Lhasa to Kathmandu by bike
| country: | Nepal, Tibet |
| trip type: | Adventurous / challenging mountain biking holiday |
| departures: | 2009: 8 Oct |
| price: | From €2050 (24 days) excluding flights, including domestic flights, Tibet Visa, guides, mechanic, fully supported trip with Land-Cruisers, welcome and farewell dinners and airport transfers. Maximum group size 12 persons |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
The world's longest downhill, ancient Monasteries, Everest Base Camp, Altitude, two mystical cities
One of the most remote regions in the world, the cycling pilgrimage from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmadu, Nepal will, quite possibly, be a ‘life changing’ journey through time, spirits, scenery and physical demands. Our fully-supported mountain bike tour takes us across the Friendship Highway to the vast ‘Roof-Top of the World’, Everest Base Camp, the world’s longest descent, the highest high and the former home of the Dalai Lama.
Starting in Lhasa at 11,300 feet, we traverse 1,000 kilometers over six panoramic passes exceeding 14,500 feet, finishing in the Kathmandu Valley where the oxygen is rich and the lands fertile.
Depending upon your individual tastes and strengths, we’ll cycle 14 full days and 2 half-days averaging 55 km/day. Support vehicles are available for more or less riding. The terrain is 5% tarmac road, 95% non-technical off-road and 100% adventure! Undoubtedly, this is the epic bike journey of the world! Nothing in the Alps, nothing in the Pyrenees, nothing in the world even compares.
This expedition is for adventurous cyclists wishing to immerse themselves in the rawness of this vast plateau and the spirit of local Tibetans at a deeper level. We visit the significant monasteries giving rise to Buddhism and come to understand the deep connection between Tibetan culture, religion and the inaccessibility of their homeland. Check out our day-to-day itinerary and join us for our annual pilgrimage to a sacred land you’ll never forget.
One of the most remote regions in the world, the cycling pilgrimage from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmadu, Nepal will, quite possibly, be a ‘life changing’ journey through time, spirits, scenery and physical demands. Our fully-supported mountain bike tour takes us across the Friendship Highway to the vast ‘Roof-Top of the World’, Everest Base Camp, the world’s longest descent, the highest high and the former home of the Dalai Lama.
Starting in Lhasa at 11,300 feet, we traverse 1,000 kilometers over six panoramic passes exceeding 14,500 feet, finishing in the Kathmandu Valley where the oxygen is rich and the lands fertile.
Depending upon your individual tastes and strengths, we’ll cycle 14 full days and 2 half-days averaging 55 km/day. Support vehicles are available for more or less riding. The terrain is 5% tarmac road, 95% non-technical off-road and 100% adventure! Undoubtedly, this is the epic bike journey of the world! Nothing in the Alps, nothing in the Pyrenees, nothing in the world even compares.
This expedition is for adventurous cyclists wishing to immerse themselves in the rawness of this vast plateau and the spirit of local Tibetans at a deeper level. We visit the significant monasteries giving rise to Buddhism and come to understand the deep connection between Tibetan culture, religion and the inaccessibility of their homeland. Check out our day-to-day itinerary and join us for our annual pilgrimage to a sacred land you’ll never forget.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival and transfer to hotel. Rest of day free till trip briefing and welcome dinner in the evening. |
| Day 2: | Full day tour to four World Heritage Sites in Kathmandu Valley including the holiest Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, the largest Stupa in Asia – Boudha etc, the oldest Stupa – Syoyambhunath and a bustling royal square in the heart of the city. Overnight in the historic town of Bhaktapur. |
| Day 3: | Continue the tour to heritage sites including the morning at Bhaktapur, then off to the oldest temple of Changunarayan and back into Kathmandu. Afternoon free for final purchases and preparations for the trip. |
| Day 4: | Early flight Kathmandu – Lhasa. Afternoon free for leisure and walking around Lhasa. We stay here two more nights for acclimatization purposes. |
| Day 5: | Tour of the city including visits to Potala Palace, Jokhang and Sera Monasteries. Rest of day free. |
| Day 6: | Day free for final preparation for the biking and leisure. |
| Day 7: | Lhasa – Ganda Village: 82 kms. There is not much uphill as we bike this stretch of highway. We start at an altitude of 3650m at Lhasa and come down just a bit to 3535m when we camp just before the Khamba La. |
| Day 8: | Ganda Village – Yamdrok Tso – Nagartze: 57 kms. The morning consists of a 23 kms long uphill that takes us to 4995m at Khamba La pass from where we descend with majestic views of Tibet’s largest lake, the Yamdrok Tso, on whose banks we are having lunch and a swim. From here on the road is pretty flat right up to the campsite close to a large fishing village with good views to the lake. Campsite at 4310m. |
