Arrival in Kathmandu

As you step out of Tribhuvan International Airport, a Sherpa Adventure representative will be waiting to greet you and take you by private transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to rest and settle in after your journey.

In the evening, join your guide and fellow travellers for a welcome dinner. Over the meal, your guide will brief you on the journey ahead, from what to expect at high altitude to final preparations, and answer any questions you may have.

Overnight: Hotel in Kathmandu

Meals: Dinner

Kathmandu Sightseeing

After breakfast, set out with your guide to explore some of Kathmandu’s most sacred sites, a fitting start to a spiritual journey.

Begin at Pashupatinath Temple, one of the holiest Shiva temples in the world, set on the banks of the sacred Bagmati River. Here, many pilgrims seek Lord Shiva’s blessings before heading to his mountain abode at Kailash. Continue to Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest stupas in the world and the heart of Tibetan Buddhist life in Nepal. Walk the circuit around the stupa with monks and devotees, spinning prayer wheels to the sound of chanting. Then visit Swayambhunath, the ancient hilltop stupa watched over by the all-seeing eyes of the Buddha, with sweeping views across the Kathmandu Valley.

Return to your hotel in the afternoon and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight: Hotel in Kathmandu

Meals: Breakfast

Pharping & Dakshinkali Tour

After breakfast, take a scenic drive south of Kathmandu through terraced hills and small villages to Pharping, an important pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists.

Here you visit the sacred caves where Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), the great master who brought Buddhism to Tibet, is said to have meditated and attained enlightenment. Monasteries and colourful prayer flags surround the caves, and the setting is peaceful and quiet. Nearby, visit Shesh Narayan Temple, an ancient shrine to Lord Vishnu beside sacred spring-fed ponds. Continue to Dakshinkali Temple, set in a forested gorge and dedicated to the goddess Kali, one of the most important Hindu shrines in the Kathmandu Valley.

Return to Kathmandu in the afternoon for final shopping before the journey to Kailash. Your guide will help you check your gear and pick up any last items you need, such as warm clothing, snacks or personal supplies.

Overnight: Hotel in Kathmandu

Meals: Breakfast

Fly from Kathmandu to Lhasa (3,650 m)

After breakfast, transfer to Tribhuvan International Airport for one of the most spectacular flights in the world. As you cross the Himalaya, look out for sweeping views of the great peaks, including Mount Everest on a clear day.

On arrival at Lhasa Gonggar Airport, your Tibetan guide will welcome you with a traditional khata (white scarf) and accompany you on the drive of about an hour to your hotel in Lhasa. Take time to rest and let your body begin adjusting to the altitude.

Later in the day, take a gentle walk with your guide through Barkhor Bazaar, the ancient pilgrim circuit that winds around the sacred Jokhang Temple. Join the stream of devotees walking clockwise with prayer wheels and malas, and browse the stalls selling prayer flags, incense, thangkas and Tibetan handicrafts. It is a vivid first taste of Tibetan life and devotion.

Overnight: Hotel in Lhasa

Meals: Breakfast

Sightseeing Tour in Lhasa

After breakfast, set out with your Tibetan guide to explore the great landmarks of Lhasa.

Begin at the magnificent Potala Palace, the former winter residence of the Dalai Lamas and the most iconic building in Tibet. Rising thirteen storeys above the city, this UNESCO World Heritage Site holds more than a thousand rooms, along with chapels, murals and the golden tombs of past Dalai Lamas. Climb its stone stairways at an easy pace and enjoy wide views across Lhasa from the top.

Continue to Drepung Monastery, founded in 1416 and once the largest monastery in the world, home to as many as ten thousand monks. Its whitewashed buildings spread across the hillside on the edge of the city, and its halls hold beautiful statues, scriptures and centuries of history.

End the day at Sera Monastery, one of the great monasteries of the Gelug tradition. Sera is famous for its lively monk debates, held in a shaded courtyard most afternoons. Monks question each other on Buddhist philosophy, punctuating each point with a dramatic clap of the hands, and it is a memorable scene to watch.

Return to your hotel in the evening.

