Day 1. Arrival in Kathmandu. Airport pickup. Transfer and rest.
Transfer to the hotel. Friendly dinner, getting to know each other.
Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu 4*.
Day 2. Handing over passports for Chinese visa at the visa center. Everyone must be present in person. Excursion to the Ancient Stupa of Swayambhunath.
Swayambhunath Buddhist Stupa and Monastery.
– one of the most famous centers of power in Nepal, is located on Monkey Hill. It is the legendary cradle of the Kathmandu Valley, listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site, it is 2000 years old. This place is considered to be the source of Kathmandu Valley, from where the life of the city began and which to this day feeds the city and its people with its energy. Near the Stupa is
Harati Hindu temple
– child protector. Childless couples come here from all over the world.
asking for children to be born.
Their requests are granted.
Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu 4*.
Day 3. Biometrics for Chinese visa. Everyone must be present in person.
Excursion to the Royal Durbar Square and the Hindu Temple of Pashupatinath.
Excursion to the royal square of Kathmandu – Durbar. It is a complex of historic buildings, Buddhist and Hindu temples, palaces, courtyards and streets in the center of the old town. Here lives Kumari, the real goddess who descended from heaven into the body of a girl. If you arrive on time and do the ritual, the goddess looks out of the window and you can admire her.
Pashupatinath, the shrine of Shiva.
– Nepal’s most important Hindu temple complex, established in the 13th century. Chronicles say that the temple existed before the 4th century BC. Besides the temple itself, the complex includes nursing homes, a hospice for the terminally ill and various homes and caves of hermits, sadhus. It is a place that is shockingly frank – here they burn the bodies of the dead and send the ashes down the river. Everyone who happens to be here can see the cremation ceremony, as it is a common process for the locals. We will see the evening ceremony of lights and Aarati music.
Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu 4*.
Day 4. Excursion to
Changu Narayan Temple
(UNESCO) and
the ancient city of Bhaktapur
(UNESCO) on the outskirts of Kathmandu (40 minutes from the capital).
Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu 4*.
Day 5. Excursion to Pharping – New Tibet.
Pharping is a Buddhist township 22 kilometers from Kathmandu. It is a place with living representatives of living Buddhist teachings. There are dozens of Buddhist monasteries, stupas and holy sites in and around Farping. Rinpoche and Lamas and their disciples live and practice here, there are special caves for multi-year retreats, daily pujas (services), and teachings at monasteries.
We will walk around the holy sites of Farping:
–
Asura Cave, where Guru Padmasambhava
spent a long time practicing tantric practices and meditation. The Great Master has reached a very high level of spiritual development here. Therefore, many subsequent practitioners have come here to meditate, knowing that the Asura Cave has tremendous power of blessing. Here he left his handprint on the stone that can be seen in front of the cave entrance.
–
Rigon Tashi Choling Monastery.
–
Green Tara Temple of stone.
– Vajrayogini Cave.
Easy trekking around the neighborhood to caves and through the mountains.
It is possible to meet a Lama, a Buddhist teacher. Q&A. Blessing.
Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu 4*.
Day 6. Transfer to the border with Tibet (from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi (Syabrubesi) – Nepal).
Overnight in a hotel in Syabrubesi.
Day 7. Border crossing from Nepal to Tibet. Transfer to Gerong (Gyirong). Altitude 2800 m. Acclimatization day. A visit to the active Buddhist manastery of Paba (Pakba).
Overnight at a hotel in Gyirong.
Day 8. Gyirong (Kerung) (Gyirong). Acclimatization Day. Excursion to Old Kerung (4100m) and the Valley of Happiness. Return to New Kerung at an altitude of 2800m.
Take a walk through the atmospheric streets of Old Kerung. The old Tibetan township neighborhood has not yet dissolved into China. What makes it special is that Kerung was opened to foreign tourists only three years ago and has retained its charm.
Overnight at a hotel in Gyirong.
Day 9. Moving to Saga. Altitude 4500 meters. Paiku Tso Lake.
On the way, we will stop at Paiku Tso Lake (4591), another gem of Tibet. Picnic by the water overlooking Shishapangma.
Overnight in a 3* hotel in Saga.
Day 10. Transfer from Saga to the sacred Lake Manasarovar (4557m).
Today we will arrive at the place of power – the sacred Lake Manasarovar (4557 meters) – a lake with “living water”! Here you can meditate on the shore of a lake overlooking Mount Kailash, and tune in for a 3-day mountain circumambulation (kora).
Also in the evening you can take a hot bath with healing mineral water (optional).
Lake Manasarovar is mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana. Hindus believe that Manasarovar is the soul of the god Brahma. Shiva and his wife Parvati are believed to have washed themselves here. Another legend says that Lake Manasarovar was the first earthly creation that Brahma created in his mind. Buddhists believe that Manasarovar is the legendary lake where the gods carried the Buddha after birth to wash him.
Overnight at a gesthouse on Lake Manasarovar.
Day 11. Lake Manasarovar. Chiu Monastery. Lake Rakshastal. Darchen.
