Shalu to Nartang trek follows the ancient trade route between two great Buddhist monasteries, the Shalyu and the Nartang, while you trek through the route, you can feel the caravans laden with scriptures and treasures that once passed this way. The route passes through several villages as well as uninhabited dry canyons. It is also the shortest Tibet trekking route, just about 15 hours walking, you can divided into 2 or 3 days according to your personal physical condition. The optional walking season is from the beginning of April to the end of October.

At a Glance

Day	Program
01	Arrival-Lhasa(3650m)
02	Lhasa Tour – Potala Palace, Johkang Temple, and Barkhor Street
03	Lhasa Tour – Drepung and Sera Monastery
04	Lhasa／Gyantse／Shalu Monasgery, Camping
05	Shalu (3980m)/ Upper Lungsang(4060m), Trekking 5 -6 hours, 12km, Camp
06	Upper Lungsang/Ngor Monastery/Nartang Monastery/Shigatse, (trekking 5 -6 hours, 14km)
07	Shigatse/Lhasa, visit Tashilunpo monastery
08	Depart Lhasa -Transfer to airport for final departure

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival-Lhasa (3650m)

Transfer to Lhasa downtown after arriving in the Lhasa Gongar airport or the Lhasa train station. Have a rest in Lhasa to acclimatize the high altitude.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 2: Lhasa Tour – Potala Palace, Johkang Temple, and Barkhor Street

 Today’s tour will first bring you to the Potala Palace which is the winter palace of the Dalai lama. It was put to use since the 7th Century by the 33rd great king of Tibet. The most valuable collections of Potala Palace are the gilded burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and meditation Cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet.

Then after lunch, tourists head to Jokhang temple which was founded by the 33rd great king of Tibet in the 7th century. Inside you can see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve. Outside, you can see pilgrims making prostrating in front of Jokhang Temple. Around the temple is Barkhor street, where you can do kora (a religious circle of a building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals, and explore the old market.

Besides, We can taste Tibetan tea with locals in tea house; The welcome dinner will also be arranged accordingly

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Included Meals (Breakfast and dinner)

Day 3: Lhasa Tour – Drepung and Sera Monastery

In the morning ,you are going to visit Drepung monastery which is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet, founded in 1416 by Jamyang choge, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. You can visit biggest monastery kitchen inside the monastery and enjoy Buddhist Sculpture Carving workshop near Drepung.

In the Afternoon, Tourists will visit Sera Monastery which is another one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet. The hot attraction is the Monks debate at around 3 – 5 in the afternoon. In addition, you can tour  the Tibetan religious scripture printing house; inside the monastery, you can see three sand Mandalas and colorful Rock Painting of Buddha.

 Stay overnight in Lhasa

Included Meals (Breakfast)

Day 4: Lhasa／Gyantse／Shalu Monasgery, Camping

In the morning, drive from Lhasa to Shigatse .On the way, drive over the Gampala pass (4790 m), and you will have a glimpse of Yamdrok-tso (4400m) .The Lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains and in the distance you can have spectacular views of Holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar, (7191m) the highest mountain near Lhasa .

Later, we will pass and enjoy the Korola Glacier on the roadside; At Manak Dam Lake, you can hang pray flag at Simila Mountain Pass; Then, we will arrive in Gyantse, historically Tibet’s third largest city (after Lhasa and Shigatse).In Gyantse, we will visit the famous Pelkor Monastery and Gyantse Kumbum and enjoy the Far view of Gyangtse Fortress.

After one driving, we arrive in Shalu Monastery, Visit Shalu Monastery, the seat of Buton. Rinchendrub(1290-1346), who was the great master of the Tibetan translations of the Indian Buddhist. Near Shalu, is the beginning of our trekking tour. moving to the best camp site few kilomiters away from Shalu, we will have our first camping in here.

Included Meals (Breakfast and dinner)

Day 5: Shalu (3980m)/ upper Lungsang(4060m), Trekking 5 -6 hours, 12km, Camp

We start trekking after breakfast at the camp to Upper Lungsang which is 4060m above sea level. on the way, you will pass Ripu hermitage, flood plain, Phunup village, Showa-la pass. In this way, you will have experience the Tibetan farmer’s countryside life and see how local Tibetan in countryside practice their Buddhist life.

Stay overnight at upper Lungsang Camp

Included Meals (Breakfast. lunch and dinner)

Day 6: Upper Lungsang/Ngor Monastery/Nartang Monastery/Shigatse, (trekking 5 -6 hours, 14km)

Trek through the farming fields to the Ngor village. The Ngor monastery is renowned for its Sanskrit library and Newar-style (a tribe in Nepal) murals. There were once five assembly halls, 18 colleges and 400 monks. Cross the Char-la pass(4550m), there was once a trade link between Shalu and Sakya Monastery, but now has disappeared. Need to trek cross a steep slope of raw expanses of rock. Trek from Ngor to Nartang by passing several villages, saddles, and one electric utility. near the ending, we will drive to Shigatse City, which is the second biggest city of Tibet, also the seat of Pamcham Lama.

Stay overnight in Shigatse.

Included Meals (Breakfast and Lunch)

Day 7: Shigatse/Lhasa, visit Tashilunpo monastery

Drive back to Lhasa from Shigatse in 4 hours. On the way, visit the largest Monastery in west Tibet, the Tashilunpo monastery, as the last but famous historic sites for your Tibet tour. Tashilunpo monastery is one of the six great Gelukpa institutions and was founded in 1447 by a disciple of Tsongkapa, Genden drup who was the first dalai lama. Jamkhang Chenmo contains the world’s largest gilded copper image (26m high) of future god Jampa.

