Upon arrival, you will be met and greeted by our Tibetan guide and then we drive to Tsedang (120km/7.5miles, 1.5 hrs) gateway town to the Yarlung Valley. Yarlung Valley is considered the cradle of Tibetan civilization and it was from Yarlung that early Tibetan kings unified Tibet in the 7th century. Upon arrival at Tsedang, we check in hotel and take rest for the acclimatization.

Today, we explore the historical and cultural sights of Yarlung Valley. We visit the ancient Trandruk Temple (7 km, 4.5 miles) which is one of the earliest Buddhist monasteries in Tibet, contemporary to Jokhang and Ramoche of Lhasa. At Tradruk, we will visit the courtyard area, ringed by cloisters, the principal chapel with statues of Tara or Drolma and 5 Dhyani Buddha’s and a famous Thangka painting of Drolma in the chapel upstairs. From Trandruk, we head south to Yumbulakang Palace (6km, 1.8 miles) which is a fine, tapering finger of a structure that pops up from a rocky ridge overlooking the patchwork of fields of the Yarlung Valley. We will visit the ground floor chapel consecrated to the ancient kings of Tibet and upper floor chapel with an image of Chenresig (Avalokityaswora) and we will also see some excellent murals depicting descent of Nyentri Tsenpo from heaven to Yumbulakang. We will walk up along the ridge above the building to enjoy fabulous views of Yarlung Valley. Drive to Lhasa, on the way visit to Samye Monastery-the first Buddhist Monastery in Tibet. Samye is famous for its sacred Mandala design: the central temple symbolizes the legendary Mount Meru, centre of the universe. It is a popular pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhists, some of whom travel on foot for weeks to reach this holy shrine. We arrive Lhasa late afternoon. We check in hotel and rest. 

Today, we explore the major highlights of Lhasa. We begin the tour from the magnificent Potala Palace- the symbol of wisdom and power of Tibetan people. This 13 story 1000 room citadel served as the headquarters of the former "church-state" of the Tibet and was home to successive Dalai Lamas, who from the later half of the 18th century used it as their winter palace. The gigantic palace serves as landmark of Lhasa and can be spotted from far away. In the afternoon, we visit Jokhang Temple-the holiest and most sacred site in Tibet where devout Buddhists make their pilgrimage. Jokhang has been always an important pilgrim destination for Tibetans. We will be overwhelmed to reveal the cosmos of this holiest site and finding the way of living of the monks. We will also take opportunity to visit the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute (Mentsekhang) a centre for the treatment, training, research and production of Tibetan medicine. We spend the rest of day wandering about the Barkhor Street and the Barkhor Square. The street circles the Jokhang Temple and has been an essential pilgrim route since the foundation of the temple. Buddhist pilgrims can be seen throughout the day and night walking, or prostrating themselves clockwise along Barkhor Street spinning their prayer wheels and chanting sutras. Barkhor Street also is popular place of handicraft bargains. 

After breakfast, we head towards Drepung Monastery, 8 km west of Lhasa. We leave the car behind at the foot of the hill and take a pleasant hike to visit the white monastic buildings of the monastery which once was the largest Buddhist monastery- housing over 10,000 monks. Founded in 1416 by the disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Yellow Hat Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Drepung was the residence of the second, third and fourth Dalai Lamas and the power centre of Tibet-until the 5th Dalai Lama shifted to the Potala Palace. From Drepung, we return to the city and visit the Norbulingkha-the summer palaces of the Dalai Lamas. Among others, the most visited one is the palace of the 14th Dalai Lama which was built in a fusion style of both Tibetan and Western from 1954-1956. In the afternoon, we drive about 5-6 km north of Lhasa to visit Sera Monastery-Lhasa’s one of the most beautiful monasteries. Once a community of more than 5,000 monks resided here .The restored monastery sits below the brow of hill on which Tsongkhapa built a hermitage and spent several years mediating. Sera may not be as grandiose as Drepung, but is more serene surrounded by many small temples. We take chance to attend the 'Buddhism Scriptures Debating' in Sera which is an interesting part of this visit. Kora hikes: Both Drepung and Sera Monastery offers kora hikes (circumambulation the monastery) for hiking enthusiasts which can take 1 and ½ hrs to 2 ½ hrs but one should be well acclimatized before we attempt kora hikes)

