Tibetan Mountain Bike Tour from Lhasa to Kathmandu

Tibet Cycling Tour22 Days Lhasa to Kathmandu Biking Tour

TT: 22 Days Lhasa to Kathmandu Biking Tour

This tour contains ancient monasteries, small villages, sacred lakes, ancient cities, grand glaciers, continuous snow-capped mountains, vast prairie, grand canyons, flowing stream, lush forest, and other natural and cultural landscapes. It is bound to be

Highlights:

Kathmandu, Lhasa, Yamdroktso, Shigatse, Lhatse, Tingri, Zhangmu, Kathmandu

From $2189 p/p Free Inquiry

Suggested Itinerary

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DAY 1 Arrive in Kathmandu - Visit Kathmandu Durbar Square

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Your tour guide will greet you at the Kathmandu airport to transfer you to your hotel and help you get checked in. After you’ve had a chance to rest for a while, we will take you to visit Durbar Square in the heart of Kathmandu. Hanuman Dhoka Palace is located here – this was the historic home of Nepalese royalty. Most of the buildings here were built from the 1400s to the 1700s so they are truly ancient buildings. Monuments of note include Taleju Temple, Jagannath Temple, Kal Bhairav, Kumary Ghar and the ruins of Kasthamandap, a large wooden structure built from the timber of a single tree, built in 1143 A.D. but destroyed in the massive earthquake of 2015.

Meals: None

Accommodation: Overnight at Kathmandu 3-Star hotel

DAY 2 Kathmandu Day Tour - Pashupatinath Temple - Boudhanath Stupa -Swayambhunath Stupa

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In the morning, we will first visit the Pashupatinath Temple, one of the holiest temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and located about 5 kilometers east of the city. Then we will take you to see the Boudhanath Stupa, one of the world’s largest stupas, located about 8 kilometers east of Kathmandu. After lunch, we will make our way west of the city to visit Swayambhunath Stupa, located approximately 4 kilometers west of Kathmandu. This ancient Buddhist Stupa is reportedly around 2000 years old.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Stay overnight in Kathmandu

DAY 3 Flight from Kathmandu to Tibet – Check In at Lhasa Hotel & Acclimatization

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This morning you will take a morning flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa – a one-hour flight covering rugged, mountainous terrain that used to take months for trade caravans to cross. The mountains below offer up fantastic views during your flight – on a clear day you will be able to see as many as 8 of the world’s 14 highest mountain peaks, including the highest of them all - Mount Everest. Upon your arrival in Lhasa, your tour guide will greet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel, where you will have the rest of the day to relax and become acclimatized to the higher elevation of Tibet.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Overnight at Lhasa 3-Star hotel

DAY 4 Lhasa sightseeing - Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street

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Today we will start off with the iconic Potala Palace, which historically served as the winter home of the Dalai Lama. It was first used in the 7th century by the 33rd king of Tibet. The most valuable collections in the Potala Palace are the gilded burial stupas of the former Dalai Lamas and the meditation cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet. After lunch, we will move on to the Jokhang Temple, which was also founded in the 7th century by the 33rd great king of Tibet to promote the Buddhist religion. Inside you can see the statue of the Buddha Sakyamuni as he was at the age of twelve – this is perhaps the most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism. Around the temple is Barkhor Street where you can perform the “Kora” (a religious circuit around a sacred building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals. The Barkhor market is also a great place to pick up locally made handicrafts and souvenirs.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Overnight at Lhasa 3-Star hotel

DAY 5 Lhasa Sightseeing - Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery

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This morning we will visit the Drepung Monastery – one of the great three Gelug monasteries of Tibet. Founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choge, on Tosngkhapa’s main disciples, the Drepung Monastery is home of Ganden Palace, which formerly served as the Dalai Lama’s palace before later moving on to the Potala Palace. In the afternoon we will move on to see another of the great three of the Gelug monasteries in Tibet – the Sera Monastery. Founded in 1419 by another main disciple of Tsongkhapa, Jamchen Chojey, the main attraction of this monastery is the lively scene of the monks debating Buddhist scriptures in the courtyard behind the monastery in the afternoon.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Overnight at Lhasa 3-Star hotel

DAY 6 The Journey Begins - Short Ride Out of Lhasa – Kamba La Pass (85 kilometers)

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Our first riding day is fairly short and relatively easy, as we head out of Lhasa toward Mount Everest on the Friendship Highway across the plateau. The highway here is flat and in very good condition, so we’ll have a chance to become accustomed to biking in the higher altitude on this easier section of the road. We will cycle along the scenic Tsangpo River to the base of the Kamba La Pass (elevation 3700 meters).

