18 Days Cycling Tour from Golmud to Lhasa

Cycle from Golmud to your first high pass, Kunlun Mountain Pass (4767m). This section (about 160 kilometers) takes you approximate 3-4 days. Road in this part is tough with many slopes.

Camping or Guesthouse.

This section covers about 109 kilometers, one-two days are enough. Road is much better. Don’t miss the roadside hot springs when riding through the Nachitai Area. The pure, unspoiled water is really well worth trying.

There are hotels in Wudaoliang which can provide comfortable lodgings.

Camping or Guesthouse.

• Kunlun Holy Spring, which never freezes all year round
• Natural high-quality mineral water with extremely high strontium content

With an average altitude of around 5000 kilometers, this tour is also an arduous one. Rough highland climate dominates this area with frozenly cold at nighttime and strong wind at daytime.

Camping or Guesthouse.

Get up early in the morning and nourish your aching body with the breath-taking sunrise, which dances over the horizon in Tuotuo River.

Camping or Guesthouse.

Cycle from Yanshiping to Tangula Mountain Pass and stay overnight in Toudaoban.

Camping or Guesthouse.

This section is mainly off-road. Scenery is getting progressively more beautiful.

Camping or Guesthouse.

Continue your journey to Nagqu, an important town in Northern Tibet. You will cross the Qiangtang prairie, where you could enjoy a magnificent pastoral view, like groups of sheep and yaks grazing on the endless green grassland.

Stay overnight in Nagqu.

Scenery along this section is fantastic with snow-capped mountains, vast green grassland, and flocks of sheep. You can either cycle into Namtso Lake or take the jeep if you just want to make a day trip. There is a high-pass- LaChenLa 5190m. Namtso Lake is the Heavenly lake, which is one of the three holy lakes of Tibet and also the highest salt lake.

It is fantastic to spend a night at lake shore.

Camping or Guesthouse.

• Take photo with Tibetan Yak at holy Namtso Lake
• Meditate at the shore of Lake Namtso

Enjoy the clear morning at the lake shore. You can trek along the lake shore to Tashi Dor Island to explore the meditation caves. Then head for Yangpachen.
The trail is dotted with green grass and swift current, and the main summit of Nyenchen Thanglha Mountain stands at the far distance, which looks towering and saintly. You might reach Yangpachen at around 4:00 pm or 5:00 pm. As Yangpachen is famous for its geothermic hot spring, you can enjoy a bath at the hot spring.

Stay overnight in Yangpachen.

• The majestic Nyenchen Tanglha Mountain Range
• One can't fully understand the unparalleled beauty of Namtso lake until he comes and sees himself

This is the final leg of your cycling trip. Enjoy the beauty as you approaching the holy city at the roof of the world. The route from Yangpachen to Lhasa is mainly composed of down slope, as it is new-repaired recently, most of that is even and plain. But you need to check the brake of your bicycle and control the speed as there are still many twists on the way.

You will see a sign writes "Welcome to Lhasa!" Congratulations! You have finished your cycling adventure!

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

In the morning, go to visit the famous Potala palace and explore the grandest of this myriad chapel. You will appreciate its audience halls, the jeweled and Golden burial chortens (stupa Tombs) of past Dalai Lamas, and tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, thangkas, combinations of mandala, etc.

In the afternoon, pay a visit to the holist temple in Tibet, the Johkang Temple, built during Songtsen Gonpo's reign by princess Wencheng of Tang Dynasty, 647 A.D, and its famous Barkor Kora.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

• Potala Palace, at the top of the hill in central Lhasa city, is always the No.1 attraction for travelers visiting Tibet.
• View Jokhang Temple from the rooftop

We will begin our tour at Drepung Monastery, which used to be the most large monastery in Tibet where lodged more than 10000 monks at its summit in the morning.

After that, you will visit the Sera Monastery which is famous for its Buddhism scriptures Debating in the afternoon.

You will finish today's activity after the Norbulingka Park, which is the summer palace of Dalai Lama and later served as the governmental administration center. Explore how the Lama studies the Buddhism scriptures and also touch the real life of local Tibetan people.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

• Drepung Monastery, one of the Great Three Gelug monasteries of Tibet
• Monk Debate is a highlight of Sera Monastery

After two days of sightseeing in Lhasa city, you will take a train or flight out of Lhasa and end your whole trip.