21D China Tibet Nepal

Drive / Flight: Airport transfer – approx. 30 km / 45 min | Overnight: Beijing (44 m) | Meals: –

Arrive at Beijing Capital or Daxing International Airport, meet your guide and transfer to the hotel. In the evening stroll along Wangfujing or Qianmen Street.

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – city sightseeing | Overnight: Beijing (44 m) | Meals: B

Walk across Tiananmen Square, the vast heart of the capital, and enter the Forbidden City (UNESCO), the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties with 980 buildings across 72 hectares (closed Mondays). Climb Jingshan Park for a view over its golden roofs.

In the afternoon visit the Temple of Heaven, where emperors prayed for good harvests, and take a rickshaw ride through the old hutong lanes. Optional Peking duck dinner (own expense).

Today's highlights:

• Tiananmen Square
• Forbidden City
• Temple of Heaven
• Hutong rickshaw ride

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 160 km round trip | Overnight: Beijing (44 m) | Meals: B

Drive 75 km to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall (UNESCO), restored but less crowded than Badaling, with 22 watchtowers on forested ridges. Ride the cable car up and walk along the wall; return by toboggan or cable car.

On the way back visit the Summer Palace, the imperial garden retreat on Kunming Lake with its Long Corridor and Marble Boat.

Today's highlights:

• Mutianyu Great Wall
• Summer Palace

Drive / Flight: Flight – approx. 2 hrs; Terracotta Army 40 km | Overnight: Xi'an (405 m) | Meals: B

Morning flight (or 4½-hour high-speed train) to Xi'an, capital of 13 dynasties and the starting point of the Silk Road. In the afternoon visit the Terracotta Army (UNESCO) – more than 8,000 life-size clay warriors, horses and chariots buried to guard the tomb of the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang.

Today's highlights:

• Terracotta Army

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – city sightseeing | Overnight: Xi'an (405 m) | Meals: B

Cycle or walk on the 14 km Ming City Wall, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Shaanxi History Museum. In the evening explore the Muslim Quarter's food street and the Great Mosque, a Chinese-style mosque founded in 742.

Today's highlights:

• City Wall
• Big Wild Goose Pagoda
• Muslim Quarter & Great Mosque

Drive / Flight: Flight – approx. 1½ hrs | Overnight: Xining (2,275 m) | Meals: B

Fly to Xining, capital of Qinghai province on the north-eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau – an ideal place to begin acclimatising. Afternoon visit to the Dongguan Grand Mosque and the old town.

Drive / Flight: Kumbum 30 km; overnight train to Lhasa approx. 21 hrs (1,956 km) | Overnight: Overnight train (3,000 m) | Meals: B

Visit Kumbum (Ta'er) Monastery, birthplace of Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelugpa school, famous for its yak-butter sculptures. In the evening board the Qinghai–Tibet Railway in a 4-berth soft-sleeper cabin.

Overnight the train passes Qinghai Lake and Golmud; the carriages are pressurised and oxygen-enriched.

Today's highlights:

• Kumbum Monastery
• Qinghai–Tibet Railway

Drive / Flight: Train – Golmud–Lhasa approx. 1,140 km | Overnight: Lhasa (3,656 m) | Meals: –

Wake up on the plateau. Through the day the train crosses the Kunlun mountains, the Hoh Xil wilderness – watch for Tibetan antelope, wild yaks and kiang – and the Tanggula Pass (5,072 m), the highest railway point in the world. Arrive in Lhasa in the evening; your guide transfers you to the hotel.

Today's highlights:

• Hoh Xil & Kunlun mountains
• Tanggula Pass (5,072 m)

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – city sightseeing | Overnight: Lhasa (3,656 m) | Meals: B

Visit the Potala Palace (UNESCO), the 13-storey former winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, rising 117 m above the city on Marpo Ri. Climb through the White Palace and the Red Palace, with its golden tombs of past Dalai Lamas and chapels filled with statues and thangkas (visit time inside is limited to one hour by ticket).