Drive along the Friendship Highway back to Lhasa.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Included Meals (Breakfast)

Day 8: Depart Lhasa

Transfer to the Lhasa airport/Train station to end the service.

Included Meals (Breakfast)

Ganden to Samye Trek has much to offer, lakes, Mountais, beautiful alpine landscapes, nomad camps, villages and sacred sites. The route connects two of tibet’s greatest monasteries: the Ganden monastery and the Samye Monastery, it is known as one of the most popular trek routes in Tibet. through it is famous and has a lot to experience, you should not underestimate the difficulty of doing this trek as this trek is at high-elevation wildernesses, it would be better for those with high elevation trek experience. The best time for this trek is from mid-May to Mid-October, summer can be wet but the mountains are at their greenest and you can see wildflowers.

At a Glance

Day 1 Arrival-Lhasa(3650m)
Day 2 Lhasa Sightseeing – Potala Palace and Johkang Temple
Day 3 Lhasa sightseeing-Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery
Day 4 Lhasa-Ganden-Tsubshi-Yama-do (trekking 2 to 3 hours,7km)
Day 5 Trek to Tsotup Chu Valley (5 to 6hours,10km)
Day 6 Trek to Herder’s Camp (5 to 6 hours,14km)
Day 7 Trek to Yamalung (6 hours,39km):Changtangvillage,Yamalung Hermitage
Day 8 Explore the Samye Monastery and Yarlung River Valley, live in Samye Town
Day 9 Drive to Airport(train station), leave Tibet to your next destination.

Day by Day Itinerary

 Day 1: Arrival-Lhasa(3650m)

Transfer to Lhasa downtown after arriving in the Lhasa Gongar airport or the Lhasa train station. Have a rest in Lhasa to acclimatize the high altitude.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Day 2: Lhasa Sightseeing – Potala Palace and Johkang Temple

In the morning, visit the most splendid museum, the Potala Palace, and explore the grandest of its myriad chapals. Appreciate the jeweled burial chorten of past Dalai Lamas as well as statuary, frescoes and paintings.

Later, visit the Jokhang Temple, which is considered as the most sacred temple in Tibet. It draws tremendous number of pilgrims from all over Tibet each year for it houses a magnificent image of Sakyamuni at 12 years old. Then stroll around Barkhor, a pilgrimage circuit that encircles the Jokhang, and it also serves as the biggest bazaar in Lhasa, where you can find some handicrafts, ambers, jewery, Tibetan clothes, ect.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

 Day 3: Lhasa sightseeing-Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery

Explore Tibet’s two greatest monasteries, Drepung and Sera, which once housed about 10,000 monks. Drepung monastery is situated at the foothill of a mountain and was founded by Jamyang Choeje in 1416. The monastery is divided into two different colleges, that is, Drepung loselling and Drepung Gomang college. The Ganden podrang is famous as it is the government centre and later moved to the famous Potala palace during fifth Dalai lama. In the afternoon, explore the Sera monastery, which was founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa’s disciple Jamchen Choeje. The whole monastery is divided into two colleges and there are Sera ‘jhe’ and Sera ‘may’ respectively. The ‘Tsokhang chenmo’ where the monks from all the colleges assemble and pray together. You can also see monks debating in the courtyard at around 6-7:30 in the afternoon. (Note: if you don’t feel tired, you can try the Kora (Circling around the religious sites) Drepung and Sera monastery.) Then drive back to your hotel. Prepare for food materials and trekking gears.

Stay overnight hotel

Day 4: Lhasa-Ganden-Tsubshi-Yama-do (trekking 2 to 3 hours,7km)

In the morning,drive to Ganden Monastery, after visiting it, transfer to Tsubshi Village, prepare for yaks. Then start the Trekking up to Yama-do(trekking time 2-3hours).

Overnight at the Camping

Day 5: Trek to Tsotup Chu Valley (5 to 6hours,10km)

In the morning, leave the valley floor and make our way through a steep gully rising form the stream bank. Then, climb the Shug La and begin our climb down through treacherous boulder fields. Later, cross Tsotup Chu, a large stream winding through the valley floor. A comfortable camp will be set up in one of the herder fields.

Overnight at the Camping

Day 6: Trek to Herder’s Camp (5 to 6 hours,14km)

Follow the Tsotup Chu down through its tributary and head towards the Chitu La pass. After ascending this rocky pass, we will quickly descend down and find a beautiful place to camp in one of the fields surrounding the stream. To find our campsite we will meander through quiet herder camps for nearly an hour. Another beautiful day of our trek is over!

Overnight at the Camping

Day 7: Trek to Yamalung (6 hours,39km):Changtangvillage,Yamalung Hermitage

During the 39km journey, you will trek about 15km, while the rest 24km you can enjoy the ride on tour vehicle. The trail gets wider and easier as we follow through scrub forests in the main valley. Beautiful streams and lush forests surround us as we walking. The next few hours are arguably the most beautiful part of our trek. More than 15 types of scrub trees, blooming rhododendrons, and vast meadow will amaze your every step of the way! After passing through this wondrous landscape, we will trek through the Changtang village. Less than an hour away, participants can choose to make the one-hour hike to the Yamalung Hermitage. Yamalung is an ancient and holy Buddhist meditation site. Dirver will pick you up to Samye.

Stay at Samye guesthouse.

Day 8: Explore the Samye Monastery and Yarlung River Valley, live in Samye Town

The Samye Monastery is the first Monastery built in Tibet and the first contains the three Buddhist jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. With these unique features, this splendid temple has become an attraction for visitors from near and far. After visiting Samye, we finish the trek and live in Samye Town near the Yarlung River.

Hotel in Samye Town

Day 9: Drive to Airport(train station), leave Tibet to your next destination.

Transfer to Lhasa airport (about 1.5 hours driving), and fly to your next destination.