| TAG |
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR |
| 1 |
Arrival in Chengdu, capitol of Sichuan province. Airport pick-up and transfer to our hotel. We get our permits here to enter Tibet.
|
| 2 |
Flight to Lhasa and transfer from Gonkar airport to Lhasa. First walks around the old center. |
| 3 |
Acclimatise to the high altitude along with easy going sightseeing in the old center of Lhasa. The Jorkhang Temple and the Bakhor Kora“ around Tibet´s holiest temple. |
| 4 |
Warm-up tour to Ganden Monastery (around 4000m). Another step in getting acclimatised and getting to know our motorcycles and the traffic in China.
Ganden Monastery is the foundation place of the Gelupka „Yellow hat“ sect of the Dalai Lama´s. |
| 5 |
A relaxing day´s ride first along the Lhasa river and later on along the Yarlung (Brahmaputra) river takes us to Tsetang. A modern town but the Yarlung valley is the cradle of Tibet and we will visit the Yumbulakhang Palace just outside of Tsetang. |
| 6 |
We leave the Yarlung-valley after about 100km and wind our way up the
road to Kamba La (4794m) and after a Lunch Stop we travel on to Karo
La (5010m) pass. A glacier almost touches the road here. Along the
turqouise waters of the holy Yamdrok-Tso we ride to Gyantse.
|
| 7 |
Before leaving Gyantse today we visit the Pelkor Chöde monastery, and
the Kumbum Chorten, the only walk-in Stupa in Tibet. We have Lunch
in Shigatse and get a frst impression of Tibet's second largest city
before we head off to Sakya.
|
| 8 |
We head back on highway 318 and cross the 5220m Gyatso-La pass before reaching Shegar. |
| 9 |
A few kilometers after Shegar we turn off the Friendship highway and wind our way up to the Pang-pass (5120m). Weather permitting we can enjoy a great Himalayan panorama from Kanzendonga to Xishpangma - including Mt. Everest! We stay in the Rongphu monastery guest house at 4980m.
|
| 10 |
We get up early in the morning and depending on the regulations, ride our bikes or get driven up to the Everest Base Camp. Be sure to have enough memory and fresh batteries for your camera!! Later on we head back to Shegar, where we will spend the night.
|
| 11 |
Again we cross the Gyatso-La back to Shigatse The 1447 built Tashilunpo monastery is the home of the Panchen Lama. It is without doubt one of the most impressive of all Tibetan monasteries and not just for its gold covered roofs and the Buddha gilded with 250kg of gold. |
| 12 |
For 80km we head back to Lhasa on the northern leg of the Friendship Highway and along the Brahmaputra before turning north. A rarely travelled road trough rural Tibet and across the highest pass (5400m) takes us to Damxhung. |
| 13 |
From Damxhung we ride up towards Namtso Lake, the world's highest and Tibet's second largest salt water lake. Later on we head back to Lhasa. |
| 14 |
By now we are well adjusted to the altitude so we can "climb" the 13 floors of the Potala palace and former home of the Dalai Lamas and feel the deep spirituality of the Tibetan people one last time.
|
| 15 |
Farewell Tibet. A bus takes us to the airport for our flights back home. |