| Day 9: | Nagartze – Karo La – Ralung Monastery: 58 kms. Today we cross our first 5000m at Karo la pass (5010m) and we get a good look at a Dzong in Nagartze. Campsite at 4540m near a stream in a big dry plain. |
| Day 10: | Ralung – Giantse: 63 kms. Today’s ride is pretty smooth except one slight uphill to cross Simi La at 4330m. We camp a little before the historic city of Giantse which is situated at an altitude of 3935m. |
| Day 11: | Giantse – Sigatse: 90 kms. This is a flat road trip that goes through a picturesque valley full of agricultural fields and traditional water mills, till we reach our well earned shower and a cold beer in a hotel in the bustling city of Sigatse. |
| Day 12: | Sigatse – Tso La base: 91 kms. After a visit to the famous Tashilunpo Monastery – the largest in Tibet, we start our journey to attack another high pass going steadily higher and higher to our campsite at the base of the pass at 4065m. Most of the drive is on dirt track, but occasionally we hit patches of real road, which comes as a relief. |
| Day 13: | Tso La – Lhatse: 70 kms. The day is with not much of up and down as one 23 kms climb from the campsite brings us to this beautiful pass at 4500m. From here we continue on a steady downhill to a sleepy town of Lhatse and a bit beyond to camp at 4000m. |
| Day 14: | GanLhatse – Xegar: 58 kms. A 22 kms uphill ride will get us breathless when we are at top of the highest point of our entire ride at Gyatso La (5220m), from where we go steadily downhill to our campsite just before Xegar situated at 4300m. |
| Day 15: | Xegar – Tashi Dzong: 58 kms. A slow 43 kms uphill ride brings us to another 5200m pass at Pang La before descending to Tashi Dzong at 4600m to our camp for the night. |
| Day 16: | Tashi Dzong – Rongbuk Monastery: 43 kms. This is a slow tiring day as we ascent to 5100m for the camp at Rongbuk Monastery just below Everest Base Camp. |
| Day 17: | Everest Base Camp and back to Tashi Dzong: 59 kms. This is another day when we reach 5200m at Everest Base Camp, just 8 kms from our camp and then after spending some time there, we descend to Tashi Dzong. |
| Day 18: | Tashi Dzong to Tingri: 78 kms. Once we cross the 5200m Pang La about 15 kms from our camp, our ride is mostly downhill right to Tingri except an occasional uphill specially near the end of our day right to the camp situated at 4200m. |
| Day 19: | Tingri – Sumo: 76 kms. Mostly flat stretch except at the end of the day as we camp just before the village of Sumo at 4400m. This day we view many ruins of fortresses built during the Nepalese invasion of Tibet 150 years ago. |
| Day 20: | Sumo – Nyalam: 85 Kms. This is our last day in Tibet as we cross the two passes of Lalung and Yarle Shung (5050m) and come to a narrow valley to Nyalam at 3700m. From Yarle Shung right into Nepal is the downhill ride in the world with an altitude drop from over 5000 to 1100 meters when we camp the next night. |
| Day 21: | Nyalam – Border crossing – Borderland Resort: 55 kms. Pure downhill dream as we hurtle down 37 kms from Nyalam to the border and after custom formalities a further 18 kms to Borderland Resorts for a well deserved lunch and hot water showers at an altitude of 1100m. |
| Day 22: | Borderland Resort – Kathmandu: 96 kms. We still decrease in altitude as we come towards Kathmandu up to 685m at Dolalghat before having to climb 25 kms to cross the ridge of the valley at Dhulikhel and then hurtle down again to 1350m at Kathmandu. Blissful sleep and rest at a hotel in Kathmandu. The brave will start hitting the bars to renew the love handles lost during the drive. |
| Day 23: | Rest day in Kathmandu. Shopping and leisure. Farewell party in the evening at Rum Doodle where we get to immortalize our journey in a Yeti foot to be driven on the walls of the restaurant forever. |
| Day 24: | Free till transfer to airport for departure. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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mountain biking is a pure sport and is non-polluting. It also conserves energy as the only one you use is your own. We ensure that the damage to the trails and the environment are minimum with a zero-litter goal.
All guides are local and hence benefits go direct into the local economy. Though biking is faster than trekking and the stopovers are not there in every village, we try as hard as we can to slow the biking to explain the culture and let clients absorb the rural life in Nepal. We also try to spread the benefits in the local community by eating in the local communities. The company does not vertically integrate hence allowing the development and maturity of several support industries. We also directly contribute a percentage of proceeds to local development initiatives like the Joy Foundation Nepal which supports free cataract operations and Antardristi Nepal, who is working towards the establishment of a day care center for sexually abused minors. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |