Tibet Group Tours: Small-Group Fixed Departures
Join a small-group Tibet tour — on a fixed departure date or on dates you ask for — usually capped at 12 travellers, priced per person, with permits, guide and transport shared across the group.
Itineraries
Lhasa & Everest (7 Days)
Lhasa · Yamdrok Lake · Karola Glacier · Shigatse · Rongbuk · Everest Base Camp · Shigatse · Lhasa
Lhasa to the foot of Everest in a week: two days in Lhasa to adjust to the altitude, Yamdrok Lake and the Karola Glacier on the road west, a night below the north face, and Tashilhunpo on the way back. A shared group that leaves on fixed dates.
Everest & Namtso (8 Days)
Lhasa · Yamdrok Lake · Gyantse · Shigatse · Everest Base Camp · Namtso Lake
Tibet's three icons in eight comfortable days — the holy city of Lhasa, the north face of Everest at base camp, and the heavenly lake of Namtso.
Lhasa & Everest (8 Days)
Lhasa · Yamdrok Lake · Gyantse · Shigatse · Everest Base Camp · Dinggye · Sakya · Shigatse · Lhasa
Three unhurried days in Lhasa, the classic overland road west, a night beneath the north face of Everest — and a quieter Himalayan route home through Dinggye and Sakya that most Everest tours never take.
Nyingchi, Everest & Namtso (10 Days)
Nyingchi · Lulang · Basom Tso · Lhasa · Yamdrok Lake · Gyantse · Shigatse · Everest Base Camp · Namtso Lake
Tibet's fullest highlights, eased in gently from the east — fly into green Nyingchi to acclimatize, then Lhasa, the north face of Everest, and Namtso Lake.
Everest & Changtang (10 Days)
Lhasa · Yamdrok Lake · Gyantse · Shigatse · Everest Base Camp · Sakya · Serling Tso · Bange · Namtso Lake · Damxung · Lhasa
Everest from the south, then north across the Changtang — the grasslands, Serling Tso and Namtso — on a loop that almost no other itinerary makes, ending at Tibet's two largest lakes instead of retracing the highway.
Kailash & Guge (14 Days)
Lhasa · Yamdrok Lake · Gyantse · Shigatse · Everest Base Camp · Saga · Mount Kailash · Manasarovar · Guge / Zanda
The full pilgrimage to Tibet's far west — Everest, the three-day kora around sacred Mount Kailash, holy Lake Manasarovar, and the thousand-year-old ruins of the Guge Kingdom at Zanda.
Kailash & Manasarovar (15 Days)
Lhasa · Gyantse · Shigatse · Everest Base Camp · Pelku Tso · Saga · Darchen · Dirapuk · Dolma La · Zutulpuk · Lake Manasarovar · Saga · Gyirong · Tingri · Lhasa
The full overland pilgrimage — Lhasa, Everest, the long western road to Ngari, the three-day kora of Mount Kailash over the 5,630m Dolma La, Lake Manasarovar, and a return through the forests of the Gyirong valley.
Every foreign visitor to Tibet travels on an organised tour with a licensed guide and a pre-arranged permit — independent travel is not permitted. That rule is what makes the group departure the default way to see Tibet: the guide, the driver, the vehicle and the permit paperwork are fixed costs, and a group splits them.
What a group departure means here
Where the licensed Lhasa agency that runs a route keeps a fixed group calendar, we publish its dates on the departures calendar, from five weeks out so there is time to confirm your place and arrange the permit. The other group itineraries run on request: tell us your dates and we usually confirm availability within 24 hours.
Most groups are capped at 12 travellers; the 7-day Lhasa & Everest departures join a larger shared group of up to 16. That cap matters more in Tibet than it does elsewhere: it is the difference between a vehicle where everyone has a window and a full-size coach, and between a guide who can answer your question inside a chapel and one working a microphone.
Pricing is per person on a twin-share basis, and the per-person cost is what makes the group format worth choosing. Current group itineraries run from 7 to 15 days, starting at $950 per person.
What the group itineraries cover
The shorter routes concentrate on the classic corridor — Lhasa, Gyantse, Shigatse and the north face of Everest at Rongbuk, usually with Namtso or Yamdrok added. The longer ones cross into western Tibet for the Mount Kailash kora and the ruins at Guge, which need two weeks simply because of the distances involved.
Altitude sets the pace on all of them. Itineraries are built to gain height gradually — Lhasa first at 3,650 m, then the passes — because the alternative is spending the trip unwell.
Group or private?
Choose a group departure if you are comfortable travelling with others, want the lower per-person cost, and can work around fixed dates.
Choose a private tour if you want your own dates, your own vehicle and guide, and a pace set by your party rather than by a group — and are willing to pay more per person for it.
Common questions
Most group departures are capped at 12 travellers and often run smaller. The exception is the 7-day Lhasa & Everest trip, which joins a larger shared group of up to 16.
Not sure which suits you?
Tell us your dates and what you want to see. We will come back with an itinerary and an honest price.
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