Duration: 19 Days
Best Season: September
Altitude Range: 5220m
Difficulty: Tough
Group Size: Min. 4 pax, plus Nepali guide-medically trained and experienced, drivers, Tibetan guide and extra Nepali MTB guide if numbers dictate.
Average Daily Distance: 70km
Support: Support vehicle, Guide-cum-Mechanic

A fully guided and supported tour within and around Lhasa. This tour covers all the important monasteries such as Tashilhunpo Monastery, Drepung Monastery, Norbulingka, Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and the lovely Barkhor Market, etc. We offer two options to choose from.

BRIEF ITINERARY

Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal 1340m
Day 02: Ride to Nagrkot via Bhaktaur 38km 2168m
Day 03: Ride back to Kathmandu via Shanku and Boudhanath Stupa 34km 1340m
Day 04: Fly Kathmandu to GonKar and drive 2 hours (95km) to Lhasa, 3650m
Day 05: Acclimatization day (rest day in Lhasa) or full day sightseeing in Lhasa
Day 06: Visit Drepung monastery and Potala Palace. Rest of day free to explore Lhasa
Day 07: Ride to the Chusul, 100% paved road 61km 3600m
Day 08: Ride to top of Khamba La, cycle down to and around Yamdruk Lake till Nagatse. 99km 4410m
Day 09: Cycle or drive up Karo La ride down to Gyantse, 105km 3990m
Day 10: Cycle down to Shigatse and visit Tashilhunpo Monastery, 94km 3860m
Day 11: Drive and cycle up to Lhatse. 148km 4050m
Day 12: Ride the highest pass today, Gyatso La 5220m. Ride or drive as much as you want 73km 4350m
Day 13: Ride up to Pang la for panoramic views of Everest, Cho Yu and the expanse of Tibet, O/N Tashi-Zong, Rongbuk valley. 55km 4140m
Day 14: Ride up to Rongbuk Monastery. 63km 4920m
Day 15: Ride to Tingri via Long Jong La pass 80km / 140km 4340m
Day 16: Start descending the biggest down hill in the world from Tibetan Plateau down, 154km 3750m
Day 17: Keep descending downhill into Nepal today. See trees appearing and rivers grow.We cycle upto Dolalghat and then drive to Resort in Dhulikhel, 115km 1600m
Day 18: Ride to Kathmandu via Dhulikhel, Bhaktapur and Thimi 35km 1340m
Day 19: Departure or Optional program

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal 1340m
You will be transferred to the Guest House in Thamel, Kathmandu. Hand over passport to your guide for the final arrangement of Tibet visa. Short briefing for the tour is arranged in the evening. O/N GH

Day 02: Ride to Nagrkot via Bhaktaur 38km 2168m
We endorse Chinese visas; you check out bikes and equipments then we ride due east to the medieval town of Bhaktapur, an ancient city full of Newari culture. There are many temples and squares here that we will have time to explore. From here we head North East to a beautiful hill top Nagarkot on an excellent and quiet tarmac road. Nagarkot is the best destination to acclimatize before Tibet tour. O/N Hotel

Day 03: Ride back to Kathmandu via Shanku and Boudhanath Stupa 34km 1340m
We descent on Jeep tracks through the beautiful ancient village of Shanku. From here we are on tarmac road towards Boudhanath Stupa, here we will have lunch and then ride back to Thamel, Kathmandu either we ride or drive through a busy road. O/N GH

Day 04: Fly Kathmandu to GonKar and drive 2 hours (95km) to Lhasa, 3650m
After a hearty breakfast, drive to the airport for an hour flight to Gonkar. It's an approximately 2 hours drive to reach our hotel in Lhasa, and we will go on a short walk to Barkhor Square to stretch our legs and following the crowds into the square which gives us the sensation of slipping into a medieval carnival. This is one part of Lhasa that has resisted any invasion of the modern world where ancient way of trading is still practiced. O/N Hotel.

