5-Day Lhasa & Yamdrok Lake Group Tour
Lhasa · Yamdrok Lake · Xiazhulin Temple · Lhasa
The Route
Lhasa and a sacred lake in five days
This is the shortest trip we run, designed for people who have a few days in Tibet rather than a few weeks. All four nights are spent in Lhasa, 3,650 m above sea level, and the one long outing is a return drive to Yamdrok Lake, so you get a first, gentle taste of Tibet's altitude without ever sleeping higher than the city.
The two Lhasa days cover a lot of ground. On the first you try three traditional crafts at a handicraft centre — making incense, printing from a carved woodblock and seeing your name written in Tibetan script — before watching the monks debate at Sera Monastery. The second belongs to the Potala Palace and the Jokhang, finishing on the Barkhor pilgrim circuit, with a Tibetan or Nepali meal included. Day four crosses the 4,790 m Kamba La, with Yamdrok's turquoise water filling the view below, and on the return you stop at Xiazhulin Temple, a small hillside monastery above the Yarlung Tsangpo.
What five days can't include is Everest. Base camp is two long days' drive from Lhasa in each direction, so it needs a week: if the mountain is the point of your journey, look at our 7- and 8-day Everest trips, which also visit the Potala and the Jokhang and pass Yamdrok on the road west. If it isn't, this is a sensible first visit; read our guide to altitude sickness in Tibet before you travel up to 3,650 m.
The trip runs on fixed dates with shared groups of up to 12, operated by a licensed agency in Lhasa; travellers from China and from abroad often end up in the same group. Your guide speaks English, switching between English and Chinese if the group is mixed, and you get around in a licensed tourist vehicle — or, when fewer than four people are sightseeing in Lhasa, by taxi with your guide, the fares paid by the agency. The hotel is a 4-star with oxygen supply. The tour runs year-round; November to February brings the lowest prices and the fewest visitors, while in the peak summer weeks the Potala may split groups into smaller parties with separate entry times. Our page on when to visit Tibet compares the seasons.
Trip Highlights
- ◆All four nights in Lhasa (3,650 m), so you never sleep higher than the city
- ◆Incense making, woodblock printing and your name in Tibetan script at a handicraft centre
- ◆Monks debating at Sera Monastery in the afternoon (no debate on Sundays)
- ◆Lhasa's Potala Palace and Jokhang, then the Barkhor pilgrim circuit, with a Tibetan or Nepali meal
- ◆Yamdrok Lake's turquoise water seen from the Kamba La at 4,790 m
- ◆Xiazhulin Temple, a quiet hillside monastery above the Yarlung Tsangpo valley
Upcoming Departures
Fixed group dates from the calendar of the Lhasa agency that runs this route. Tell us which one you want and we'll usually confirm availability within 24 hours. Private departures can run on any date you choose.
- Nov 24 – Nov 28, 2026$6505 DaysOpen – enquireRequest this date →
- Dec 1 – Dec 5, 2026$6505 DaysOpen – enquireRequest this date →
- Dec 8 – Dec 12, 2026$6505 DaysOpen – enquireRequest this date →
- Dec 15 – Dec 19, 2026$6505 DaysOpen – enquireRequest this date →
- Dec 22 – Dec 26, 2026$6505 DaysOpen – enquireRequest this date →
- Dec 29 – Jan 2, 2027$6505 DaysOpen – enquireRequest this date →
- Jan 5 – Jan 9, 2027$6505 DaysOpen – enquireRequest this date →
- Jan 12 – Jan 16, 2027$6505 DaysOpen – enquireRequest this date →
| Departure | Days | From (pp) | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 24 – Nov 28, 2026 | 5 | $650 | Open – enquire | Request this date → |
| Dec 1 – Dec 5, 2026 | 5 | $650 | Open – enquire | Request this date → |
| Dec 8 – Dec 12, 2026 | 5 | $650 | Open – enquire | Request this date → |
| Dec 15 – Dec 19, 2026 | 5 | $650 | Open – enquire | Request this date → |
| Dec 22 – Dec 26, 2026 | 5 | $650 | Open – enquire | Request this date → |
| Dec 29 – Jan 2, 2027 | 5 | $650 | Open – enquire | Request this date → |
| Jan 5 – Jan 9, 2027 | 5 | $650 | Open – enquire | Request this date → |
| Jan 12 – Jan 16, 2027 | 5 | $650 | Open – enquire | Request this date → |
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Arrival in Lhasa
A guide meets you at Gonggar airport or Lhasa railway station with a khata, the white scarf Tibetans offer as a welcome, and drives you into the city; from the airport, about 60 km to the south-east, that takes an hour to an hour and a half. Short as the trip is, give today to resting. At 3,650 m it helps to move slowly, drink plenty of water, eat lightly and avoid alcohol, and the usual local advice is to leave a hot shower until the second day. Before 22:00 your guide will call or text with tomorrow's meeting time.
Overnight: Lhasa
Handicraft workshop and Sera Monastery
A gentle first day of sightseeing. At a traditional handicraft centre an artisan shows you how Tibetan incense is made from juniper, sandalwood and herbs, and you make some yourself; you also ink a carved woodblock and print from it, as monasteries have long done with scriptures, and a teacher writes your name or a blessing in Tibetan script for you to take home. Then a 20-minute drive to Sera Monastery, founded in 1419. From about 15:00 to 17:00 its monks debate: one stands to put a question, clapping and stamping, while others sit and answer. There's no debate on Sundays, when you visit the monastery only.
