The Main Tibet Tours
Lhasa is the capital of Tibet and is the politics, ecomony and culture center of Tibet. It will take you at least 2 or 3 days to see this unique Tibetan city. I reommend that you plan a 7 days’ trip for your Lhasa travel . 2 or 3 days for the “Sky Lake” and 3 to 4 days for Shannan or Rigazhe. You can experience the unique culture of Tibet in these areas. What attract millions of tourists here is the religious culture of Tibet and it will be a pity to miss these traditional Tibetan places if you are alreay in Tibet. There are six notable areas for tourists in Tibet and they are: Rigazhe, Shannan, Naqu, Ali, Linzhi and Changdu.
Here are the most popular tours for your Tibet travel:
(1). Lhasa – Rigazhe – Lazhi – Zhangmu. This is a traditional tour for the foreign tourists and is recommended by most Chinese travel agents. You can visit the second largest city of Tibet – Rigazhe in this trip for your Tibet travel. The brilliant Zhishilunbu temple and Banchan Palace is in Rigazhe. Other attractions in this tour are: Yaluzhangbu River, Shaga Temple, Mount Forest. The whole trip will take 8 to 12 days.
(2). Lhasa – Rigezhe – Lazhi – Cuoqin – Gaizhe – Geji – Shiquan River – Pulan. This tour is not an easy one. But it is very attractive. You will go throught the Aligaoyuan(it is called the roof of the world), Mount Sanmubati, Snow Mountain Balingang, Mysterious Guge Palace. Now this tour is becoming the most popular one in Tibet travel because you can experience the unique culture and natural scenes of Tibet in it. Although it is a tough trip, it is still the first choice for thousands of adventure travellers. This tour takes 3 weeks. ( I will choose this trip for my Tibet travel, it is an exciting one )
(3). Lhasa – Jiangmu – Rigezhe – Lhasa. This tour will go through the Qushui Bridge, Mount Gangbala, Yangzhuoyong lake. When you arrive Jiangzhi city, you can visit the famous Baiju Temple(It is also called Wanfota). This trip focuses on the Tibetan religion and culture and the total time it will cost is about 2-4 days.
(4). Lhasa – Shannan. Shannan is called the “Birth place of the Tibetan nation” and it was the center of an old civilization named “Yalonghegu”. The attractions of this trip are: Shangye Temple – the first temple of Tibet, Changzhu – the fist Buddha hall of Tibet, Suodang – the first farmland of Tibet, Yabulakang – the first palace of Tibet. They are all telling tourists the old Tibetan culture and history. This tour is mainly about the history of Tibet and 2-3 days will be enough for it. ( A good choice for your Lhasa travel or Tibet travel if you are interested in the Tibetan history )
(5). Lhasa – Naqu – Germu. This is a trip along the Qingzang road and focuses on the scenes of the Tibetan grasslands and snow mountains. The main attractions for this trip are: Chubu Temple, Yangbajing, Namucuo Lake, Mount Lianqingtanggula and Naqu. This trip is about 1200 kilometers long.
(6). Lhasa – Linzhi – Shannan – Lhasa. The most attractive place for this tour is Linzhi. It is called a place like Heavan in Tibet. The famous Lalvzhangbu Valley is right here in Linzhi. It is a very attractive place for the scientists and adventure travellers. The total length of this trip is about 2000 kilometers and usually it will take 4-7 days.( I like the beautiful Linzhi. It is another good choice for your Lhasa travel or Tibet travel )
Some tips: You will have a comprehensive understanding of Tibet if your plan for the Tibet travel is more than 2 weeks. A jeep or SUV will be helpful for your Tibet tours.