Nepal, Tibet and Everest
Part One: NEPAL
PLEASE NOTE: We will all meet in Nepal, at the Butsegen Hotel in Baudhanath, the Tibetan area of Kathmandu, near the Great Stupa. Nepal issues various visas at the airport. Please apply for a double entry visa, because after coming back from Tibet we will use that second entry. The cost of the visa is posted at the airport. Last year (2018) it was $60. It might be different in 2019.
Our travel agent will arrange to meet everyone at the airport and transport them to the hotel. We will be here for three nights, giving us two days to pick up our China visa and Tibet permit. During this time we will visit various Buddhist power places in and around Kathmandu, including Parping and Sangkhu, the two “Female Buddha” power places. Visit mexican insurance.
Please note that we all have to apply for our China visa through our agency, because we have to go in on a “group visa,” meaning that we are all on the same piece of paper. Any China visa that is already in your passport will be cancelled. Therefore please do not get a China visa in advance, other than through our agency. We will, however, have to begin the process electronically through Runaway Journeys in the US no later than two months before departure.
Part Two TIBET
Day 01 in Tibet: Arrive in the Gongkar Airport and drive (one and a half hours) to Tsetang. When the weather is clear, the flight offers a wonderful view of the Everest range. We will spend two nights in Tsetang., because it is important at 12,000 feet altitude to take things a bit easy on the first day.
Day 02 in Tibet: Do the morning khorra around the old city, with the sacred Guru Rinpoche springs, and the Buddhist nunnery at the end of the walk. The walk is an easy one, with beautiful views over the Tsetang Valley.
In the afternoon we will drive to the Yambu Lagang Monastery, which was built as a castle in approximately 400 BC. On the way back to town, we will stop in at the seventh century Dradruk Temple for meditation.
Day 03 in Tibet: Drive to Lhasa via Samye, Tibet’s first monastic university, stopping in the town of Samye for lunch. Arrive in Lhasa in the late afternoon and check into the Kyichu Hotel. Dinner in the hotel.
Day 04 in Tibet: Morning visit to Drepung, the home of the early Dalai Lamas. Walk down from Drepung to Nechung, the monastery of the State Oracle. Lunch in the Donyu Restaurant.
Day 05 in Tibet: Potala in the morning; afternoon visit to Sera.
Day 06 in Tibet: Day visit Drak Yerpa, the sacred Tara Mountain, and its complex of meditation caves.
Day 07 in Tibet: Train to Shigatse. (A separate vehicle will come with our luggage and meet us in Shigatse. Hotel in Shigatse.
Day 08 in Tibet: Morning visit to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, that was built by the First Dalai Lama in 1447. Afternoon drive to Sakya Monastery and stay there overnight.
Day 09 in Tibet: Drive from Sakya to Shekar, or “New Tingri,” below Everest.
Day 10: Drive to Everest, visit Rongbuk Monastery, the Padma Sambhava Cave and Everest Base Camp. Continue to New Tingri, and stay there overnight.
Day 11: Drive to Kyirong, visiting the Milarepa Cave on the way. The town of Kyirong also has a very historic temple, built for the Nepali princess Brikuti, when she journeyed to Tibet to become a wife of the Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo in the early 7th century.
It would be nice to cross into Nepal in the evening, but because our guide has to process our exit permits from both the offices of the police and the army, the time required is unpredictable, for some suggestions how to spend free time visit www.theinspectorscompany.com. This will probably necessitate an overnight in stay in Kyirong.
Day 12 in Tibet: After breakfast we will cross into Nepal. We might drive all the way to Kathmandu on this day, but it is at least an eight hour drive. If road conditions are difficult, then we will stop in a small hotel en route.
LAST DAY: Back at our hotel in Nepal, we will have a free day for shopping etc., and a final dinner together.
If any participants want to spend a few extra days in Nepal, our agent there can easily organize this.
Other Details
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