Lhasa to Kathmandu Tour via Everest Base Camp
From Tibet’s heart to Everest and beyond!
10-Days Epic Tibetan journey to Kathmandu
The Lhasa to Kathmandu Tour via Everest Base Camp is a 10-day trek from Lhasa to Kathmandu. The high point is 5,364 m. A normal day is 5 to 6 hours of walking. We run it as a private trip on your own dates, or as a small group departure.
The route runs Ganden Monastery and Drayerpa Caves, Gyantse, Shigatse, Rongbuk, Kyirong and Kathmandu. Rongbuk monastery, the highest in the world, founded in 1902.
Graded challenging. Nothing on the route is technical, but the altitude is real and it is what decides who finishes. Rongbuk sits at about 5,000 m and you reach it by vehicle, which is the fastest ascent on any of our itineraries. We build the drive up over several days and monitor everyone.
Best time to go. April to October, with the clearest Everest views in late April to early June and again in October.
Permits and getting there. Chinese group visa, Tibet Travel Permit, Alien's Travel Permit and a military permit for the Everest area. All arranged by us; allow 25 days. Overland from Lhasa or from the Gyirong border, on sealed road most of the way to Rongbuk.
Where you sleep. Hotels in Shigatse and Shegar, then the guesthouse or tented camp at Rongbuk. Basic, cold and unforgettable.
Why book with us. Trekking Team is a family company in Gongabu, Kathmandu, running trips since 1991 under TAAN licence 1106. About ten thousand people have travelled with us and we hold more than 630 TripAdvisor reviews. Every departure runs with a government-licensed guide, permits arranged before you arrive, insured and equipped staff, and a fixed price. If the dates or the route do not suit you, write to us and we will rebuild the itinerary around what you want.
Trip Summary
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Trip Outline
- Day 1Arrival in Lhasa and Transfer to Hotel
- Day 2Lhasa Sightseeing
- Day 3Lhasa Sightseeing
- Day 4Excursion to Ganden Monastery and Drayerpa Caves
- Day 5Lhasa to Gyantse via Karo La Pass and Yamdrok Tso Lake
- Day 6Gyantse to Shigatse via Shalu Monastery
- Day 7Shigatse to Rongbuk via Sakya Monastery
- Day 8Rongbuk to Kyirong via Everest Base Camp
- Day 9Kyirong to Kathmandu
- Day 10Final Departure
Included
- All internal flights and border transfers between Tibet and Nepal that appear in the itinerary
- Chinese group visa, Tibet Travel Permit and Alien’s Travel Permit, arranged by us
- Military permit for the Everest and restricted areas where the route requires it
- Licensed Tibetan guide throughout
- Tourist vehicle with a permitted driver for the whole itinerary
- Hotel accommodation in Lhasa, Shigatse and Gyantse, and guesthouse or tented accommodation at Rongbuk, twin share
- Breakfast daily at the hotels
- All monastery and monument entry fees in the itinerary
- A pulse oximeter and a comprehensive first aid kit carried by the guide
- All government taxes and company service charges
- Airport pick-up and drop-off in a private vehicle
- All ground transport in the itinerary by private air-conditioned vehicle
- Entry fees for every UNESCO monument zone and site in the itinerary
- Government-licensed cultural guide throughout
- Hotel accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis, twin share, as listed in the itinerary
- All transfers, sightseeing and excursions listed in the itinerary
- Welcome or farewell dinner in Kathmandu
- All government taxes, VAT and company service charges
Not Included
- International flights and the Kathmandu to Lhasa air ticket unless listed
- All lunches and dinners. Tibet programmes run on a bed and breakfast basis throughout
- Travel insurance covering high altitude and evacuation from Tibet. Compulsory
- Supplementary oxygen, which is available as an optional extra
- Drinks, laundry and items of a personal nature
- Costs arising from a border closure, permit refusal or itinerary change ordered by the authorities
- Emergency evacuation, which your insurance must cover
- Tips for the Tibetan guide and driver
- Anything not listed under what is included
- International flights and the Nepal visa fee
- All lunches and dinners other than those listed. Our packages run on a bed and breakfast basis
- Travel insurance, which we require you to hold
- Drinks, laundry, telephone and other items of a personal nature
- Camera and video fees at the monuments where they apply
- Optional activities and any sightseeing outside the itinerary
- Tips for guides and drivers
Get started on your journey
Detailed itinerary
Arrival in Lhasa and Transfer to Hotel
Arrival day in Lhasa is an altitude day and we treat it as one. The city sits at 3,656 m and you have arrived there by aircraft, which means no acclimatisation at all. Our Tibetan guide meets you at Gonggar airport and it is about an hour into the city.
