Tibet cultural tours

country:	Tibet
departures:	2008: 4 Sep, 16 Sep, 26 Sep, 5 Oct, 14 Oct
price:	From £895 (14 days) excluding flights

Cultural tours & holidays

Tibet holidays

the amazing things you'll be doing

Tibet, the roof of the world, is a unique attraction for visitors opened to tourism in 1985. Witness excellent views of the world's highest mountains, journey on the world's highest Peak, meet nomadic Tibetan pilgrims and walk amidst the burning butter lamps and chanting monks of Tibet's ancient and legendary Buddhist monasteries.

With the chance to experience the life styles of the Tibetan people, mountain views, monasteries, summer and winter palaces of Dalai Lama, caves and views of rocky meadows, Tibet really is an adventurer's paradise. The best time to visit Tibet is Apr to Oct.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Arrival at Kathmandu airport and transfer to hotel.
Day 2:	Explore Kathmandu.
Day 3:	Early morning fly from Kathmandu to Lhasa, Upon arrival Gongar airport, transfer to Lxa city 3650m. Check into hotel.
Day 4-5:	Explore historical Lhasa city including Potala Palace and Norbulinka Palace- former residence of the Dalai Lama, Drepung Monastery, Jokhang Temple, Bhakhor Bazaar.
Day 6:	Day Excursion to Ganden Monastery.
Day 7:	Drive to Gyantse 3990m. Visit Kubum Stupa and Chode Monastery.
Day 8:	Drive to Xigatse 3860m. Visit Shalu Monastery and Tashilhunpo Monastery- the seat of Panchen Lama.
Day 9:	Drive to Xigar 4350m. Visit Shakya Monastery.
Day 10:	Drive to Rongbuk. Visit Everest Base camp.
Day 11:	Drive to Zhangmu. En route explore Milrepa Cave.
Day 12:	Drive to Kathmandu. Check into hotel.
Day 13:	Free at Kathmandu.
Day 14:	Departure to airport.

small group cultural tours

Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as experiencing new cultures.

how this holiday makes a difference

Our trekking company is wholly committed to responsible tourism. On our treks & tours, tourism helps improve the standard of living for the local people by generating income for the local community through purchasing of local products such as fresh fruits, handloom products, meat, drinks, and fresh vegetables and providing job opportunities.

As a tour operator, we are committed to responsible tourism as follows:

By using local Tibetan guides and drivers.
We encourage you to help preserve the environment by not littering and by taking all non disposable items back home with you.
The tourism we support generates income for local communities. For example: By purchasing local products such as fresh fruits, handloom products, meat, drinks, and fresh vegetables and providing job opportunities etc.
We give support to local schools by donating an amount of educational materials to children (to aid the condition of the school and it's students) and medical materials to the health posts. We also support Kvresthali Womens society by providing a certain percent of income from this trip to help adult literacy for women. A percentage also goes towards repairing Culvert Bridge and funding goat farming.
Keeping a small group size of 04-08 people on this tour will help to minimize any negative impact it may have on environment.

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.