Overnight: Hotel in Lhasa

Meals: Breakfast

Fly from Lhasa to Purang, Drive to Lake Mansarovar (4,590 m)

After an early breakfast, transfer to Lhasa Gonggar Airport for your flight across the Tibetan plateau to Purang in far western Tibet. From the air, watch the vast, open landscape of high valleys and snow-capped ranges unfold below.

On arrival at Ngari Purang Airport, meet your vehicle and begin the scenic drive toward the sacred lakes. The road climbs past the great massif of Gurla Mandhata and skirts the deep blue waters of Rakshastal. Then, at last, the view opens to reveal Lake Mansarovar, with the snow-capped dome of Mount Kailash rising in the distance, a moment many pilgrims have waited a lifetime for.

Settle into your guesthouse by the lake and take the rest of the day slowly, as you are now at a much higher altitude. In the evening, watch the changing light over the water and the holy mountain.

Overnight: Hotel in Lake Mansarovar

Meals: Breakfast

Drive from Lake Mansarovar to Darchen (4,575 m)

Wake early to see the sun rise over Lake Mansarovar, when the first light turns the snows of Kailash gold. Those who wish can take a holy dip or offer prayers on the shore before breakfast.

After breakfast, take the short, scenic drive across the plateau to Darchen, the small town at the foot of Mount Kailash and the starting point of the sacred Kora. Check in at your hotel and rest for a while.

Later in the day, take a gentle walk around Darchen with your guide. Prayer flags flutter across the hillsides, pilgrims from across Tibet and the world gather here, and the south face of Kailash rises directly above the town. The walk is also an easy way to help your body adjust to the altitude before the Kora begins. In the evening, your guide will brief you on the days ahead.

Overnight: Hotel in Darchen

Meals: Breakfast

Begin the Kora, Darchen to Dirapuk (4,900 m)

Today your Kora begins. After breakfast, drive a short way from Darchen to Yamadwar, the “Gate of Yama,” the traditional starting point of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims pass through this small gateway to leave the cares of the world behind before walking around the holy mountain. Nearby stands Tarboche, the great prayer-flag pole at the centre of the Saga Dawa festival.

From here, the trail follows the wide Lha Chu valley, walking clockwise with pilgrims spinning prayer wheels and reciting mantras. Towering red cliffs and tumbling waterfalls line the valley, and the west face of Kailash appears above you. Look across the river for Chuku Monastery, perched high on the hillside. Today’s walk is long but gently graded, taking around 5 to 7 hours at an easy, steady pace. Ponies and porters are available for those who want them.

In the afternoon, arrive at Dirapuk, where the magnificent north face of Kailash rises directly in front of you. It is one of the most powerful and moving views of the entire pilgrimage. Rest at your guesthouse and enjoy the changing light on the mountain in the evening.

Overnight: Guesthouse in Dirapuk

Meals: Breakfast

Dirapuk to Zuthulphuk via Dolma La Pass (5,630 m)

Today is the most challenging and most rewarding day of the pilgrimage. Set out early after breakfast, climbing steadily from Dirapuk toward the Dolma La Pass. Along the way, pass Shiva Tsal, where pilgrims leave behind an item of clothing or a lock of hair as a symbol of leaving their old life behind and being reborn.

At 5,630 m, the Dolma La Pass is the highest point of the Kora and its spiritual heart. The pass is draped in thousands of prayer flags, and pilgrims pause here to offer prayers, touch the sacred rock of Goddess Tara and give thanks. Just below the pass lies Gauri Kund, a small emerald lake where, according to Hindu tradition, Goddess Parvati bathed.

From the pass, the trail descends steeply into the long, peaceful Lham Chu valley and follows the river to Zuthulphuk. This is a long day of around 8 to 10 hours, so walk slowly and steadily. Your guide and team will stay close, with oxygen on hand, and ponies and porters are available to help.

Arrive at Zuthulphuk in the late afternoon and visit its small monastery, built around the cave where the great Tibetan yogi Milarepa is said to have meditated. Rest well at your guesthouse after a truly unforgettable day.

Overnight: Guesthouse in Zuthulphuk (4,790 m)

Meals: Breakfast

Complete the Kora, Drive to Guge

After breakfast, set out on the final stretch of the Kora. This is the easiest day of the pilgrimage, a gentle walk of around 3 hours as the trail follows the river down through a narrow gorge and out onto the open plain. As you return to the starting point near Darchen, you complete the sacred circuit around Mount Kailash, a moment of deep fulfilment for every pilgrim.