Check in, then do almost nothing. Drink plenty of water, skip alcohol entirely, eat lightly and go to bed early. Mild headache and broken sleep on the first night are normal and usually gone by the second. Your guide will check on you in the evening and again at breakfast.
If you feel well, a short slow walk in the neighbourhood is better than lying down all afternoon, but keep it flat and keep it brief.
Altitude: 3,650 m | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Lhasa Sightseeing
Visit the magnificent Potala Palace, Norbulingka Palace, and Tibet Traditional Hospital. Immerse yourself in the unique Tibetan culture and history.
The Potala Palace rises thirteen storeys above Lhasa and was the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas from the seventeenth century. Inside are the golden funerary stupas of eight Dalai Lamas, the fifth's alone covered in more than three tonnes of gold, along with chapels, murals and the meditation cells of the earliest kings. Visits are on a timed ticket with a strict one-hour limit inside, and the climb up is at 3,656 m, so take it slowly.
Altitude: 3,650 m | Travel: 5 to 6 hours | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Lhasa Sightseeing
Explore Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery, the sacred Jokhang Temple, and stroll through the lively Barkhor Bazaar.
The Jokhang is the most sacred temple in Tibetan Buddhism, founded in the seventh century to house the Jowo Rinpoche, a statue of the Buddha as a twelve-year-old brought to Tibet by the Chinese princess Wencheng. Pilgrims prostrate full-length on the flagstones outside from before dawn. The interior is dark, thick with butter lamp smoke, and unlike anywhere else.
The Barkhor is the pilgrim circuit around the Jokhang and the old heart of Lhasa: a clockwise kora walked by thousands of pilgrims a day, lined with stalls selling prayer wheels, turquoise, incense and yak butter. Walking it once with the flow of people tells you more about Tibet than any museum.
Sera Monastery, founded in 1419, is one of the three great Gelugpa university monasteries of Lhasa. The reason to go in the afternoon is the debating courtyard, where monks challenge each other on points of doctrine with a formalised hand clap that punctuates each question. It runs most weekday afternoons and it is genuinely gripping even without the language.
Drepung was once the largest monastery in the world, housing around ten thousand monks, and it climbs the hillside west of Lhasa like a small white city. The Ganden Podrang within it was the seat of the Dalai Lamas before the Potala was built.
Altitude: 3,650 m | Travel: 5 to 6 hours | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Excursion to Ganden Monastery and Drayerpa Caves
Take a day trip to the ancient Ganden Monastery and visit the serene Drayerpa Caves, surrounded by picturesque landscapes.
Altitude: 3,650 m | Travel: 5 to 6 hours | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Lhasa to Gyantse via Karo La Pass and Yamdrok Tso Lake
Drive to Gyantse through scenic mountain roads, passing the stunning Karo La Pass and the turquoise Yamdrok Tso Lake.
Gyantse holds the Kumbum, a 32 m tiered stupa from 1427 containing seventy-seven chapels and thousands of murals, the finest surviving body of Newar-influenced Tibetan painting anywhere. The Gyantse dzong above the town gives a wide view over the barley fields of the Nyang valley.
Yamdrok Tso is one of Tibet's three sacred lakes, a startling turquoise fan of water seen from the Kamba La at 4,794 m on the road from Lhasa to Gyantse. The colour is genuine and the stop is brief, cold and windy.