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Camping

DAY 7 Ride to Yamdrok Tso via Kamba La Pass (55 kilometers)

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After a good night’s rest, we’ll conquer the first mountain pass of our trip. It’s a tough uphill climb along a basic road with several switchbacks. We’ll be greeted at the top (elevation 4794 meters) with hundreds of colorful prayer flags waving in the wind as if to greet us and welcome our arrival. From this summit, it’s a downhill slope to Yamdrok-tso Lake, which we will ride around to reach the far side and set up camp at an elevation of 4490 meters. Yamdrok-tso is one of the three great holy lakes of Tibet, with its beautiful turquoise green waters providing us with a calming effect after our difficult ride up the Kamba La Pass.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Camping

DAY 8 Yamdrok-tso to Karo La Pass Base (54 kilometers)

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With beautiful Yamdrok-tso Lake behind us, we will continue along the Friendship Highway as it transforms into a gravel roadway. We will pass through a valley and on to the base of the Karo La Pass (elevation 4750 meters) where we’ll spend the night in a tent village, with your tent already prepared for you for the night.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Camping

DAY 9 Karo La Pass to Gyantse (86 kilometers)

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We will have an eventful day today as we get up early to make the strenuous climb to cross over Karo La Pass with its 5010-meter elevation. At the top we’ll be able to see glaciers reaching down from 6000-meter heights as they descend down into the beautiful lakes. After the tough ride up the pass, you will be rewarded with a night in one of the best hotels in the city of Gyantse (elevation 3980 meters).

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Stay overnight in Gyantse (Hotel)

DAY 10 Gyantse to Shigatse (94 kilometers)

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We’ll begin the day with some sightseeing in Gyantse. Our first visit will be to the Gyantse Dzong, a 14th century fort that provided defenses for the city for centuries. We’ll also see the Kumbum, which is a large gold-domed stupa containing several small chapels that boast an impressive collection of ancient Tibetan Buddhist murals. After our sightseeing in Gyantse, we will head out on the highway to today’s destination city – Shigatse (elevation 3860 meters), the 2nd largest city in Tibet. The highway is well maintained and mostly flat, so it will be a relatively easy ride today. You will be able to enjoy a nice shower and a bed in your comfortable hotel room tonight.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Stay overnight in Shigatse

DAY 11 Shigatse - Gyachung Monastery (75 kilometers)

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This morning we’ll get up early to visit the Tashilhunpo Monastery, where you can see the well preserved statue of Jampa (future god) – the largest such statue in the world. The monastery itself was established in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama and has served as the seat of the Panchen Lamas for hundreds of years. After visiting Tashilhunpo Monastery, we will bike out of Shigatse along the road thorough two small mountain passes and through several small Tibetan villages. Once we reach the rarely visited Gyachung Monastery, we will set up camp for the night.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Camping

DAY 12 Gyachung Monastery to Lhatse (95 kilometers)

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Maintaining our path along the highway, we will bike through scenic valleys before we ascend up and over the Tso-La Pass (elevation 4520 meters). In the afternoon we will pass by some hot springs before setting up camp about 10 kilometers outside of Lhatse.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Camping

DAY 13 Lhatse - Shegar (75 kilometers)

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Today we will conquer the 5220-meter elevation of the Gyatso-la Pass, where on a clear day we will be able to see majestic Mount Everest in the distance. Once we have descended from the high pass, we will ride through small villages dotting the flat prairie of the plateau before arriving in the town of Pelbar, also known as Shegar. Many travelers use Shegar as a rest stop on the way to the region of Mount Everest, so it’s a good place to stop and rest for the night.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Stay overnight in Shegar

