second day of the Tibetan New Year, people began to visit each other, start New Year’s greetings and treat each other. During the Tibetan New Year, people say “Losar Tashi Delek (happy New Year), etc. From the second day of the New Year, the performance team of playing traditional Tibetan drama.  Relatives and friends visit each other for three to five days or till 15^th of the first lunar month. The person holding the blessing of auspicious words and read loudly outside the door, then others hurriedly holds “Chema” and greets each other: “Tashi Delek Phunsum Tsok!” (wish you good luck and happiness!) “A Ma Ba Dro Gong Kam Sang!” Wish the hostess have a long and healthy life “.

On the third day of the Tibetan New Year, the “ridge God” was worshipped. On this day, people boarded the roofs of all houses, put brand-new prayer flags on the roofs, then simmered and burned cypress branches, threw Tsamba into the air, and the waving prayer flags and the rising “smoke” carried people’s wishes to the sky. On the third day of the first month, Lhasa people come in groups to a mountain or close to a river, where they planted Sutra flags and streamers to worship the mountain gods and water gods. Then they are singing, drinking and laughing in the leeward and sunny place.

The Tibetan New Year is the biggest festival of the year, to celebrate this festival as a good beginning of the new year. After the new year, people put into normal work and production. Celebrating the new year is the starting point and the beginning. People hope that this starting point and the beginning is so important for the New Year. Maybe this is a good wish for celebrating the  Tibetan New Year in the best way. Celebrating the Tibetan New Year is no exception. During this period , train and plane tickets will reduce the price, it will provide a convenient condition for people who want to travel to Tibet. If you plan a Tibet tour during the Tibetan New Year, you will indeed experience a real life of Tibetans and extremely have the best and authentic Tibet Festival Tour experience.

Travel to Mount Kailash – Kailash pilgrimage tour

Traveling to Mt Kailash is an extraordinary experience that every person likes to try. It reveals a whole new and exciting world out there, opens out your inner strength and presents with an unforgettable adventures once in a life time. Traveling to Mt Kailash is something that many people like to do once in a life time.

As we know there are different ways of traveling in the world, some take their travel as a relaxing family holiday, some takes an adventure holiday while many of the others take pilgrimage tours. Tibet is one of the most famous destinations for both adventure holidays and pilgrimage tours. There are many spiritual sites that you can visit in Tibet and traveling to Mt Kailash is one of the most popular destinations for the people to have a mixture feeling of Adventure holiday and spiritual journey.

Mount Kailash is one of the most sacred spot on earth and it is a very holy pilgrimages site for the people of the Buddhists, Hindu, Bon Religion and Jain. And it is also known as precious jewel of snow. Mt Kailash is located in far western Tibet called Ngari prefecture, more than 1200 km from the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa. it is not particularly high as far as peaks in the Himalaya go as it only rises to 6714 meters 22027 feet but there is no other peaks in Tibet that is as holy as kailash. Traveling to Mt Kailash is not only a Tibet adventure tour but also a great pilgrimage tour.

Each year, thousands of Buddhists, Hindus, Bon and Jains are traveling to Mt Kailash, starting their spiritual and adventure holiday from Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet or from Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, and then driving towards Nepal Tibet border, called Kyitong. Kyirong is also a very sacred place for Buddhist as it is the birth place of Mila Repa Yogi who is believed to get enlightenment in a life time.

All the tourists are recommended to drive slowly for traveling to Mt Kailash by acclimatizing to the high altitude, visiting Lhasa city and going through Yamdrok lake, Gyantse and Shigatse. After around 4-5 days acclimatization and enjoying the most beautiful landscape of western Tibetan plateau, you will finally reach Mansarovar lake and Mt Kailash.

 When you first see the lake Mansarovar and Mt Kailash, you are full of emotion with delight and excited. When you see the Mansarovar lake and Mt Kailash at first sight, you can not believe how blue and clean the lake water is, how beautiful and big the lake is.

The Mt Kailash is standing right in front of you, shining like a white crystal, the shape of Mt Kailash is a like a cake offering or an compassionate heart, showing to all the visitors. As scientists say that Mt Kailash is located in the center of the universe. People are given too much energy by the blessing of Mt Kailash when you are near it even if it is located at a very high altitude. Everybody is not afraid of the high altitude and full of energy to do the 52 km pilgrimage circuit around Mt Kailash, known as Mt Kailash Kora and they believe in different ways such as Buddhist believes Mt Kailash as the sacred seat of Samvara or Demchok in Tibetan which is one of the most important figures in Kalachakara or the wheel of life. Hindus believe Mt Kailash as the sacred seat of Shiva which is one of the most important figure in Hindu religion where the other two religions also believe in a similar way.

There are thousands of Indians who are Hindus followers, traveling to Mt Kailash every year, coming from Nepal for the purpose of only spiritual journey. Hindus believe Mt. Kailash to be the abode of lord Shiva. According to the legend, immortal Shiva lives at the top of Kailash where he spends his time practicing yogic austerities making joyous love with his divine consort Parvati and smoking ganja the sacred herb known in the west as marijuana. Hindus do not interpret Shiv’s behaviors as contradictory however but rather see in him a deity who has wisely integrated the extreme of human nature and thus transcended attachments to any particular and limited way of being. For Hindus, to make the arduous pilgrimage to Kailash and have the Darshan-divine view of Shiva’s abode is to attain release from the clutches of ignorance and delusion.

Pilgrims to Kailash after the difficult journey getting there are then confronted with the equally difficult task of rotating the sacred peak. For those of the pilgrims, traveling to Mt Kailash once in a life time is something that is the most important thing in their life and believe that they achieve a great blessing from their Mt Kailash pilgrimage tour.

The Buddhist, Hindus and Jains  followers walk around Mt Kailash as counterclockwise while the Bon followers walk around Mt Kailash as anti-clockwise. The local Tibetans can walk around Mt Kailash within a day where they start early in the morning from Dharchen and finish the Kora in the late evening but for those of the pilgrims who come from foreign countries, they take around 3 days to complete a Kora or known a Parikrama.

Some of the Indians Yogi do Mt Kailash full Kora on bare foot and they can finish the Kora within a day like other local Tibetans. Many of the Tibetans, no matter whether they are Buddhist or Bon follower, they do full body prostrations throughout the way. It is believed that a Pilgrim who completes 108 journeys, known as Kora around Mt Kailash is believed that they are assured to get enlightenment. Most Pilgrims to Kailash will also take a short plunge in the nearby highly sacred and very cold lake Mansarovar.

The word Mansarovar means mind or consciousness in Sanskrit and the lake is believed to be a mental creation of their own Gods in different way of belief by different religions. Visiting Mansarovar lake during Kailash tour is one of the most important activity and most of the tourists go to Chiu Gompa, located to the west shore of the Mansarovar lake from which you can also get a great view of Mt Kailash and Gurla Mandata, a snow mountain over 7000m.

Traveling Mt Kailash, a great sacred mountain of the world and this magical lake is a life changing experience and an opportunity to view some of the most magical scenery on the entire planet.

Mt Kailash is not only visited by the spiritual people, but also many tourists from all the over the world. Traveling to Mt Kailash is one of the most beautiful things in once life and according to many tourists or pilgrims to Mt Kailash, they get lots of mystical things or many interesting things in their life after they visit Mt Kailash.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people come to visit Mt Kailash and everybody finds walking around Mt Kailash, known as Kora is a challenging and difficult one but at the same time they find walking around Mt Kailash is once in a life time spiritual and adventure journey. Here is our Mt Kailash small group tour.

If you choose to travel to Tibet in the winter time, you will witness to the Lhasa city where the sun shines brightly mostly, the air is clean, and the sky is blue, so that you can enjoy the gift of nature and rewrite your impression of winter. During your travel to Tibet in the winter, many traditional festivals with strong local characteristics will be staged one by one in the winter, so that you an enjoy seeing different Tibetan customs and the festivals. In addition, when visiting Tibet in winter, air tickets, hotels and vehicles are all on sale, with less congestion and more leisure.

We suggest you to travel to Tibet in the winter time and the most popular and enjoyable destinations are those of Lhasa city, known as sunny city and the cultural center and the capital city of Tibet, Tsetang, located in the southern part of Lhasa and the cradle of Tibet where you can visit the first monastery of Tibet which has more than 1200 years history, the first castle of Tibet, Gyantse and Shigatse which are the most beautiful and cultural center of the western part of Tibet near to Lhasa and Nyingtri, the eastern forest region of Tibet, located to the east of Lhasa where you can see more nature, dense forest, snow mountains, lakes and beautiful green valley.

Tibet Shambhala Adventure prepares you several different kinds of good Tibet winter tours such as Lhasa to Nyingtri overland tour, dominated by the cultural heart of the Lhasa city and the Potala Palace, the world’s heritage protection site. You will drive to Nyingtri at the distance of 420km and the scenery is extremely beautiful with typical traditional Tibetan villages, Darksum lake, located in a dense forest and high deep valley on the upper reaches of Bahe River, about 36 kilometers away from the main highway between Lhasa and Nyingtri. Tibetans believe Darksum lake as a very sacred lake and they also go clockwise circumambulation around the lake and believe they will get good merit if they do circumambulation as many as possible.

The Chinese government rated Darksum lake as a national scenic spot in 1994, and listed as a world tourist attraction (spot) by the world tourism organization later.

In August 2017, it became the first and only national 5A level scenic spot of natural scenery in Tibet. The lake is so clear that you can even see groups of fish swimming under the depth of two or three meters below and even if the lake is a much smaller than those of other sacred lakes in Tibet such as Yamdrok lake, Mansarovar lake etc, the scenery surrounding the lake and lake itself is extremely gorgeous.

There is a small island called Tashi Island which has a history of 1500 years. In the island, there is a small temple of Nyingmapa school. There is a sacred cave of Guru Rinpoche, known as Padmasavawa who came to Tibet in 8^th century during the 38^th king of Tibet called Trisong Detsen. Tibetans believe turning the island in a clockwise direction can achieve great merit and you can also see the footprints left by Guru Rinpoche ‘ s horses and the traces left by his sword on the stones around Darksum lake. To have more information, please visit Tibet Shambhala Adventure Lhasa Nyingtri Tour

Travel to Tibet in the winter time is another advantage is that you can travel to those of the most popular tourists attractions such as Tsetang, the cradle of Tibet.which is located o the southern part of Lhasa at the distance of 160k. Why Tibetans call Tsetang as the cradle of Tibet is because prior to the 7^th century, Tsetang was the capital city of Tibet and it was the place where the origins of Tibetans, the first king of Tibet, the first castle of Tibet, the first religion of Tibet, the first monastery of Tibet, the first monks of Tibet etc etc, have been appeared in Tsetang that’s why it has to be called as the cradle of Tibet and very important cultural and historical place of Tibet before 7^th century. In 7^th century, the Tibetan King Songtsan Gampo, moved his capital city from Tsetang to Lhasa and since then Lhasa has become the most important cultural part of Tibet. To get more detailed information about Tibet Winter Tour, Please visit Tibet Shambhala Adventure

 

If you travel to Tsetang during the summer time, there will be full of tourists but if you choose traveling to Tsetang in the winter time, there are very few tourists but there are many more pilgrims who come from different regions of Tibet so you can get more authentic experience by traveling with local Tibetan people instead of mass tourists.

During your travel to Tibet in the winter, if you choose your next destination to Gyantse and Shigatse, it is also the same benefit that there are very few tourists and many more local Tibetan pilgrims inside the Palchoe monastery and Kubum Pagoda stupa in Gyantse. Inside Tashi Lhunpo monastery, you can travel with full of Tibetan pilgrims who come from far eastern part of Tibet, known as Amdo in Tibetan. Amdo is the birth place of the Dalai Lama and Penchen lamas so many Tibetans from Amdo take pilgrimage tour in the winter time to Tashi Lhunpo monastery since Tashi Lhunpo monastery is the seat of the Penchen Lama and it is more sacred to those Amdo people. At the same time, the road condition is still good during winter time because between Lhasa and Gyantse or Shigatse, the road is always opened even in winter since we don’t have heavy snow in those three places. All the hotels and scenic spots are not busy and prices are also much cheaper.

Another very important thing is that if you choose travel to Tibet in winter, Tibet Tourism Bureau is helping the local Tibetan travel agents to shorten the Tibet travel permit process and you can book a last minute Tibet trip as well. We can finish all your Tibet travel permits within a week or if it is necessary, we can also finish all your necessary Tibet travel permits within three working days as well so we welcome you to travel to Tibet in the winter time and To have more information about Tibet winter tour, we recommend you to visit our site at Tibet Shambhala Adventure

Things to do in Lhasa Tibet tours & best trek in Lhasa

Lhasa sightseeing tour is a cultural Tibet tour around Lhasa, during this tour, you can visit Lhasa, the historical capital city of Tibet, straddles the banks of the Kyichu river, where the valley opens out to its fullest extent. Lhasa is also the cultural, religious and political center of Tibet. As you know, the Potala Pace and Jokang Temple were famous historical buildings that represents the highlight cultural sightseeing of Tibet.

The Potala Palace was built on the mountain named Marbori in the center of Lhasa city. It is an outstanding representative of the Tibetan ancient architecture. The palace is more than 200 meters high, 13 floors in appearance. In front of the Potala Palace, there is the Potala Palace Square, which is the highest city square in the world. The Potala Palace was originally built by Songtsan Gampo, the 33^rd King of Tubo Dynasty in 7^th century and at that time, the Potala Palace was believed to be a 9 story high Palace. The present size of the Potala palace was built by the fifth Dalai Lama from the 17th century. The main building is divided into the” White Palace “and the” Red Palace”. The White Palace contains the main ceremonial hall with the throne of the Dalai Lama, his private rooms and audience hall are on the uppermost level. The Red Temple is the Dalai Lama’s stupa hall and various Buddhist halls.

Tickets for the Potala Palace are limited and you need to book before several days in advance. After a security check, follow the other visitors to the stairs up into the palace. Usually the price of the ticket is 200 yuan from May to October, the opening time is from 9.00 Am-4:30PM. During the summer, by around 9: 30 in the evening, you can enjoy a great view of the Potala Palace in a beautiful light and the beautiful fountain on the square which is infront of the Potala Palace. You can take evening walk around the square with local residents and enjoy the most beautiful bright light view of the Potala Palace.

After visiting the Potala Palace, you can go to Bharkor Bazzar which is located to the east side of the Potala Palace. It will take you around twenty minutes by walk. Bharkor is the busiest street where you can get all kinds of Tibetan souvenirs such as Tibetan tradition clothes, special jewelry and so on. Bharkor is also the place where all Tibetans gather together, especially lots of Tibetan pilgrims coming from different regions are walking around the Jokang temple. You will enjoy being in Bharkor Bazzar which is around the Jokang temple and you can also wear Tibetan traditional clothes and take photos here but if you want to take pictures of local people, please ask them first before you take photos just to pay respect to them.

