Tibet to Kathmandu Tour
The Ultimate Trans-Himalayan Adventure
6-Days Journey from Tibet’s heart to Nepal’s soul
The Tibet to Kathmandu Tour is a 6-day tour from Lhasa to Kathmandu. The high point is 4,050 m. We run it as a private trip on your own dates, or as a small group departure.
Seven UNESCO monument zones inside one valley. Newar architecture, living Hindu and Buddhist practice, and a festival calendar that runs all year. Newari khaja sets, momo, and a restaurant scene in Thamel and Jhamsikhel that outstrips the rest of the country.
This is a cultural trip, not a trek. Expect vehicle transfers, guided site visits and short walks of an hour or two, with the option to add a longer hike where the itinerary allows. Nothing beyond ordinary city travel. Winter air quality in the valley is the main comfort issue, and we plan the outdoor sections for the morning.
Best time to go. Year round. October to March gives the clearest air; the monsoon from June to August is green and quiet with afternoon rain.
Permits and getting there. UNESCO World Heritage site entry fees for Durbar Squares, Boudhanath, Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath, all included in your tour price. Everything is within an hour's drive. We use private air-conditioned vehicles with a licensed cultural guide.
Where you sleep. Hotels in Thamel, Lazimpat, Boudha or Patan depending on the tour, from comfortable three-star to heritage properties in Bhaktapur and Patan.
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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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
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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Sightseeing in Lhasa: Potala Palace, Norbulingka Palace, and Tibet Traditional Hospital
Begin your journey with a visit to the magnificent Potala Palace, once home to the Dalai Lama. Afterward, explore the serene Norbulingka Palace, the Dalai Lama’s summer residence. End the day with a stop at the Tibet Traditional Hospital to learn about Tibetan medicine and healing practices.
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 | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Sightseeing in Lhasa: Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery, Jokhang Temple, and Barkhor Bazaar
Visit Sera Monastery, known for its lively monk debates, and the sprawling Drepung Monastery, which once housed thousands of monks. In the afternoon, explore the spiritual heart of Tibet, Jokhang Temple, followed by a stroll around the bustling 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 | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Lhasa to Shigatse
Embark on a scenic drive to Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city. En route, you'll pass through the picturesque Tibetan countryside and high mountain passes. Once in Shigatse, visit the historic Tashilhunpo Monastery, the seat of the Panchen Lama.
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.
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 | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Shigatse to Shegar
Drive from Shigatse to Shegar. Along the way, you'll experience more of Tibet’s majestic landscapes, including vast plateaus and towering mountains. Shegar, also known as New Tingri, is a popular stop for travelers heading toward Everest.
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: 4,050 m | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
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Shegar to Kathmandu
On the final day, cross the Tibet-Nepal border and descend into the lush valley of Kathmandu. Enjoy the contrasting scenery as you transition from the high Tibetan plateau to the vibrant streets of Nepal’s capital. The trip concludes as you arrive in Kathmandu, marking the end of your journey.
Altitude: 1,350 m | Overnight: 3-5 Stars | Meals: Breakfast
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Getting ready
No special training is needed. Comfortable shoes for uneven cobbles and stone steps at the heritage sites, and a light layer for early mornings, will cover it.
Altitude and acclimatisation
The high point on this trip is 4,050 m. Nothing beyond ordinary city travel. Winter air quality in the valley is the main comfort issue, and we plan the outdoor sections for the morning.
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
UNESCO World Heritage site entry fees for Durbar Squares, Boudhanath, Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath, all included in your tour price.
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 for drinks, souvenirs and any meals not listed in the itinerary.
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
Wi-Fi everywhere, 4G across the valley, and a tourist SIM at the airport.
Ncell and Nepal Telecom tourist SIM cards are sold at Kathmandu airport and take about ten minutes. Bring your passport.
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 bottled or treated water and be sensible about street food in the first few days.
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.
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.