Today you can wash in the sacred Lake Manasarovar, it will be cold, but if you are particularly willing you can do it.
Also today we will visit Chiu (“bird”) Monastery, which sits on either side of a cliff overlooking Lake Manasarovar. The monastery is built over the cave of Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche, the teacher who brought Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century). The Precious Master spent three years in meditation in the cave and, according to one version, realized a rainbow body in it. It also houses a lifetime sculpture of Chomdente Buddha.
Transfer to Rakshastal Lake, the “demonic lake” which is located just three meters away from the sacred water of Manasarovar. But it’s a completely different body of water.
According to legend, a demon meditated for ten days near this very body of water. The ten-headed Ravana cut off one head every day and threw it to Shiva. When the demon had one, last head left, the god Shiva softened his anger and gave the petitioner the power he craved. There is another tale. According to legend, the demon meditated by the dead lake for ten days waiting for the coveted Parvati. But Shiva’s wife never lavished the unfortunate demon with her attention. She didn’t show up.
Tibetans don’t like to stop by this lake – a bit afraid of the place. Nevertheless it is beautiful, and we can stop by if we wish.
Transfer to Dharchhen, a town at the foot of Mount Kailas.
Accommodation in Darcena in a 3* hotel.
Day 12.
First day of bark around Mt. Kailas
(22 km trek, walking about 6-8 hrs, climbing to an altitude of about 5000 m).
Itinerary: Tarboche, Chuku Gompa Monastery. House of lucky stone, West face of Kailasa, Dhirapuk Monastery, North face of Kailasa. Overnight at the guesthouse.
The spiritual meaning of the journey:
On the first day of the kora, at the white chorten, the symbolic new life of our soul begins. It is as if we are being born again, acquiring a new symbolic body.
Overnight at the guesthouse.
Day 13. The second day of the bark around Kailas.
(The way is 18 km, the crossing takes 7-9 hours, climbing to the height of 5669 m).
Kailas, bark. Dirapuk Monastery, past the Valley of Death, Shivatsal Cemetery, Green Tara Pass, Gaurikund Lake, Axe of Karma, Zutulpuk Monastery. Overnight at the guesthouse.
The spiritual meaning of the journey:
On the second day of the bark our soul lives through symbolic maturity, old age, death, bordeaux and new birth. This day is very hard physically. The trek of the second day starts from Dhirapuk Monastery at an altitude of 4850 m. nadu.m.
After Shivatsal cemetery up to the top of Green Tara pass symbolically our soul lives through the state of bordeaux, there is a scanning of karma, a feeling of waiting for the results after a fateful exam, the gods are testing the human soul to decide what will be its future destiny. The top of the pass is a place of celebration, a long-awaited symbolic new birth takes place here.
From the top of the pass, there are views of Karma’s Axe Mountain. The axe of karma finally cuts off the old karma and one feels the beginning of a new life.
Overnight at the guesthouse.
Day 14. Day 3 of the bark around Kailas.
(The path is 13 km, the crossing is easy and beautiful, takes 3-4 hours).
Return to Darcen, lunch.
Moving to Saga.
Overnight in a 3* hotel in Saga.
Day 15. Departure from Tibet to Nepal. From Saga to Gerong (Gyirong) and onward to Kathmandu.
From Gerong to the Nepal border (25 km, 1 hour drive) and beyond:
- 1 option to Kathmandu by helicopter ($1,400 for 5 people);
- 2 option to Kathmandu by jeep for about 7 hours.
Attention! Driving a jeep on Nepali roads is not as comfortable as driving on Tibetan highways in a Chinese minibus. In this regard, look out for the opportunity to fly to Kathmandu by helicopter almost from the border itself. The asking price is $1,400 (USD) for five passengers. The issue is resolved with the guide well in advance.
Overnight at 3-4* hotel in Kathmandu near Boudhanath Stupa.
Day 16. Kathmandu. Boudhanath Stupa. Vacation. Shopping. The flight home.
Boudhanath Stupa – a place with amazing energy. At this holy place we will conclude our journey to the places of power.
It is the oldest and largest stupa. Buddhists from all over the world come here to visit, including the most famous, movie actor Richard Gere. Here from early morning till late evening people walk around the Stupa – this ritual of going around the holy place is called kora. While circumambulating the Stupa, believers recite mantras and make prostrations. It purifies karma and also our heart and mind.
Once at the Stupa, everyone, regardless of their faith, feels a sense of belonging to the flow of Love and Power that has been going on here for centuries.
One of the main relics of the Boudhanath stupa is the ashes of the body of Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of the world religion. The second relic – it is not so obvious, only the “initiated” – the Tibetan Lamas (Gurus) know about it. It is a statue of the guardian of the stupa itself and the space around it. She
she grants all wishes.
You may or may not believe that. In our experience, it works. After fulfilling a few wishes, you begin to understand the meaning of the expression, “Fear your wishes – they come true!”. Make wishes at a certain place that we will show you. The Bouda neighborhood is home to dozens of Buddhist monasteries, as well as restaurants, cafes and souvenir stores.
.