During your Lhasa sightseeing tour, visiting the Jokang temple and Bharkor Bazzar is something that you should not miss to visit. Jokang temple was originally built in 7^th century during the reign of 33^rd King of Tibet for the most sacred statue of Buddha Shakyamuni which was brought to Tibet by Princess Bhrikuti Devi of Nepal. According to the legend, when the Jokang temple was built, the construction work that people did during the day time was destroyed during the night time. Later, the Princess Bhrikuti Devi knew that the Princess Wencheng was very good at geomantic calculation so she requested Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty to check what was really going on. As a result of her geomantic calculation, the Princess Wencheng told that the land of Tibet was located on a body of Supine ogress and the place where the Jokang temple was constructing was located on the heart of the Supine Ogress so those of the evil spirits did not want to have Buddhist temples on the heart of the Supine Ogress therefore they destroyed all the work that people did during the night time. Finally, King Songtsan Gampo decided to build 108 different temples all over Tibet in order to press down all parts of the body of Supine Ogress including arms and legs so on so they built 8 different small temples including Traduk temple in Tsetang that you can see today in order to press down the arms of the Supine Ogress and many other smaller temples. As a result of building all those small temples, finally they were successful to build the Jokang temple. There were some destruction for the temple by fire and even during cultural revolution but later in around 1980s, the government rebuilt the Jokang temple to the present site as well as many of the relics and statues inside the Jokang temple were renovated.

The entrance fee is 85RMB per person and, the opening Hours from 7:00 to 17:30, while from 7:00 to 11:30, it’s mainly opened for pilgrims.

During your Lhasa sightseeing tour, there are many other things to visit around such as Drepung and Sera monasteries which are the largest monasteries in Tibet and they are the most important monasteries of the Gelukpa school in Tibetan Buddhism. There is an extremely sacred and beautifully designed built statue of Buddha Meitreya or the future Buddha in Drepung monastery and the most sacred statue of Tamdrin, Buddha with horse headed one in Sera monastery. All the Tibetan Buddhists believe in Buddha Maitreya in Drepung monastery if you go to Drepung to pray to the Buddha in Drepung, you will fulfil all your prayer and will be reborn surrounding Buddha Maitreya during his period of the Buddha. At the same time, if you go to visit Sera monastery and pray to the Buddha with horse headed one, Tibetan Buddhists believe in that the Buddha will bless you with fortune and good luck and will disappear your misfortune, especially, when the children are sick and cry much in the night time, people take the children to the Buddha and ask the monks to get a black dot on the children’s eyes in order to get rid of the suffering of the children. Once the parents take the children to the Buddha, the children can sleep well and recover from their suffering. Another very interesting in Sera monastery is the monks’ debate that monks are having philosophical debate and you can also interact with the monks which really give you a unique experience during your Lhasa sightseeing tour with Tibet Shambhala Adventure.

If you like to visit more monasteries, temples and palaces, there are many more things to visit such as you can visit Norbu Lingka, the summer Palace of the Dalai Lama, Ramoche temple which was also built in 7^th century, Muru Nyingpa temple, Ani Tsangkung nunnery and many small temples and chapels around the old section of Lhasa city.

There are some nice hiking trips around Lhasa city as well. You can have a day hike from Pabongka temple which is near Sera monastery to the Sera Wutse. Sera Wutse was a small hermitage where Tsongkapa, the founder of Gelukpa school used to take meditation there in 15^th century and nowadays, there is a small chapel with hermitage and there are monks doing meditation. From this Sera Wutse peak, you can have a great view of the entire Lhasa city with a beautiful golden roof top of the Potala Palace and Jokang temple. The hike from Pabongka to Sera Wutse takes you around a half day and it is indeed a very interesting short trek around Lhasa city.

During your Lhasa sightseeing tour, not only visiting lots of temple and monasteries, you can also take a day excursion to a Tibetan nomad camp at the distance of around one hour drive to the east side of Lhasa city. There is a beautiful nomad camp where you can enjoy taking a short trek or riding Yak or Horses, visiting a Tibetan nomad camp. At the Tibetan nomad camp, you can taste real fresh Tibetan Yogurd and butter tea.

You can also visit different kinds of factories such as Tibetan incense factory, Tibetan Tahngka Gallery, Tibetan handicraft shops and factories, Dropenling artisan work etc. 

If you like to take a longer day excursion during your Lhasa sightseeing tour, Tibet Shambhala Adventure highly recommends you to have a day excursion to Ganden monastery which is located to the east side of Lhasa city at the distance of 60km. You can enjoy visiting beautiful Ganden monastery and on the way, you will pass by beautiful Tibetan villages and their green fields along the Kyichu valley. You can also have day excursion to Dark Yerpa cave which is around 45km distance from Lhasa and you can enjoy having a great view of the entire Kyichu valley. You can also take a beautiful short trek of around 2 hours to Derk Yerpa. If you like to see more nature and beautiful lake, a day excursion to Yamdrok lake is another every interesting day tour. Yamdrok lake is located to the southwest of Lhasa city at the distance of around 200km and you will have to cross Gampala pass at the elevation of 4700m. From the top of the pass, you will get a great and extremely beautiful view of Yamdrok lake and Noejing Kangsang snow mountain. Since the road condition is very good, it will only take you around two hours and half to reach Yamdrok lake.  To have more information about Lhasa sightseeing tour, please visit Lhasa sightseeing tour of Tibet Shambhala Adventure.