Day 05: Acclimatization day (rest day in Lhasa) or full day sightseeing in Lhasa
We will visit few places such as Sera Monastery which is one of Lhasa’s great monasteries that survived the Cultural Revolution better than most. We can get up close and personal to a ‘Debate’ where the monks will try and outwit their colleagues with questions on religion. O/N Hotel.

Day 06: Visit Drepung monastery and Potala Palace. Rest of day free to explore Lhasa
After a good breakfast we will start biking for Drepung Monastery cycling right in front and passing the Potala. The monastery is situated 25km to the west of Lhasa, this is to further acclimatize and adjust to the climate and altitude. Drepung Monastery the largest of the monasteries out of the great Gelugpa monasteries was home to around 10,000 monks during the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1951. Once we reach the entrance to the monastery where we will have to leave our bikes at the car park and climb up the stairs to the monastery.

Visit the famous Potala Palace. This is the cardinal landmark and a structure that deserves a place as one of the wonders of eastern architecture and it looks best from a distance. It takes about 3hrs sight seeing the Potala so we would advise on wearing comfortable attire and comfortable walking shoes. O/N Hotel.

Day 07: Ride to the Chusul, 100% paved road 61km 3600m
After cycling through the busy roads for about 45 minutes we leave Lhasa behind. Please remember to always ride on the right side as there will be vehicles plying on this road. We follow the Brahmaputra River all the way down. O/N GH

Day 08: Ride to top of Khamba La, cycle down to and around Yamdruk Lake till Nagatse. 99km 4410m
Biking over the Khamba-la pass (4794 m), approx. 24km climb passing the old road between Gyantse and Lhasa the dazzling Yamdrok-tso (also known as Scorpion Lake) can be seen from the summit of the Kambha-la pass. The lake lies several hundred meters below the road, and in clear weather the lake is seen as a fabulous shade of deep turquoise. We will have lunch beside the beautiful Yamdrok Lake. After lunch we cycle down to Nagartse town. O/N GH

Day 09: Cycle or drive up Karo La ride down to Gyantse, 105km 3990m
With a panoramic view sweeping from the left hand side up to the front thus having great views of the Himalayas & glaciers upon reaching the summit of karo-la pass one can awe at the sight of the glacier which is approximately 50 meters below the pass. Bike over the Simi-la (4,330m), and then it’s a pleasant gradual ride to Gyantse town. Visit the monasteries and Stupas contained within this historical town O/N Hotel.

Day 10: Cycle down to Shigatse and visit Tashilhunpo Monastery, 94km 3860m
Leaving Gyantse, we also leave behind our 2 days of off road aches and pain as we find ourselves on a newly paved road which is a long day ride that will take us across vast stretches of flat agriculture land to Shigatse, Tibet's 2nd biggest town in the traditional capital of Tsang. The Tsang kings exercised their power from the towering heights of Shigatse turning this town in to an important trading town as well as an administrative centre. O/N GH

Day 11: Drive and cycle up to Lhatse. 148km 4050m
Today will be a long day ride, with an occasional paved road making the rest of the road a dusty one. After we leave Tso-La pass (4500m), we go down a long 9km descent & reach Lhatse, which is a small truck stop and is a dusty place but has some shops with well stocked shelves and few guesthouses. O/N GH.

Day 12: Ride the highest pass today, Gyatso La 5220m. Ride or drive as much as you want 73km 4350m
In the morning after breakfast we cycle up to a 25km climbing toward the highest pass Gyatso-La (5220m). The ride to Gyatso-la is an interesting one as we will be in the middle of a gorge during the start of this particular ride accompanied by a river on the right hand side. Approximately 7km before reaching the summit we suddenly come to an opening where we can once again see the great mountains but it will be very windy at this point (we advise for you to have wind proof attire ready as our support vehicle will be at a distance just in case) until we cross the pass and descent down to Xegar O/N GH.

