Day 1. Arrival in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. The altitude is 3650 meters.
Transfer to Tsedang 1, 5 hours. The altitude is 3100 meters.
Acquaintance, rest, acclimatization.
A scenic road from the airport to the city with high mountain scenery and views of Tibetan villages and views of the world’s highest river, the Yalutsangbu. The drive will take about 1.5 hours. We move straight to Tsedang to get acclimatized easier
Meet at the airport in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Transfer to the hotel in Cedang. A scenic road from the airport to the city with high mountain scenery and views of Tibetan villages and views of the world’s highest river, the Yalutsangbu. The drive will take about 1.5 hours.
Dinner, free time, rest at the hotel.
Overnight in a 4* hotel in Cedang.
Day 2. Visit to Samye Monastery and surrounding area with retreat caves. Mount Chimpu.
Samye Monastery is the first and oldest Buddhist monastery in Tibet.
Samye Monastery
was founded by the legendary Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava). Samye Monastery is located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River.
Built in the form of a mandala, it is the only structure of its kind in Tibet.
Padmasambhava’s Brief Biography of Padmasambhava says of Samye Monastery:
“It was erected as a symbol of Mount Sumeru, surrounded by four large continents and eight small ones, the sun and moon, and a wall of iron mountains.”
The monastery has preserved relics related to Padmasambhava.
During the founding of Samye Monastery, at the request of King Trisong Decena, Padmasambhava opened the mandala of Vajrayana teachings at the Chimpu Caves to 25 disciples, nine of whom attained siddhis through the sadhana practices he imparted to them.
Walk in the neighborhood and trekking to Mt. Chimpu (optional)
– A mountain overlooking the Samye Monastery, home to many retreat caves and hermit huts. Even in our days, practitioners continue to hold retreats there.
Transfer to Lhasa. If there is time left, we will also visit Ganden Monastery, it is located on the way.
Overnight in a 4* hotel in Lhasa.
Day 3. Getting to know Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and the surrounding area.
Sera Monastery is one of the largest Buddhist monasteries and a famous university of the Gelug school, a school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The monastery was founded in 1414 by Sakya Yeshi, a disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, and is located in the suburbs of Lhasa.
The monastery is famous for the debates of the monks. Debates are an integral part of the learning process at the monastery. This contributes to a better understanding of Buddhist philosophy.
The Dalai Lam’s summer residence is Norbulinka Park.
After lunch, we’ll take a walk around the Dalai Lamas’ summer residence.
Norbulinka Park.
There used to be a healing spring in the place of the present Norbulinka Park. The 7th Dalai Lama Gesang Gyaltsu (1708-1757), who was characterized by poor health, came to bathe in the spring every year in summer. Thus was the beginning of the construction of the park. The park covers an area of 3600 thousand square meters. – It is the largest and highest artificial park in the world and is included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.
Overnight in a 4* hotel in Lhasa.
Day 4. Getting to know Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
Lhasa sights. Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple.
This day we will visit the oldest and most powerful temple in Tibet, a place of power where the Dalai Lamas have lived, prayed, and ruled for generations.
It is a royal palace and a Buddhist temple complex. The palace was built from 641 AD to the 17th century. The palace has 999 luxurious rooms. From here you can enjoy a beautiful panorama of Lhasa. The Potala is the historical, architectural, political and religious center of Tibet. The magnificent halls of the Red and White Palaces, many chapels, and the covered terraces of the Dalai Lama’s residence fascinate with their architecture. Within the palace grounds at the Phakpa Lhakhang temple is a statue of Arya Lokeshwar, sacred to Buddhists. It also houses the Dalai Lama’s personal monastery, religious school, monks’ cells, treasury and store rooms.
Jokhang Temple.
A visit to the most sacred
Lhasa’s most sacred temple, Jokang
. (17 в.). Pilgrims from all over Tibet come here to worship the sacred statue of Shakyamuni, brought to Lhasa in the 10th century. The temple has 14 separate prayer rooms dedicated to Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug-ba sect, Avalokiteshvara (one of the main manifestations of Buddha), and the famous teacher (guru) Lama Rimpoche.
Overnight in a 4* hotel in Lhasa.
Day 5. Drak Yerpa Cave Complex,
is located 35 km from Lhasa (4885 m). It is also home to the Drak Yerpa Monastery, founded in the 12th century. It was here that the most famous teachers of Tibet – Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) and Atisha, as well as the king of Tibet – Songtsen Gampo – spent years in meditation. The monastery was also the summer residence of the Gyuto Tantric College. It is one of the three most important monasteries of the Gelug lineage honoring Maitreya Buddha (Buddha of the Future).
The uphill trek to Drak Yerpa will not only be enjoyable, it also serves an acclimatization function as the altitude here is higher than in Lhasa.
The cave complex is a good place for meditation. We don’t stomp around here and spend as much time as we need.
Day 6. Transfer to Gyantse and onward to Shigatse.
Sacred Lake Yamdroktsho. Pelkhor Chode Monastery. Kumbum Stupa.