Trip to Tibet Everest base camp and Namtso tour

As everyone knows, summer is the best time to trip to Tibet and it is also the best time to trip to Tibet Everest Basecamp and Namtso tour. Tibet Shambhala Adventure provides a beautiful combination of a Tibet trip with a trip to Everest Basecamp and Namtso lake. The program of Tibet Everest Basecamp and Namtso lake tour is started in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet including a visit to the most cultural and heritage site of Tibet including the Potala Palace and Jokang temple. Both the Potala Palace and Jokang temple are officially listed in the Unesco world heritage site. During your visit to the Potala Palace and Jokang temple, you will indeed see the beautiful and friendly Tibetan people, doing pilgrimage tour, offering lots of butter lamps, praying to the statues of the Buddha and God for the sake of all sentient beings. They wear different colorful Tibetan traditional clothes and turning hand prayer wheels and counting their rosary while they are whispering Mantra. You will indeed have an authentic experience of your Tibet trip while you are visiting the cultural highlight of Tibet in Lhasa.

After the sightseeing tour in Lhasa, you will continue your Tibet Everest and Namtso tour via visiting beautiful Yamdrok lake, Karola glacier, overnight in Gyantse which is a beautiful small Tibetan town where you can see lots of Tibetan traditional items  again such as the local Tibetans wearing in traditional dress, riding traditional horse carts while they are going to the market, visiting Palchoe monastery and Kubum Pagoda stupa is another highlight during your trip to Tibet Everest Basecamp and Namtso lake tour.

Continue your journey to Everest Basecamp with a visit to Shigatse. Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet and it is the capital city of the western part of Shigatse. You will visit the largest monastery of Tashi Lhunpo in the western part of Tibet and it is also the seat of the Penchecn Lama. You will still drive to Everest Basecamp from Shigatse at the distance of around 340km with a very good road condition. You will enjoy seeing beautiful Tibetan villages. They are both farmers and nomads where they grow some barley, keeping their rear cattle and other livestock including Yaks. You will enjoy a fabulous landscape of the great Himalayan mountain range including Mt Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Jo Oyu, Shisha Pangma from the top of Pangla pass at the elevation of 5000mt above sea level. Of course, the view of Mt Everest from Everest Basecamp near Rongbuk monastery is an extraordinary and to spend a night at Rongbuk monastery is very much worthy since you can enjoy extremely a beautiful view of Mt Everest sunrise and sun set .

After the Everest Basecamp tour, the second highlight of Tibet Everest Basecamp and Namtso lake tour is trip to Namtso lake. You will take a loop to Namtso lake after passing by Shigatse city, crossing Brahmaputra river, passing by the most beautiful Jomo Kang Gar snow mountain while you are crossing over 4900mts high pass , driving through Yampachen herbal hot spring and a beautiful view of Tibetan nomad camp on the huge northern grassland. Before reaching Namtso lake , you will spend overnight at Damxiong county because nowadays, you can not stay at Tashido hermitage for the night since all the lodges and restaurants were moved down to Damxiong county in order to have a better protection for the environment of Namtso lake and Nyenchen Thangla mountain range but this does not matter for your Namtso lake trip quality as you can still spend as much of the time around Namtso lake and you can still walk around Tashido Hermitage and the shore of the Namtso lake as before.

The next morning, you will cross a 5000mt high pass called Lagaenla. From the top of the pass, you will get a fantastic view of Namtso lake and entire Nyenchen Thangla mountain range which is the second largest and longest mountain range after the great Himalayan range. There is desolate plateau, the vast expanse of the lake and towering snow-capped mountains, In general, during your Tibet Everest & Namtso tour, you can enjoy the unique landscape and culture of Tibet.

Namtso lake is located in the middle of Tibet Autonomous Region and to the northern part of Lhasa city- Namtso township, Damxiong county, Lhasa city, it is the second largest lake in Tibet and the third largest salt lake in China. The altitude of Namtso lake is 4718 meters above sea level, approximately rectangular in shape, more than 70 kilometers long from east to the west and more than 30 kilometers wide from north to the south “Nam” means “sky”in Tibetan and “Tso” means lake so together, it means Sky lake and for Tibetans, it is one of the three sacred lakes and also one of the famous Buddhist holy places in Tibet.

Nowadays, more and more people are attracted by the beautiful view of Namtso lake, visitors can ride the Yak and take photos, at the same time, you can take around 2-3 hours hike along the shore of Namtso lake, enjoying a spectacular view of entire Namtso lake and Nyenchen Thangla snow mountain range. Many Tibetans and Chinese young Lovers  come here and take a worship for their future life. Many of them come to Namtso lake and at Tashido, they take wedding photos and make their life’s wishes and promise for a new couple. There is a huge naturally stone made gate, opening to the sky and according to the legend, the natural stone gate is the incarnation of the goddess Namtso and Namtso lake is the mental creation of Goddess Namtso and her husband Nianqing Thangla Mountain. The Namtso lake and Nyenchen Thangla mountain is always close to each other so the young couple who is wishing for their wedding and taking lots of wedding photos is also wishing to have a beautiful and long lasting couple life as the as Namtso alke and Nyenchen Thangla symbolize their faithful love forever.

