This tour starts from Xining, it gives you a few days to acclimatize the high altitude at 2200m to 3300m and also see the
great pastures of Amdo Tibet and amazing Thangka painting works in Rebkong. You will also visit the world longest (518m) Thangka and a great collection of Tibetan traditional handicrafts, dresses, ornaments, ancient armories, unearthed relics
from all regions of Tibet.

Lhasa is home to Tibet’s most holiest temples and prominent monastic universities, the focal destinations of  pilgrimages. This itinerary will allow you to spend 4 full days exploring the magnificent architectures and the hidden alleys of the old town.


Itinerary

Day 01 
Arrive in Xining(Tib: ཟི་ལིང་། Chin: Xining). Meet your local guide and transport to your hotel at the heart of old city. short city tour with your guide

Day 02
Xining - Qinghai Lake (Tip: མཚོ་སྔོན་པོ། Chin: Qing Hai Hu)-Shala Pass-Chabcha (Tip: ཆབ་ཆ། Chin: Gong He)
We drive from your hotel to the biggest saline lake on the Tibetan plateau. It is 2 hour trip and we will drive on the old road instead of the expressway for better scenic views. We will drive to the Shala Pass instead going to the crowded tourist spot. You will get a great panoramic view of the lake, grassland and mountains from the pass. You will have plenty of time doing short hiking, picnics and visit the nomads. Then drive to Chabcha town for hotel. Additionally you can ask your agent to arrange a dinner in a Tibetan village. Overnight in Chabcha or alternatively you can do home stay.  
Day 03
Chabcha - Longyang Yellow River gorge - Trika (Tib: ཁྲི་ཀ། Chin: Gui De) -Khamra Geological National Park-Rebkong
(Tib: རེབ་གོང་། Chin: Tong Ren)
This hidden route is highly recommended for its amazing landscapes changing from pastureland, high mountain ranges, deep canyons, forestry and fields within a couple of hours drive.
Day 04
Morning meet with a Thangka painting master at his house and visit his art work. after lunch drive back to Xining by stoping at Shachong Monastery་(Tib: བྱ་ཁྱུང་དགོན། Chin: Xia Qiong Si). It is one the six great Tibetan Buddhist monasteries for Gelukpa studies. Return to your hotel in the evening. 
Day 05
Morning visit Tibetan Cultural Museum. Good bye lunch before you get on train. Your guide will assist you doing all the paper work with PSB at the train station. Sleep on train.

Day 06
Arrive in Lhasa 
Welcome to Lhasa (Tib: ལྷ་ས། Chin: La Sa)! Your guide and driver will meet you at the train station or airport and transfer you to your hotel.

Day 07
Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and the Barkhor Circuit
Lhasa, elevation 3650m, is the holiest city in Tibet and each day pilgrims from across the Tibetan Plateau arrive in the city to worship at one of the many temples found there. You will spend 3 full days exploring the city (for acclimatization). The first day you will visit Jokhang Temple, the most famous temple in Tibet. From the rooftop you will see religious pilgrims prostrating in front to the Jowo Buddha statue inside the monastery. Around lunch, you will visit the Potala Palace, the most recognizable structure in Tibet. Built in the year 637, the Potala Palace rises 13 stories and has more than 1000 rooms. In the evening time, you will explore the endless maze of markets and restaurants that line the ancient Barkhor circuit. While exploring the Barkhor circuit, you will rub elbows with Tibetan pilgrims who are prostrating their way around the Tibetan Quarter.

Day 08
Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Ramoche Temple and the old town
This day you will explore Drepung Monastery. Drepung was formerly the largest monastery in the world and is still one of the three most important monasteries in Tibet. Below Drepung is Nechung Monastery, the former home of Tibet’s state oracle. In the afternoon, you will visit the great monastery of Sera, where monk debates take place each day except Saturday. If you are interested in hiking, there is a pilgrimage circuit around the monastery that takes about an hour to complete. In the early evening, we will visit Ramoche Temple in the old town.

Day 09
Norbulingka Palace, Tibet Museum
The Norbulingka Palace served as the summer residence for the Dalai Lama lineage for 180 years. The palace is one huge beautiful garden that can be explored on foot. Afterwards, you can wander around the Tibet Museum and learn more about Tibetan medicine and art. In the afternoon, you will have one more opportunity to explore the ancient Barkhor Circuit to finish any last minute souvenir shopping you might have left.

Day 10
Depart from Lhasa