Day 13: Ride up to Pang la for panoramic views of Everest, Cho Yu and the expanse of Tibet, O/N Tashi-Zong, Rongbuk valley. 55km 4140m
Today we start our ride on a paved road up to the police check post. Here we would have to produce our passport to the authorities and after the check post we will turn off the Friendship Highway around 6km west of the Shegar checkpoint where our guide will sort out the permits for the Everest region. From here the path will be the toughest of bumpy roads. The road is very winding both up hill and down hill with sharp turns. On this particular road we would like to advise everyone to stay on the edge of the road at a safe pace because of heavy vehicle also using this road, which takes us to the Pang La pass (5200m), a rocky uphill. From here a superb panoramic view of Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu can be seen on a clear day. We will bike downhill towards the river where after crossing it we will face the windiest place of our tour. We will cycle to Tashi Zong village. O/N GH

Day 14: Ride up to Rongbuk Monastery. 63km 4920m
Today we will be on a bumpy road but a gentle climb up to Rongbuk monastery from Rongbuk Valley, Tashi Zong village. Rongbuk Monastery is the main Buddhist centre in the valley and once coordinated the activities of around one dozen smaller religious institutions. We visit Everest Base camp by afternoon and return back the same way to Rongbuk. O/N GH

Day 15: Ride to Tingri via Long Jong La pass 80km / 140km 4340m
After an hour ride from Rongbuk we take new route to Tingri via Long Jong La. Occasionally, the level of river gets high which will make us difficult to cross the river, in such case we will ride and drive to Tingri via Tashi Dzong and Pang La. O/N Hotel

Day 16: Start descending the biggest down hill in the world from Tibetan Plateau down, 154km 3750m
Today the biking takes us over the pass of Lalung-la, which offers spectacular view of Gaurishankar, Dorje Lhakpa, Shishapangma and Langtang. Please make sure that you check your brakes properly because we will be riding mostly downhill from here which another 6 hours is biking that bring us to Nyalam which literary means ‘The Gateway to Hell’ in Tibetan. This is because the road drops from Nylam like a stone off the Tibetan plateau into a mossy gorge of waterfalls and cascades which during the monsoon creates a sea of clouds that submerges the road and thus giving the effect of an eerie scene out of a horror movie. Before reaching Nyalam just 10km off there is a place with the closest cultural sight which is Nyalam Pelgye Ling, a small temple that is associated with the Cave of Milarepa, the famous Buddhist mystic and composer of songs who lived during the late 11th to the early 12th century. O/N GH

Day 17: Keep descending downhill into Nepal today. See trees appearing and rivers grow.We cycle upto Dolalghat and then drive to Resort in Dhulikhel, 115km 1600m
Our last day in Tibet, we descent (2850m to Barabise) on the longest downhill of our tour on muddy, rocky and slippery road with a big drop on the right hand side into the river Bhote Kosi. Heading towards the border Zhangmu which also is known as Khasa in Nepali and Dram in Tibetan and entering Nepal through the border a place called Kodari. Approx. 3-4 hours of biking, we will have lunch at Barabise 870m a small town with shops and basic hotels. From here after lunch we will be transferred to a Hotel in Dhulikhel in our support van before Kathmandu. O/N Resort

Day 18: Ride to Kathmandu via Dhulikhel, Bhaktapur and Thimi 35km 1340m
After 2.5 km ride from Dhulikhel, we leave the Arniko Highway behind. Follow the dirt road up to Bhaktapur. Continue the broken tarmac road to Thimi a popular town for hand made paper mask. Thimi is the major supplier of vegetables in the capital, Kathmandu city. Ride the last section of Valley rim through busy traffic and transfer to the Guest House. Attend the farewell dinner. O/N GH

Day 19: Departure or Optional program.

TRIP REQUIREMENTS

Bike Rent: You need a mountain bike in excellent condition with helmet (both available for hire from us). We have big stock of bikes with front suspension e.g. TREK and GIANT with genuine parts.