Altitude: 3,950 m | Travel: 5 to 6 hours | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Gyantse to Shigatse via Shalu Monastery
Visit Gyantse’s iconic Tashilhunpo Monastery, then drive to Shigatse, stopping at Shalu Monastery along the way.
Tashilhunpo in Shigatse is the seat of the Panchen Lamas, founded in 1447, and it holds a 26 m gilded statue of the Maitreya Buddha, the largest of its kind in the world. The monastery escaped much of the destruction suffered elsewhere and its chapels and kora are among the best preserved in Tibet.
Gyantse holds the Kumbum, a 32 m tiered stupa from 1427 containing seventy-seven chapels and thousands of murals, the finest surviving body of Newar-influenced Tibetan painting anywhere. The Gyantse dzong above the town gives a wide view over the barley fields of the Nyang valley.
Shigatse is Tibet's second city at 3,840 m, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas, and the natural overnight stop between Lhasa and the Everest region. The old town market below Tashilhunpo is worth an hour.
Altitude: 3,900 m | Travel: 2 hours | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Shigatse to Rongbuk via Sakya Monastery
Journey to Rongbuk, visiting Sakya Monastery en route. Arrive at Rongbuk Monastery, the highest in the world.
Rongbuk monastery at about 5,000 m is the highest monastery in the world, founded in 1902, and it sits directly beneath the north face of Everest with the mountain filling the end of the valley. The view from here is the one the early British expeditions had, and it is more complete than anything visible from the Nepal side.
Shigatse is Tibet's second city at 3,840 m, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas, and the natural overnight stop between Lhasa and the Everest region. The old town market below Tashilhunpo is worth an hour.
Altitude: 5,100 m | Travel: 7 to 8 hours | Overnight: Tea House | Meals: Breakfast
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Rongbuk to Kyirong via Everest Base Camp
Explore Everest Base Camp (North Face), enjoying panoramic views of Mount Everest. Continue your drive to Kyirong.
Rongbuk monastery at about 5,000 m is the highest monastery in the world, founded in 1902, and it sits directly beneath the north face of Everest with the mountain filling the end of the valley. The view from here is the one the early British expeditions had, and it is more complete than anything visible from the Nepal side.
The Tibetan base camp sits at about 5,150 m at the foot of the Rongbuk glacier, reached by road rather than on foot, with the north face of Everest rising uninterrupted in front of it. Because you arrive by vehicle, this is the fastest altitude gain on any of our itineraries and the acclimatisation days before it are not optional.
Altitude: 5,364 m | Travel: 7 to 8 hours | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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Kyirong to Kathmandu
Descend from the Tibetan Plateau into the lush landscapes of Nepal, arriving in Kathmandu.
Altitude: 1,350 m | Overnight: 3-5 Stars | Meals: Breakfast
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Final Departure
Transfer to the airport about three hours before your international flight. If you have a late departure we will hold a day room or arrange a final few hours in the city rather than leave you sitting in the terminal.
If you would rather not go home yet, this is the easy point to extend: a few days in Pokhara, a wildlife stay in Chitwan or Bardiya, a short Bhutan add-on, or a rest week somewhere quiet. Tell us before you travel and we will build it in at cost rather than as a late upgrade.
Altitude: 1,350 m | Meals: Breakfast
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Getting ready
Two to three months of preparation makes the difference between enduring this trip and enjoying it. Walk hills, not treadmills. Build to a five or six hour day with a 7 kg pack, twice a week, and add a back-to-back weekend so your legs learn what consecutive days feel like. Stairs with a loaded pack are the best substitute if you live somewhere flat.
Break in your boots properly. More trips are ruined by new footwear than by altitude.
Altitude and acclimatisation
The high point on this trip is 5,364 m. Rongbuk sits at about 5,000 m and you reach it by vehicle, which is the fastest ascent on any of our itineraries. We build the drive up over several days and monitor everyone.
Rules we work to: gain no more than 400 to 500 m of sleeping altitude a day above 3,000 m, take a rest day roughly every 1,000 m, climb high and sleep low on those days, drink three to four litres daily, and skip alcohol and sleeping tablets above 3,500 m. Your guide carries a pulse oximeter and a first aid kit and records the group morning and evening.