On the way, we will stop by one of the three Great Lakes of Tibet, Yandroyung Tsho (Yamdroktsho) . The high-altitude lake is located at an altitude of 4,488 meters. Formerly a wealthy settlement strategically located at the confluence of several important trade routes. It is known for its mystical properties, predictions and magic.
In Gyantse, we will visit Pelkhor Chode Mon astery. Pelkhor Chode Monastery was a complex of 15 monasteries of three different traditions, which in itself is a rarity in Tibetan Buddhism. 9 of the monasteries belonged to the Gelug, 3 to the Sakya and 3 to the small Budon tradition, whose main monastery, Shalu, was located near Shigatse.
The largest stupa in Central Tibet, Kumbum, is located here. It has five floors, many rooms, statues and altars. “Kumbum” means “thousand” as there are 1000 images of Buddhas, deities and bodhisattvas. As for the statues, most of them were damaged during the Chinese Cultural Revolution but have now been restored. We will also see the outside of the ancient fort, built back in the 14th century. The fort is located in the center of the city and spectacularly crowns a rocky hill several hundred meters high. It was designed as a major defensive fortification on the road leading to Lhasa from the south. Numerous white stone buildings still make an impressive impression: high (5-8 m) and thick (up to 4 m) walls, powerful fortifications, massive buildings. It housed a garrison of 500 men in peacetime.
Overnight in Shigatze in a 4* hotel.
Day 7. Today we will visit Tashilunpo Monastery, the seat of the Panchen Lam.
In Shigatse, excursion to Tashilunpo Monastery where Panchen Lamas lived in former centuries. The monastery, which belongs to the Gelupta Sect, currently has 800 monks in training. The tombs of all the Panchen Lamas and the 13th Dalai Lama are preserved in the temple complex. The main temple houses an ancient statue of the Future Buddha Maitreya, 26 meters high.
Moving to Saga.
Accommodation in a 3* hotel in Saga.
Day 8. Transfer from Saga to Dharchhen (4575 m) , a town at the foot of Mount Kailas.
Preparation in the bark.
Overnight at the hotel in Darcena 3*.
Day 9. The first day of the bark around Mt. Kailas.
(the path is 22 km, walking about 6-8 hours, 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 born again, we acquire a new symbolic body.
Overnight at the guesthouse.
Day 10. Radial outing to the North Face of Mount Kailas.
(We walk about 4 hours one way and the same amount back, climbing to an altitude of 5400 meters).
Touching Kailas, the most powerful energy point on the planet with reference vibrations.
Overnight in a guesthouse
Day 11. Day 2 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. Dhirapuk 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 12. Day 3 of the bark around Kailas. Visit to the monastery.
(The path is 7 km, the crossing is easy and beautiful, takes 3-4 hours).Return to Darcen, lunch, rest after bark.
Overnight in a 3* hotel in Darcena.
Day 13. The sacred lakes of Rakshastal and Manasarovar. Chiu Monastery and Padmasambhava Cave. Transfer to the town of Zanda (about 250 kilometers).
After lunch visit to the sacred Rakshastal Lake.
Next, transfer to the sacred Lake Manasarovar.
Ablution in the lake.
Manasarovar
– the most revered and famous lake in all of Asia. Along with Mount Kailas, Lake Manasarovar is a pilgrimage site, attracting religious people from India, Tibet and other surrounding countries. According to legend, Lake Manasarovar was the first created object in Brahma’s mind. Followers of Buddhism also believe that Manasarovar is the legendary Anavatapta Lake, where Queen Maya conceived the Buddha.
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. We’re going to visit this cave.
Transfer to Zanda. Accommodation in a 3-4* hotel.
Day 14. Transfer to Garuda Valley
– The capital of the first civilization in the history of Tibet, Shamshung, which created the traditional Tibetan Bon religion. Garuda Valley takes its name from the mythical winged creature garuda, which is an object of worship for believers of the Bon religion. Garuda represents an animal: half eagle half man, in Eastern mythology it is the enemy of snakes – which sit in the heads of those who doubt God, it represents the struggle with demonic forces.
Now the Garuda Valley is an immense cave complex. A whole city cut into the mountains. Exploring the caves is so exciting that you want to go deeper and deeper, climb higher and higher. The energy here is sunny, warm, positive.
We’ll see the beautiful
active hot spring in the Garuda Valley,
which is said to have rejuvenating properties. Those who wish can bathe in it right in the lap of nature. There is an odor of sulfur in the air. Lots of stunningly beautiful mineral stones scattered everywhere.
Transfer to Zanda. On the way you can visit
Tuling Monastery
(optional).
Accommodation in a 3-4* hotel in Zanda.
Day 15. In the morning transfer to the local airport Ali Kunsha. Flight to Lhasa. Transfer from the airport to the hotel in Lhasa.
(Departure from the airport at about 10.30-11.00 am, arrival in Lhasa at about 12.30-13.00 pm).
Free time in Lhasa.
Accommodation in a hotel in Lhasa 4*.
Day 16. Lhasa. Free time. Shopping. Transfer to the airport.
The flight home.
.