If you had more time to explore around Namtso lake, Tibet Shambhala Adventure highly recommends to take three days excursion around Namtso lake but you will have to bring all your camping equipment because on the way, you can not get guest houses to stay. You can camp near by Tibetan nomad camp, visit different Tibetan nomad camps and small nomad villages. At the same time, you can do at least around 4-5 hours walk during your Namtso lake round excursion. It is another extremely beautiful Namtso lake Kora where you hardly see other tourists and you can really take indeed off the beaten trail and walking in the northern plateau in the surrounding of a very quite nad beautiful nature landscape.

The best time to trip to Tibet Everest base camp and Namtso tour is from mid April until end of October. You can still travel to the Everest base camp and Namtso throughout the year if there is not a heavy snow on the mountain passes but it is very cold at the Everest base camp and lake side from mid December until end of February. Usually, there is snow over the pass in around January and February in Tibet, especially in those high altitude places of over 4500mt so before planning a trip to Tibet, it is always better to find a right local Tibetan travel agent and get the useful information about Tibet tour.  

Tibet trip-Hiking around Lhasa-Tibet trekking

When we talk about autumn, you may think about the fallen leaves, golden fields or pumpkins. As a fascinating season, autumn has a unique beauty of the nature. During your Tibet trip or just after the visit to the Potala Palace, we highly recommend you to take a walk around the Potala Palace and Lukang park because the Lukhang park is the most beautiful park in Lhasa city with a long history and lots of greenery and trees inside the park.

Walking around the Potala Palace and Lukhang park takes you around one hour and you will have a great view of the backside of the Potala Palace which is located in the rocky hillside, known as Marpo Ri in Tibetan which means a red hill. While you are walking around the Potala Palace, you will see lots of pilgrims walking around the Potala Palace, spinning the prayer wheals, whispering the Mantra of Avaloktesvara or the god of compassion because Tibetans believe walking around the temple or Palaces can gain merit for them. After around 15 minutes walk from the front gate of the Potala Palace, you will get to the entry gate to the Lukhang temple. The Lukhang temple (Zong gyob Lukhang in Tibetan) is one of the well-known ancient architecture in Lhasa, located in the center of the Lukhang park.

There is a beautiful pond in the center of the park and according to the history, the pond was made up of during the construction of the Potala Palace in around 17^th century. During the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama, the Potala Palace was rebuilt to the present site and at that time, they used soil for the construction of the Potala Palace from Lukhang park so the pond that we can see today was inside the Lukhang park since then.

In the middle of the pond, there is a small beautiful Naga temple which is considered to be the Palace of the Naga king. It is worthwhile for you to visit the temple during your walk around the Potala Palace because you can enjoying being with Tibetan pilgrims inside the temple and visit this small and unique sacred Naga temple.

In the olden days, Lukhang was a place where local Tibetans went to take pilgrimage to the Naga Kings but nowadays, it is not only the pilgrimage site for Tibetans but also a very famous park where people go for picnic, dancing, morning exercising etc. Younger people go to Lukhang park on dates where older people go to Lukhang temple for worship. While you are walking around the Lukhang park, you can also see some Tibetans who are selling their local products. Most of those products are very unique and organic where the villagers near Lhasa bring to sell because many Lhasa residents like to buy their goods especially, when they bring something to eat such as fresh vegetables, organic eggs, homemade breads, seasonal mushroom etc because they are homemade and organic. 

Walking around the Potala Palace and Lukhang park is a very interesting sightseeing because the walking pedestrian and Lukhang park is a very less touristic area where you can see lots of Tibetan pilgrims doing Kora around the Naga temple and there are lots of local Tibetans who are singing, taking Tibetan traditional circle dance. At the same time, you can also go to a typical Tibetan traditional tea house inside the Lukhang park and can have a great opportunity of being with locals, communicating with local Tibetans in the tea house. You can share the different culture and life experience between Tibetan and westerners which can give you an authentic experience during your Tibet trip.   

You can visit Lukhang temple and there is no entry ticket charge. The temple is usually opened from 9.30 in the morning till 2.30 in the afternoon. The main statue in the temple is a statue of Naga king and the three walls inside the temple has extreme beautiful Tibetan wall painting of tantric practice that tells about Yogis engaged in exercises. 

After visiting the temple of Naga King, you can continue your walk around the Potala Palace, exiting through the southern gate of Lukhang park. As soon as you exit the park, you can see a small chapel just on your right hand side, located to the foot of the south eastern hill of the Potala Palace which is the branch of Michong Ri nunnery. Michong Ri is a small nunnery located on the eastern hill side of Lhasa city and if you had more time in Lhasa during your Tibet trip, it is also recommendable to have a day hike to this small nunnery because from the top of the nunnery, you can enjoy an extremely beautiful view of the entire Lhasa city with an awesome golden roof of the Potala Palace and Jokang temple.