Diamox (acetazolamide) is a legitimate aid, not a shortcut, and works best started 24 hours before you go high. Discuss it with your own doctor before you travel; we do not prescribe.
If anyone deteriorates, the answer is descent, immediately and without debate. Our guides have the authority to turn a client around and they use it.
Permits and paperwork
Chinese group visa, Tibet Travel Permit, Alien's Travel Permit and a military permit for the Everest area. All arranged by us; allow 25 days.
For Tibet you must send clear passport and visa scans at least 25 days before departure. The Chinese group visa is issued in Kathmandu and it is a physical document for the whole group, which is why late bookings are difficult and why you cannot join partway through.
Money, tipping and costs on the ground
Nepali rupees are the only currency accepted on the trail. Draw cash in Kathmandu or Pokhara before you leave; ATMs have a per-transaction limit of around NPR 35,000 and charge a fee, and above the roadhead there are no machines and no card terminals.
Budget roughly USD 10 to 20 a day for drinks, snacks, hot showers, charging and wifi that are not in the price. Bottled water is best avoided for both cost and plastic reasons.
Tipping is customary and genuinely matters to the crew, but it is not compulsory and never demanded. As a guide to the guide: around USD 8 to 12 per day for your trekking guide and USD 6 to 8 for each porter, pooled by the group and handed over at the end.
Staying in touch
None at Rongbuk. Signal returns at Shegar.
Ncell and Nepal Telecom tourist SIM cards are sold at Kathmandu airport and take about ten minutes. Bring your passport.
What to pack
We send a full checklist when you book. The items people most often get wrong:
- Broken-in boots with ankle support, plus trainers or sandals for the evenings
- A four-season down sleeping bag rated to at least minus 10 C, and a down jacket. We lend both at no charge if you would rather not buy them
- Layers rather than bulk: thermal base, fleece, windproof shell, waterproof jacket and trousers
- Sun hat, warm hat, glove liners and warm gloves, and category 4 sunglasses. Snow glare at altitude is brutal
- A one-litre bottle plus a two-litre bladder, and a SteriPen or chlorine tablets so you can refill instead of buying plastic
- Personal first aid: blister plasters, ibuprofen, rehydration salts, antiseptic, any prescriptions in original packaging
- A 20,000 mAh power bank, headtorch with spare batteries, and a two-pin European plug adapter
Health and safety
No vaccinations are legally required for Tibet or Nepal, but hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus are sensible and a rabies course is worth discussing if you are travelling for a long time. Check with a travel clinic six to eight weeks before you fly.
Drink treated water rather than bottled where you can, wash hands before every meal, and eat what is freshly cooked. Stomach upsets ruin more trekking days than altitude does.
Our guides carry a comprehensive first aid kit, a pulse oximeter and, on the higher routes, supplementary oxygen. We hold a 24-hour operations line in Kathmandu throughout your trip, and we run rescue coordination ourselves rather than handing it to a third party.
Responsible trekking
We pay porters above the TAAN minimum, insure every member of staff, cap load weights and provide boots, jackets and shelter at altitude. That is not a marketing line; it is the reason our crew come back season after season and some have been with the family for twenty years.
On the trail: carry your rubbish out, use refill points instead of plastic bottles, ask before photographing people, walk clockwise around mani walls and chortens, and give way to loaded yaks on the mountain side of the path, not the drop side.
Booking and cancellation
A deposit confirms your dates and the balance is due before departure. If your plans change we will move your booking to another date rather than treat it as a cancellation wherever the ground operators allow it.
Written quotes are fixed. We do not add fuel or permit surcharges after you have booked, and if a government fee rises between your booking and your departure we absorb it.
Questions before you commit are welcome and never rushed. Write to us with what you actually want and we will tell you plainly whether this trip is the right one, including when the answer is that a different route would suit you better.
Ready to start your journey?
Start planning your dream trip today. Enquire now for more information or customize this trip to tailor it to your needs and make it truly unforgettable.