Continue with journey to Gyantse town which still maintains Tibetan characteristics. The journey involves crossing over the Gampa la pass and Karo la pass. Along the upstream of the Brahmaputra River we climb up the Gampa la (4900m) through numbers of switch-backs, from the pass you will be amaze by the breathtaking view of the holy Yamdrok Lake and snow capped Mt. Nojin Kangsar in the background. Yamdrok Tso Lake is one of the four holiest lakes of Tibet and has turquoise green water. As we leave the lakeshore behind, the road climbs to Karo La (16,500ft), once again offering breathtaking views of the mountain and vast Tibetan plateau. We arrive at Gyantse town late afternoon, perhaps the only major town in Central Tibet which has been able to maintain its Tibetan characteristics. Check in the hotel and rest. 

At Gyantse, we will visit the Pelkor Chode and Kumbum Monastery-the main highlights of Gyantse City. Kumbum Stupa is the landmark of Gyantse and can be spotted from a long distance. If you are a hiking enthusiast, you may also attempt hiking the historical fortress of Gyantse. View from the fortress over to the city is just superb. From Gyantse, it is less than 2 hrs drive to Shigatse, the second largest city of Tibet. Upon arrival in Shigatse, we check in hotel and later visit the famous Tashi lunpo Monastery is the principal seat of Panchen Lama-the second most venerated religious leader of Tibet and one of the 6 major Gelugpa Monasteries of Tibet. 

We will be overwhelmed by the beauty of Jiang Thang grassland and the views of Nyacheng Tanglha range. Namtso Lake is literally a heavenly lake, which is the second biggest salt lake in China as well as one of the highest lake in the world (15,573 ft).The lake is miraculous shade of turquoise and there are magnificent views of Nyenchen Tanghlha, with peaks more than 7000m (22,960ft), towering over to the lake. We will also see wide open grasslands with dotted with tents of local nomads. Driving through numbers of peaceful villages and farmland, we traverse the high peak of Shogula pass (5400m) to Yangpachen and the northern nomadic grassland, this wonderful valley barely hidden in the remote and not known by mass tourism yet, northern Tibet is known as Jiangthang in Tibetan with a sparse population of nomads in the vast pastures, hundreds of beautiful lakes with abounding wild lives can be found in this region, Namtso lake is one of them and it is one of the holy as well as most gorgeous lake in Tibet, it is also the world highest salt water lake, we will spend a night on the Tashi Do peninsula and enjoy the cold breeze of the mystical lake and breathtaking view of snow capped ranges all around.
Then the next day we will drive back to Lhasa and complete the clockwise circumambulation back Lhasa, on this day we will visit a nomad family tent en route, the giant black tent is made up of yak wool and it has a great tendency to preserve heat and resist rain that is totally accommodate the plateau changeable climate, each tent is a whole complex of kitchen, bedroom, seating room and store room for the family, so spending few minutes with the nomad family give you a special experiences of plateau nomad lifestyle, you may wonder when you see piles of Yak dung just outside of the tents, it is the main fuel that nomads and also Tibetans use for cooking and heating the house during the chilly winter season. We check in the hotel and remaining of day is for free for pursue self interest. 
Optional: At Yangpachen, you can choose to visit to its Geo-thermal Hot spring, the entry fee and swimming fee are not included in our cost, so extra fees at your own expenses.
 

Transfer to Gonggar airport for flight to next destination. Lhasa to Kathmandu or Mainland cities.
End of service.