You can visit the chapel and there is no entry ticket charge. There are a few nuns inside the chapel and you can see nuns chanting everyday if you went there right time. There are some historical rock carving statues, such as statues of Buddha Shakyamuni, statues of Avaloktesvara, or the God of compassion in thousand arms and thousand eyes and they all are every unique and look very old and sacred to the Tibetans. After visiting the chapel, you will continue your walk around the Potala Palace and reach the Potala square again. You can enjoy a great view of the Potala Palace once again and you might like to take another photo with the Potala. After your one hour walk around the Potala Palace with local Tibetans, you can go back to your hotel by walk if you are staying in the old section of the city near Bharkor and Jokang temple because it is just around 20 minutes walk. If you are staying far away from the city center, then we recommend you to take a taxi which cost you 10RMB inside the city.

The world is really a big place and must be explored. One such region on the Earth is Tibet which is tucked in between lofty mountains and follows an amazingly rich culture even amidst many disturbances. This small quaint region has a lot to offer and is often visited by foreigners who wish to learn more about its culture and experience rugged terrains at high altitude. Home to the mighty Mount Everest, Tibet has a lot more to offer than just this. There are two ways to travel in Tibet, just like in any other country. Tibet group tour, whether small or large or travelling independently. Most of the travelers are aware of the way in which they like to travel.

Almost everyone loves to travel. Most of the people do not like to get stuck on a large tour bus along with a lot of other tourists.  Tibet small group tours offer the right option to them as they allow tourists to cover more distances and attractions in a shorter span of time. Not only that people traveling in smaller groups are more comfortable and create good friendships with their fellow travelers. There are many travel agencies in Tibet that offer Tibet group joint tour to the travelers. These small groups facilitate easy traveling and you feel as if you are exploring the destination almost independently and at the same time, one doesn’t feel isolated. The small group size ranges from 10 to 20 people at the max.

Tibet small group tours help in striking the perfect balance between ‘your time’ and the planned activities. You can be at ease even when you travel with your fellow travelers. Although the itinerary is fixed, you will still find enough time to explore the destinations at your own place. There is always a scope to add some more fun and relaxation.

Tibet is a safe place where the crime rate is less. However, petty as well as violent crimes do occur at times, majority of them are related to pick-pocketing or bag snatching and the tourists are the soft targets. Taking precautions not to become a victim of such an offense must be taken.  Small group tour in Tibet presents this opportunity to the ones who are a part of the group. While each one is enjoying in their own way, they also keep a watch on their fellow tourists. Another way to be safe from these crimes is to avoid walking alone in unfamiliar streets and too late at night. Local guides assist all those who travel in group tours during the duration of your tour. It would be wise to take their assistance when you wander around in the evenings as they can help in bargaining while you shop.

Next, do not roam around with your smartphone in your hand. They can easily be snatched. Another crime that is on the increase is ATM crime. The government has installed a number of ATMs for facilitating foreign tourists. Some outdated ATM machines are still used here to dispense cash. If you really need to use the ATM, use the ones that are installed in more secure areas such as shopping centres or the banks’ lobbies. When you are a part of Tibet small group tours, such offenses can be minimized as there will be few people around you who can be more vigilant.

People traveling in small groups in Tibet also get the privilege of being taken care of when they fall sick. If, by chance, you do not have the required medicine for your stomach issues; the chances are that it may be available in your fellow traveler’s medical kit. While independent tours may offer more independence and flexibility, group tours or Tibet group joint tour are cheaper and are a great way to meet people from across the continent. Travel agencies in Tibet organize such group tours wherein you can join a pre-arranged group or form a group yourself. So, whatever your choice of travel, whatever your budget, you can choose from the various viable options provided by the various tour operators in Tibet and have a fulfilling experience.

If you are in a mood to set out for a heavenly tour to discover nature at its best, then Tibet retreat tour will be the best choice for you. The trips which are designed for exploring Tibet primarily focus on the monasteries and the natural beauty of Central Tibet. Besides being a vast magical landscape, Tibet will offer incredible reasons to witness the wealth of monuments. Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet is surrounded by snow-covered peaks rising to an altitude of 7,000 m. It houses Lake Nam Tso which is known to be the second largest lake of Tibet and offers magnificent views right at the Roof of the World.

For tourists, the ideal way to get a glimpse of this ancient land, and understand the culture of this enlightened civilization of Asia, is by knowing its faith: Tibetan Buddhism. The ideal way to know the culture and traditions of Tibet is by visiting the top monasteries, Tibet meditation retreats spreading across this magic land.

1.    Jokhang Temple:Being the house of Lord Buddha, Jokhang retained its position as one of the holiest destinations for Tibetan pilgrims; and a spiritual center located in Lhasa. It houses one incarnation which depicts Sakyamuni aged 12 years old. The architecture of this Monastery represents a perfect blend of Tibetan, Indian, Han Chinese, and Nepalese. Jokhang temple represents various sects of Tibetan Buddhism.

2. Ganden Monastery: Although this place is having a painful history, it still stands as the epitome of unfailing devotion towards spirituality. Once upon a time, this university monastery got destroyed, but it was afterward partially rebuilt. Presently, it is a place worth visiting. This monastery is honored as one of the “holy monastery” of Gelugpa. Gelugpa is a prime sect of Tibet Buddhism.

3. Drepung Monastery: Drepung Monastery used to be the largest monastery of Tibet. Its the home of Dalai Lama and also for 10,000 monks. It is now the major universities for the Buddhist monks, and visiting here will give you the chance to see a large number of activities. This Monastery is a must to include in any Buddhist pilgrimage tour. You can witness the 26-meter gold Maitreya Buddha. This Monastery is housing some 10,000 columns of sutras and tantras, large statues and palatial murals that depict various gods.