DAY 14 Pang Pass (67 kilometers)

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We will face a bit more of a challenging ride today as the road condition deteriorates from that that we have been traveling on for the past few days. We will depart from the well-maintained flat highway shortly after leaving Shegar as we head directly toward the peak of the world – Mount Everest – to eventually Mainland China and Tibet and enter into Nepal. Once we pass through a control checkpoint, we will have 20 kilometers of uphill riding, making our way through a total of 42 hairpin bends as we ascend to the summit of Pang Pass (elevation 5150 meters). We will have lunch with unparalleled views of some of the world’s highest peaks, including Makalu (elevation 8463 meters), Shishapangma (elevation 8012 meters), Cho Oyu (8210 meters), Lhotse (8516 meters) and of course the highest one of all, Mount Everest (8850 meters). After lunch we will descend for 20 kilometers to the Rongbuk Valley (elevation 4200 meters) where we will set up camp for the night.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Camping

DAY 15 Day 15-16 Rongbuk Monastery (35 km)

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The remainder of the road is a bit rough as we cycle through the Rongbuk Valley where Mount Everest will once again come into view. We will set up camp beside the world’s highest monastery, the Rongbuk Monastery, where we will spend two days enjoying our natural surroundings. You will have the second day here at your leisure, which you can use to rest and relax or walk, cycle or even ride a donkey cart to the Everest Base Camp, located about 8 kilometers from our campsite at the Rongbuk Monastery.

Meals: Breakfast None

Accommodation: Stay overnight in Rongbuk Monastery (Dormbed/Tents)

DAY 16 Rongbuk Monastery - Tingri (86 kilometers)

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We will break camp today and leave the Rongbuk Monastery, back down on a rough road before heading off on a shortcut through the mountains. A rough trail will take us over a canyon before we descend down into the small village of Tingri (elevation 4340 meters).

Meals: None

Accommodation: Stay overnight in Tingri

DAY 17 Lalung Pass (77 kilometers)

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We will have an easy start today as we ride along the flat roadway for about 40 to 50 kilometers before we begin our ascent up the gradual slope to the Lalung Pass (elevation 4990 meters). Here we will have a great view of some of the world’s highest mountain peaks, including Shishapangma (elevation 8012 meters). We will set up camp here to spend the night.

Meals: None

Accommodation: Camping

DAY 18 Thang Pass to Zhangdu (117 kilometers)

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Our final uphill climb begins today as we bike up to Thang Pass (elevation 5050 meters). From here we will again have incredible views over some of the world’s most spectacular scenery before we begin an incredible downhill journey from near the top of the world. Once we reach the small village of Nyalam, our surroundings will become filled with greenery again as trees and plants are better able to grow below this elevation. We will see beautiful waterfalls and countless pine trees lining the highway as we continue our journey downhill. Our destination today is the border town of Zhangmu (elevation 2300 meters) where we will spend our last night in Tibet.

Meals: None

Accommodation: Stay overnight in Zhangmu

DAY 19 Zhangmu - Dhulikhel (97 kilometers)

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As we leave Zhangmu we will have to pass through the customs and immigration checkpoint to gain entrance to Nepal. Our first town in Nepal is Kodari, which we will pass through as we continue our downhill ride for another 50 kilometers on some very bumpy and rocky roads. It will seem as though there is a sudden change in the scenery as we find ourselves in a tropical and humid environment as we bicycle through rice paddies to our final destination. We will pass through the small town of Dolalghat as we end this part of our downhill ride and climb back up a bit to the village of Dhulikhel at an elevation of 1600 meters. We will spend this night here to prepare for our final day of biking tomorrow.

Meals: None

Accommodation: Stay overnight in Dhulikhel

DAY 20 Dhulikhel - Bhaktapur - Kathmandu (35 kilometers)

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On the last day of our biking journey, we will travel from Khulikhel to Kathmandu. It’s a downhill ride through Bhaktapur where we can stop for a bit of sightseeing at the town’s famous temples if you like. After Bhaktapur we will reach the relatively bustling city of Kathmandu, where you can have a free afternoon to relax and rest, or maybe do some souvenir shopping or check out some other sights that you may have missed during your earlier stay in the city.