In the afternoon visit the Jokhang Temple, Tibet's most sacred temple, founded in the 7th century to house the Jowo Shakyamuni statue brought by the Chinese princess Wencheng. Watch pilgrims prostrating at the entrance, then join the clockwise kora around the Barkhor Street, the old market circuit around the temple.

Today's highlights:

• Potala Palace
• Jokhang Temple
• Barkhor kora

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 25 km | Overnight: Lhasa (3,656 m) | Meals: B

Morning visit to Drepung Monastery, founded in 1416 and once the largest monastery in the world with over 7,000 monks, spread across the hillside west of Lhasa. See the Ganden Phodrang, residence of the early Dalai Lamas, and the great assembly hall.

In the afternoon visit Sera Monastery, famous for the lively debate sessions held in its courtyard (usually around 3 PM, Monday to Saturday), where monks clap their hands and stamp their feet to drive home points of Buddhist philosophy. Optional visit to Norbulingka, the Dalai Lamas' summer palace and gardens.

Today's highlights:

• Drepung Monastery
• Monk debate at Sera Monastery
• Norbulingka (optional)

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 260 km / 6 hrs | Overnight: Gyantse (3,950 m) | Meals: B

Drive over Kamba La (4,794 m) to Yamdrok Tso and over Karo La (5,010 m) past the glacier of Nojin Kangsang. In Gyantse visit the Pelkor Chode Monastery and the great Kumbum stupa, and walk up to Gyantse Dzong for the view.

Today's highlights:

• Yamdrok Lake
• Karo La glacier
• Gyantse Kumbum

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 90 km / 1½ hrs | Overnight: Shigatse (3,840 m) | Meals: B

Short drive to Shigatse. Visit Tashilhunpo Monastery, seat of the Panchen Lamas, with its giant Maitreya statue, and walk the monastery kora. In the afternoon browse the Tibetan market below the Shigatse Dzong.

Today's highlights:

• Tashilhunpo Monastery
• Shigatse market

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 250 km / 5–6 hrs | Overnight: Shegar (4,300 m) | Meals: B

Detour to Sakya Monastery, founded in 1073, whose massive grey walls house one of the largest libraries of Tibetan scriptures. Continue over Gyatso La (5,248 m) to Shegar (New Tingri).

Today's highlights:

• Sakya Monastery
• Gyatso La Pass

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 110 km / 3–4 hrs | Overnight: Everest Base Camp (Rongbuk) (4,980 m) | Meals: B

Drive over Pang La (5,150 m), with its panorama of Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma, down to Rongbuk Monastery. Take the eco-bus to Everest Base Camp and enjoy the north face at sunset.

Today's highlights:

• Pang La viewpoint
• Rongbuk Monastery
• Everest Base Camp

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 400 km / 8–9 hrs | Overnight: Kyirong (2,700 m) | Meals: B

Catch sunrise on Everest before driving back to the Friendship Highway and west to Peiku Tso, a wide high-altitude lake beneath Shishapangma (8,027 m), the only 8,000 m peak entirely within Tibet. Cross Gutsuo La and Kong Tang La passes (about 5,200 m).

Then descend dramatically through deep gorges and forest to Kyirong, a green valley town near the Nepal border – a welcome drop in altitude after the high plateau.

Today's highlights:

• Sunrise on Everest
• Peiku Tso & Shishapangma
• Descent into the Kyirong valley

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 25 km to border + 160 km / 7–8 hrs to Kathmandu | Overnight: Kathmandu (1,400 m) | Meals: B

Drive 25 km to the Kyirong–Rasuwagadhi border. Complete Chinese exit formalities, bid farewell to your Tibetan guide and cross the bridge into Nepal, where our Nepali staff meet you (Nepal visa on arrival at Rasuwagadhi). Drive down through Syabrubesi, Dhunche and Trishuli along the Trishuli River to Kathmandu.

The road is partly rough and can be slow; we stop for lunch on the way. Arrive in Kathmandu in the evening and transfer to your hotel.