4. Galden Jampaling Monastery: This Monastery is located in Changdu Town, and known to greet Qinghai and Yunnan. This Monastery is no less than a gem located along Hengduan Mountain as well as the Three Parallel Rivers area. In honor of Qiangba Buddha, it was constructed 1444. Some hundreds of Buddha statues, tangka, and frescoes are there in the prayer halls. Tibetan New Year is an important festival during which tourists can witness Buddha Dance with a bizarre mask and, dramatic step setting a spiritual mood in the environment.

5. Sera Monastery: It is among the “Three Great Monasteries” of Lhasa. This monastery played an important role in the development of Tibetan Buddhism. The featured Debating Buddhism is organized here. It is a parent monastery for various hermitages as well as nunneries. Close to 3000 monks reside here and lead a simple life.

6. Tashilhunpo Monastery: It’s one of the six Gelug monasteries of Tibet and acts as the seat of successive Panchen Lamas. It was established by First Dalai Lama in the year 1447 and is a prime monastery for the Tibetan history as well as culture. It houses the giant Future Buddha Statue, valuable Buddha Stupas, and several manuscripts of Buddhist texts as well as numerous murals.
7. Palcho Monastery: Palcho Monastery, earlier popular as Pelkor Chode Monastery is among those monasteries of Tibet which under one roof represents 3 out of 4 schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It was constructed to continue the Yarlung Dynasty, after the assassination of King Langdarma. Earlier the monastery was shaped as a Sakya monastery, while parts of the major monastery were constructed by the local nobles. It houses Gyantse Kumbum, which is a 9-tiered stupa.

During your religious visit to Tibet, you can also explore or include many more monasteries in the itinerary like Tashilhunpo Monastery, Rongbuk Monastery, Sakya Monastery, Changzhou Monastery, Gama Monastery, and several others. Get in touch with the experts of Shambhala Adventure to plan your magical trip to Tibet.

Tibet is the highest region on the planet and Mt Everest, the earth’s highest mountain is located in Tibet. Religion is very important to all the Tibetans and it has a very strong effect on all the aspects of their lives. There is nothing that can make your visit to any country more memorable than experiencing its culture to the deepest. The same holds true for Tibet, wonderful small land of culturally rich people. If you are planning a tour to Tibet, check with your travel agent if he offers a family stay tour in Tibet. You can get a wonderful personal experience of the culture of Tibet and the daily life when you stay with a Tibetan host family. These Tibetan home-stays are simply incomparable and they are adventurous apart from being safe.

Tibet family tours are offered by the travel agents who make the arrangements in either nomadic tents or in local houses as per your preferences. Most of these families are well-known to the local travel agents and have been offering their houses for homestays. Many times, the homestays are combined with guesthouses and hotels. You may even have the option of camping under the stars. A stay with the family of nomads will offer you are completely different experience, such as milking the dri (female yak) and making cheese. If you wish to stay with rural farmers or nomads, you will get a chance to experience a very basic, simple, and rustic lodging. No matter what you select, these homestays offer an array of memorable adventures of one and all.

This small quaint region has its own do’s and don’ts for the foreigners who opt for a Tibet family stay tour apart from the regular tour. One of the main objectives for a family stay tour in Tibet is that you can experience the centuries-old culture and daily life of the local Tibetans. Despite the fact they are experiencing a lot of hardships in their life, they are very particular about their rituals in the daily life. You can be a part of the same when you have the opportunity to spend a few days at their home.

The people in Tibet are very peaceful and religious. They respect one-another a lot. It would be a good option to try and follow Tibetan culture when you stay with a local family there. Since they are very sensitive about their beliefs and religions, any topics like Tibetan religion and politics are best avoided during your Tibet family stay.

Tibetans expect the tourists to be civilized and do not like to addressed directly by their name. They prefer using suffix like- “Ajog”, “La” and “Agyi”. Tibetans believe that Gods reside in the head and thus, get offended if someone touches them in their head. They do not like foreigners to take their photos without their permission. Since they are unique and beautiful, you may like to be photographed with them, but do not do so without their permission. They enjoy their privacy. Tibetan people don’t eat Horse, Donkey, Fish, Dog and Birds hence, do not eat them while you are on your Tibet family stay tour. Since the Tibetan people are very courteous, they might like to offer you a gift. Make sure that you do not receive the gift with one hand. He may think that you are ignorant, rude, and impolite.

Living with the locals will also provide you with a conducive environment to master the Tibetan language which has its letters from the ancient Buddhist scriptures. Many local families also offer to take you on a local Tibet tour around their area of residence, which can also be very fruitful. You can discover more about the current situation and Tibetan culture by attending the lectures given by the experienced and esteemed members of the Tibetan community.

However, do not forget that you may get much lesser facilities than what you are used when you opt for a family stay tour in Tibet. If you are willing to sacrifice and open to learning what this wonderful opportunity offers, then you will definitely take back amazing lifetime memories in your heart. Endure lifetime friendships with ever-smiling heart-warming Tibetan families.