Meals: None

Accommodation: Stay overnight in Kathmandu

DAY 21 Transfer to Kathmandu Airport - Depart from Kathmandu

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Your incredible Tibet and Nepal biking adventure ends today as your tour guide escorts you to the Kathmandu airport for your flight on to your next destination.

Meals: None

Accommodation:

Price Includes.

Private professional English-speaking tour guide.
Private vehicle and Luggage Transfers.
All necessary Tibet travel permits.
All accommodations, based on double-occupancy. Medium standard accommodation with attached bathroom on twin sharing basis. Guesthouse or tent in remote areas.
Meals noted in the itinerary as "B,L,D".
Admission fees and activity expenses, as noted in the itinerary.
Service Charge (the planning, handling, operational and communication charges) & government taxes.
Tourists Accident/Casualty Insurance
A container of Oxygen for emergency usage while traveling to Mt. Everest

Price Excludes.

China visa, all air tickets and train tickets to and from Tibet.
Sightseeing not listed in the itinerary.
Meals not listed in the itinerary.
Personal expenses such as laundry, drink, fax, telephone call, optional tour activities, etc.
Gratuities, tips to guides, drivers, bellboys, etc.
Excess Baggage Charges.
Single room supplement.
Additional tour service and/or activities.

Our Service

We will send you our quotation after we confirm the itinerary with you. The quotation will include experienced English-speaking (or your preferred languages) tour guides, entrance fee to the tourist attractions, accommodation, city transfers with private car and driver, domestic flights or trains, and insurance. The quotation varies in different tourist seasons.

Cancellation Policy

Once the deposit is paid, your trip is confirmed. If you need to change or cancel your itinerary, please contact your travel consultant by email, phone, instant messenger, etc. There will be a charge for Cancellation or modification. The policy is as follows：

1. Notice of trip cancellation due to personal reasons before the trip starts
Cancellation 30 days or more before the trip starts, 10% penalty of the deposit.
Cancellation 29-15 days before the trip starts, 20% penalty of the deposit.
Cancellation 14-7 days before the trip starts, 30% penalty of the deposit.
Cancellation 6-2 days before the trip starts, 50% penalty of the deposit.
Cancellation within 48 hours prior to the trip starts, no refund of your deposit.

2. Trip cancellation due to irresistible factors before the trip starts

If you have to cancel the itinerary due to irresistible reasons such as traffic, weather, politics, etc., the deposit will be fully refunded by the company (for loss related to air ticket/train ticket, please take reference of the first item).

Early Birds Discount

Our incredible discounts will help you save more on your next trip. Not only will you enjoy early bird discount. What’s more, if more than 16 people(including 16pax) sign up at the same time, there is no charge for one person. These two promotions can be used in combination to help you save much more on your next adventure.

Our primary concern is always customer satisfaction. Despite our discounts are quite incredible, our service remains at its usual high standard.

We are pleased to offer these three kinds of promotions after receiving your reservation deposit:
Enjoy 10% discount - sign up above 180 days before departure date;
Enjoy 5% discount - sign up 90~180 days before departure date.

Reviews

 EBC- Canada-0010

Hello Nancy,

I really enjoy the my Tibet tour. First when I started looking for a travel agency in Tibet it was hard because I did not know which one to choose. I started emailing you and asking my thousand questions and you were very nice and answer to all my questions patiently.

I would definitely recommend your company. The guy at the hotel in Lhasa was very nice with us. He helped me a lot when my bank block my debit card and l was not able the withdraw money. He went with me to find a place where I can do international phone call to my bank in Canada. Our guide Djajie was a very good guide, vary helpful, he said to us a lot of information but because English is not my first language, so I did not remember all the information he told us about Tibet.

The driver was very nice, always happy and singing . Too bad he was not speaking English so we were not able to communicate with him without the guide.I would appreciate sometime they eat with us at same table. they always eat at a separate table. Tibetans were nice with us, they looked at us because we were tourists but they were always smiling to us and saying HeIIo. They wanted to take pictures with us, especially with the Australian light brown long hair.