Meals: Breakfast·Overnight: Lhasa
The Potala Palace and Lhasa's old town
Two landmarks today. Potala tickets are booked in your name for an entry time set by the palace, and once inside you have up to an hour; guides can't explain in the halls, so yours gives you the background at the gate and arranges an audio guide. Photography isn't allowed inside. Later comes the Jokhang, which tradition says King Songtsen Gampo built in the 7th century for his two foreign queens, Wencheng from Tang China and Bhrikuti from Nepal; its statue of the Buddha at twelve years old draws pilgrims from across Tibet. Around it runs the Barkhor, with tea houses for butter tea and stalls of crafts from Tibet, Nepal and India. Today's included meal is Tibetan or Nepali food.
Meals: Breakfast, specialty meal·Overnight: Lhasa
Yamdrok Lake and Xiazhulin Temple day trip
A full day out and back, about 240 km with four and a half hours of driving. The Kamba La (4,790 m), the highest point of the trip, is some 110 km and two to three hours away: the road follows the Yarlung Tsangpo valley, then climbs. Below the pass lies Yamdrok Lake, said in legend to be a turquoise earring dropped by a goddess; locals with yaks and mastiffs ask a fee for photos, so agree it first. On the return you stop at Xiazhulin Temple, a quiet monastery on a hillside about 15 km from the airport, looking over the river and fields. Its chapel keeps the preserved body of a girl revered as an incarnation of Green Tara, said to have died aged twelve about a thousand years ago.
Meals: Breakfast·Overnight: Lhasa
Leaving Lhasa
After breakfast your guide and driver see you to Lhasa railway station or out to Gonggar airport, roughly an hour's drive, and the agency suggests booking flights that leave after 10:00; the free shared drop-off covers flights departing between 08:30 and 22:30, and trains at any time. By regulation, a licensed guide has to escort foreign visitors to the airport or station. Send your flight or train details early, and you'll be grouped with others leaving around the same time. If you stay on after the tour, a later transfer is private and charged separately.
Meals: Breakfast
What's Included
- ✓Tibet Travel Permit, plus the Alien's Travel Permit or military permit where the route requires one
- ✓An English-speaking licensed guide throughout; on mixed groups the guide may work in English and Chinese
- ✓Transport in a licensed tourist vehicle of 7–26 seats with driver, shared with the group; on Lhasa sightseeing days with fewer than four travellers, a taxi with your guide, fares paid
- ✓4 nights in Lhasa in a 4-star hotel with oxygen supply, twin-share
- ✓Breakfast daily and one specialty meal in Lhasa, Tibetan or Nepali
- ✓Entrance fees for the Tibetan culture experience, Sera Monastery, Potala Palace (audio-guide rental included), Jokhang Temple, Yamdrok Lake and Xiazhulin Temple
- ✓Free shared transfers on the first and last days: trains at any hour; flights arriving 08:00–22:00 or departing 08:30–22:30
- ✓A small portable oxygen bottle each, a 6.8-litre oxygen cylinder carried in the vehicle for emergencies, and two 300 ml bottles of water per person per day
- ✓Insurance cover: travel accident, vehicle passenger and the agency's own liability policy
Not Included
- —Your flights or train tickets to Lhasa and home again, which we can help book at extra cost
- —Chinese visa
- —Lunches and dinners, apart from the one specialty meal
- —Single-room supplement from $160 per person (varies by season) — rooms are twin-share by default
- —Tips: about CNY 60 per traveller per day, half for the guide and half for the driver, is the usual guideline
- —Drinks, snacks, laundry and other personal spending
- —Transfers outside the free windows or on other dates, and any extra nights in Lhasa either side of the tour
Accommodation
All four nights are in Lhasa, at a 4-star hotel with oxygen supply and breakfast, allocated by the local agency for each departure: a specific hotel can't be requested, and you can't substitute one you've booked yourself. Rooms are standard twins with their own bathroom, and a double or king bed can't be promised. The Yamdrok trip is a day out from Lhasa, so you don't change towns at any point. Rooms are for two people; if you're on your own, the price includes a private room, as set out in the FAQ below.
Departures & Pricing
| Season | Per person |
|---|---|
| Winter (Nov 1 – end of Feb) | $650 |
| Spring & autumn (Mar 1 – Jun 25, Sep 1 – 26, Oct 7 – 31; Chinese New Year departures) | $710 |
| Summer & holiday weeks (Jun 26 – Aug 31, Sep 27 – Oct 6; May Day departures) | $780 |
per person, twin-share. Fixed small-group departures run on set dates — tell us your month and we'll confirm the next available group.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. You book a place in the same shared group as everyone else, but the agency books rooms for two and can't promise to pair you with a roommate, so a solo booking includes a room to yourself. That comes to USD 810 if you travel in winter (1 November to the end of February), USD 920 in spring or autumn, and USD 1,060 from late June to late August or in the holiday weeks around 1 May and 1 October.
Gallery
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