Meet your vehicle and begin the drive west toward Guge, the heart of an ancient Tibetan kingdom. The road crosses high passes and then descends into the Sutlej valley, where the landscape changes completely. Wind and water have carved the earth here into towering pillars, canyons and castle-like formations known as the Zanda Earth Forest, one of the most extraordinary landscapes in Tibet.

Arrive in Zanda, the town at the doorway to the ancient Guge Kingdom. At a lower altitude than the Kora, it is a welcome place to rest and celebrate the completion of your pilgrimage.

Overnight: Hotel in Guge

Meals: Breakfast

Sightseeing in Guge and Tholing Monastery

After breakfast, take a short drive from Zanda to Tsaparang, the ruined capital of the ancient Guge Kingdom. For centuries, Guge was one of the most powerful kingdoms in western Tibet and a great centre of Buddhist art and learning, until its sudden fall in the 17th century. Today its ruins rise dramatically from a towering earth ridge, carved with hundreds of caves, temples and defensive walls.

Explore the site with your guide, climbing through ancient passageways toward the remains of the royal palace at the top, with sweeping views over the Sutlej valley and the earth forest beyond. Inside the surviving Red and White Temples, admire beautifully preserved murals and sculptures, some of the finest examples of Tibetan Buddhist art anywhere.

In the afternoon, return to Zanda and visit Tholing Monastery, founded in the late 10th century by the kings of Guge. It is one of the oldest monasteries in western Tibet and played an important role in the revival of Buddhism across Tibet. Wander among its ancient halls and the long line of chortens standing along the cliffs above the Sutlej River, a peaceful place to end the day.

Overnight: Hotel in Guge

Meals: Breakfast

Drive to Ali (4,280 m)

After breakfast, leave the earth forests of Guge behind and drive north toward Ali, the main town of the Ngari region in far western Tibet. The road climbs out of the Sutlej valley and over high passes, then crosses wide, open plateau framed by distant snow peaks. Keep an eye out for wildlife along the way, such as herds of kiang (Tibetan wild ass) and graceful Tibetan gazelles grazing on the grasslands.

Arrive in Ali, also known as Shiquanhe, a modern town on the banks of the Indus River, known in Tibetan as the Senge Tsangpo, or “Lion River.” Check in at your hotel and enjoy a relaxed evening with the comforts of a larger town after many days on the remote plateau.

Overnight: Hotel in Ali

Meals: Breakfast

Flight from Ali to Lhasa

After breakfast, transfer to Ngari Gunsa Airport for your flight back to Lhasa, a journey of around two hours that covers in a single morning what would take days by road. Look down on the vast Tibetan plateau as you fly, with its endless high valleys, turquoise lakes and snow-capped ranges, and think back on the long road you have travelled.

On arrival at Lhasa Gonggar Airport, your guide will meet you and transfer you to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day at leisure. You might rest, revisit Barkhor Bazaar for some last-minute shopping, or simply enjoy a quiet cup of butter tea in one of Lhasa’s traditional teahouses.

Overnight: Hotel in Lhasa

Meals: Breakfast

Fly from Lhasa to Kathmandu

After breakfast, your Tibetan guide will transfer you to Lhasa Gonggar Airport for your flight back to Kathmandu. Say farewell to Tibet as the plane crosses the Himalaya once more, and on a clear day, enjoy one last look at the great peaks, including Mount Everest.

On arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport, a Sherpa Adventure representative will welcome you back and take you by private transfer to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day at leisure, relaxing in comfort and reflecting on a journey to one of the most sacred places on Earth.

Overnight: Hotel in Kathmandu

Meals: Breakfast

Departure from Kathmandu

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast and some free time, depending on your flight schedule. A Sherpa Adventure representative will then take you by private transfer to Tribhuvan International Airport for your onward journey home.

You leave with the blessings of Kailash and memories of a pilgrimage that will stay with you for a lifetime. We hope to welcome you back to the Himalaya again soon.

Meals: Breakfast