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 35 km city driving | Overnight: Kathmandu (1,400 m) | Meals: B

After breakfast, a full day of guided sightseeing to four of the Kathmandu Valley's UNESCO World Heritage Sites with a licensed English-speaking city guide.

Start at Swayambhunath, the 2,000-year-old 'Monkey Temple' on a hilltop west of the city, whose painted Buddha eyes look out over the whole valley. Continue to Kathmandu Durbar Square, the old royal palace complex with its pagoda temples, the Kumari Ghar – home of the Living Goddess – and Kasthamandap.

After lunch (own expense), visit Pashupatinath, Nepal's holiest Hindu temple on the banks of the sacred Bagmati River, where you can watch cremation rites at the ghats from the eastern bank (non-Hindus may not enter the main temple). End the day at Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in the world and the heart of Tibetan Buddhist culture in Nepal – join pilgrims walking the kora clockwise around the dome at dusk as butter lamps are lit.

Today's highlights:

• Swayambhunath Stupa
• Kathmandu Durbar Square
• Pashupatinath Temple
• Boudhanath Stupa

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 40 km round trip | Overnight: Kathmandu (1,400 m) | Meals: B

Drive east to Bhaktapur (13 km), the best-preserved of the valley's three royal cities. Walk car-free brick lanes to Durbar Square with its 55-Window Palace and Golden Gate, Taumadhi Square with the five-storey Nyatapola Temple, and Pottery Square where potters shape clay on hand-turned wheels. Don't miss juju dhau, Bhaktapur's famous 'king of curds'.

In the afternoon visit Patan (Lalitpur), the city of fine arts, whose Durbar Square holds the Krishna Mandir carved in stone and the Patan Museum – one of the finest museums in South Asia for Hindu and Buddhist art. Nearby, the Golden Temple (Kwa Bahal) and metal-workers' workshops show crafts still practised by Newar families.

Today's highlights:

• Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Nyatapola Temple & Pottery Square
• Patan Durbar Square & Patan Museum
• Golden Temple (Kwa Bahal)

Drive / Flight: Flight – approx. 25 min (approx. 200 km by road) | Overnight: Pokhara (822 m) | Meals: B

Transfer to the domestic terminal for the scenic 25-minute flight to Pokhara – sit on the right-hand side for views of Manaslu, Himalchuli and the Annapurna range. Pokhara, Nepal's lake city, sits beside Phewa Lake beneath the 6,993 m fishtail peak of Machhapuchhre.

After check-in, visit Davis Falls, where the outflow of Phewa Lake plunges underground, and Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave opposite with its Shiva shrine. Later, take a rowing boat across Phewa Lake to Tal Barahi, the two-storey pagoda temple on an island, and enjoy the evening along Lakeside.

Today's highlights:

• Davis Falls & Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave
• Boating on Phewa Lake to Tal Barahi Temple
• Evening stroll on Lakeside

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 40 km | Overnight: Pokhara (822 m) | Meals: B

Early-morning drive (about 30 minutes) up to Sarangkot (1,600 m) to watch sunrise light up Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Annapurna I, Machhapuchhre and Lamjung Himal in a 180° panorama. Return to the hotel for breakfast.

Later visit the International Mountain Museum, devoted to the Himalaya, its climbers and mountain peoples; Bindhyabasini Temple in the old bazaar; and Mahendra Cave and the Bat Cave north of the city. In the late afternoon drive or hike up to the World Peace Pagoda (Shanti Stupa) on the ridge above Phewa Lake for sunset views of the lake and mountains.

Optional (own expense): paragliding from Sarangkot, ultralight flight or a short hike.

Today's highlights:

• Sunrise over the Annapurna range from Sarangkot
• International Mountain Museum
• Mahendra Cave & Bat Cave
• World Peace Pagoda at sunset

Drive / Flight: Flight approx. 25 min; airport transfer | Meals: B

Morning flight to Kathmandu, connecting to your international departure (allow at least 3 hours between flights). (End of services.)