All hotel are well located in the city. For picture, I will send you more than you asked because I like to take pictures. I am the only one in the tour who have a picture of the group. Thanks!

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 EBC-USA-0005

Dear David,

This 8 days tour in Tibet is really incredible and unforgettable. Organization of this tour has been perfect and I was very lucky to join a group with a funny young Chinese lady and 4 very pleasant Germans. it is the ideal size of a group for a good We have all really appreciate our guide, Tashi Peida. For his deep knowledge of the Tibetan civilization and religion. his very good English level and above all, his very pleasant company and his permanent smile. He is more than a guide: a friend The timing has been well managed by Taishi to avoid loss of time on road and to arrive on the Everest tent camp in time to enjoy the incredible view of Qomolangma before the sunset. Accommodation is 3 hotels has been perfect everywhere. The only negative point is that we have understood that our driver didn't have the proper licence to drive our minibus. This is the reason why we had a second driver to go through some check points Regarding your personal service, David. let me give you the same rating than the level of my worry at the beginning of the preparation of this tour: ) : ) Thanks a lot for your patience and your efficiency to obtain my Tibet Visa and a train ticket at the last minute. Great job. I only regret not to have had the pleasure to meet you in Lhasa. Anyhow, take good care my dear friend!

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 EBC-Dubai-0001

Hello Amy & Tour team,

Thank you, we have reached home now safety after a wonderful tour of Tibet. I would like to say a few points about the GOOD service that were given to us! Firstly special thank you to Amy for being organized about the tour, telling us first hand about the tour objectives, organized itinerary! We were organized both mentally and physically as all of our doubts regarding this tour were cleared before we left from home to the tour and the information that was provided met exactly what was there on ground. Real happy about that. Amy followed up day by day on our health conditions, provided us tips and tricks on how to maintain the best of health on such altitudes and it worked, I would say that were taken through the trip by such an ease due to this, KUDOS to Amy! Talking to Amy all these days, now she has become a good friend on WhatsApp! :) Even though I have not had an opportunity to meet her in Chengdu yet. I would say that special mention to Lobsong as well, he was an AMAZING tour guide, I have travelled to 6 countries this year, I have not seen anyone as good as he is till now. Thank you for everything!!!

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 Lhasa-Germany-0016

Spektakulär Gebäude innen und außen - die Aussicht ist sagenhaft - Mönche sind freundlich.

Das Ambiente ist super, von yak Butter Öllampen angemacht zum Gebet Rollen ... so viel mehr, dieses Hotel nicht angerührt mein Herz und Seele ... Ich würde hier gerne wieder aus Tibet

 EBC&Namtso-USA-0007

Hi Amy,

Yes we have arrived, landed yesterday in Cape Town and today went back to the "groove" at work. I would like to thank you for your outstanding work and let you know how important your help and support has been to us in shaping the itinerary and terms of the trip of our lives. It is really rare to find such a high level of customer service. I would like to compliment you also on behalf of my boyfriend as we had an amazing time in Tibet. You have taken the time to assist us from the very beginning and went the extra mile in suggesting ideas for itinerary, providing tips on where to stay and what to do. You have also assisted us with all our crazy inquires, worries and doubts about visa issuance and time frames on how to get it. The ability to handle that was also outstanding. We were also very impressed with the excellent level of your English and had no problem at all during our communication, Thanks for everything you have done for us about our Tibet trip!!!

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 EBC- India-0002

Hi Amy,

Amy I just got back home yesterday as after Nepal I went to India :)

The tour was great. I loved every minute of it, was the adventure I was hoping for. I would like to thank you also once again for your never ending patience with me and dedicated help regarding everything and anything that I needed help with or information about.

Keep up the good spirit Amy :) I will definitively will be recommending the tour to people :) Our guide was very kind although I guess some of us really put his patience to the test by making changes and making variation all the time : ) ha ha ha but he was dealing with it with great attitude :) So big Thank you Amy!!l!!!!!! Wish you all the best of luck for the future ;)

With love, Monika

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22 Days Lhasa to Kathmandu Biking Tour FAQ

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