Ganden to Samye Trek-09 Days

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.