Lhasa to Kathmandu Mountain Bike Tour  - 21 Days

Upon our arrival in the Kathmandu airport (KTM) we will be greeted by a representative from Himalayan Glacier Trekking (HGT). After completing our custom formalities (Visa, etc) we pick up our luggage and look for representative with a Himalayan Glacier display board at the arrival gate. We will be then escorted to hotel. After check in, we will visit Himalayan Glacier office site and meet our trekking guide as well as other participants and do final preparation for the trip. Later in the evening Himalayan Glacier will organize a “Welcome Dinner” at an excellent traditional Nepalese Restaurant where we will enjoy a Nepalese cultural program along with a fine meal.

Today after breakfast, we will start a guided tour to several of the most historical and spiritual attractions in Kathmandu. Some of these landmarks are considered World Heritage Sites; including the historic Durbar Square, the sacred Hindu temple of Pashupati Nath, the famous ‘Monkey Temple’ (Swayambunath) and Buddhists shrine (Buddha Nath) which is one of the largest Stupas in the world.

At the dawn we take the morning flight to Tibet. This is one of the world’s most spectacular flights, with a one hour flight over the incomparable Himalayas that keeps our eye out for Everest! After landing at Gongkar airport we will be escorted to our hotel in Lhasa’s beautiful Tibetan Quarter. After checking in the hotel, we go for a walk around the Barkhor Square, the spiritual heart of Tibet. Barkhor has a lively market for souvenir shopping.

Foremost, our tour begins with a visit to SERA MONASTERY. An experienced tour guide also working as an interpreter escorts us to this preserved monastery of white-washed walls and golden roofs. Equally adventurous and exciting tempo builds up while touring NORBULINGKA, the summer palace of the Dalai Lama. JOKHANG TEMPLE is another important sacred site which unravels more deep seated mysteries of Tibetan Buddhism. We further visit to BARKHOR MARKETS where we can view goods of Tibetan culture, custom and tradition. Eventually, the tour for the day concludes as you return to the comforts of our hotel.

Despite the day is free, we further engage into experience of strangeness attained in such remote place of the divine world. Its senice views, cultural traditions and innocences of people at Lhasa makes us thrill.

We experience invaluable insights during our visits to POTALA PALACE and DREPUNG MONASTERY. This 17th century POTALA PALACE offers an awesome view of entire city and also has private quarters of the Dalai Lama, numerous grand state rooms and chapels. Ancient history has it that Drepung Monastery which was built in 14th century used to shelter around 10,000 monks but as now there has been quite a declination resulting in only few hundreds. Tibetans’ respect and belief are immensely knotted with this monastery.

We begin cycling towards Kathmandu heading out to the Drepung Monastery on the outskirts of Lhasa. After 45 minutes or so of cycling through the busy roads, we are now out of Lhasa and on the Freedom Highway that leads us down the Lhasa Valley. Following the Yarlung Tsangpo River, known as Brahmaputra in India, all the way down we reach our guesthouse in Chusul at 3,650m/11,980ft, where we spend the night.

Following breakfast, we move on to tackle the 25km climb up to the pass of Kamba La. This tough climb will take 3-4 hours but the views from the prayer-flag-strewn summit at 4794m are spectacular. We then descend to the turquoise Yamdrok Lake where we will have lunch. After lunch, we make a gentle and scenic road jurney to the small town of Nagatse.

Following breakfast, there is the opportunity to tackle the first and (fortunately) ‘lowest’ of the high passes – the 5045m Karol La. This climb will take approximately 3hours. The subsequent descent is twice as long and descends over 1000m in altitude to Gyantse in the heart of the Yang Chug Valley. There is plenty to catch including the Palcho Monastery and the magnificent Kumbum Stupa – a fantastic tiered structure that is now unique in the Buddhist world. We will also be able to see the beautifully located Gyantse Dzong – where Lt. Col Francis Younghusband made his infamous first stronghold in 1904.

Upon our today’s ride,  we traverse through senic gentle 94 km road across beautiful plains with a dramatic mountain backdrop. At mid-ride, we stopp for lunch and then continue across the plains into Shighatse, Tibet’s second largest city and home to the controversial Panchen Lama, whose home is traditionally at the Tashilunpo Monastery.

We make our rest in Shigatse where we also visit the huge Tashilhunpo monastery complex.  During our time in Shigatse, we engage to obtain the necessary permits for visiting Everest Base Camp.

Today, we start a gentle ride through rolling terrain across the Shigatse Plains. A gradual but long climb then takes us to the double passes of Tra La (4050m) and Tsuo La (4520m). There is then a fantastic descent which flattens out before we arrive at our guesthouse at Lhatse.

Today will be the judegement day for our legs! We leave Lhatse and ride to the foot of the Gyatso La, before climbing to the summit of the pass at 5248m! This is the highest pass on the Friendship Highway and a steady effort requires to conquer it. The hard effort rewards into the looming sight of Everest, as we gradually approach the Himalayan chain.

After the initial smooth tarmac from the door of the hotel, we then turn south and head off-road for the next few days! For the very fittest there is another pass – this time the 5200m Pang La – where we feast on the extensive views of the Himalayas. On a clear day, the sheer scale of the mountain views throughout is unequalled in the world! The descent from the pass is fast and twisty and brings us down in to the Rongbuk Valley and to our overnight stop in Tashi Dzong. 90% off-road.

Cycling on a vehicle width jeep trail today in full view of Everest’s North Face, we approach both the mountain itself and the Rongbuk Monastery. Taking lunch in the airy tranquility at this moment will be is one of the attractions of the trip. After lunch, we continue the short distance to our overnight accommodation at the Ja-Rongbuk tented camp. The remainder of the afternoon is free to allow for acclimatisation to the lofty (5200m) altitude. The stunning views of Everest, visible from our campsite, hopefully make up for the lack of air! 100% off-road. We can eee note in accommodation section.

Cycling from Rongbuk in the morning, we head down the bumpy road heading towards Chamda, also known as Old Tingri. Only a short section of the road is well-paved while the remaining is totally off-road. Taking a short cut into the mountains, we cycle through several sharp ups and downs. Another bumpy trail will take us over a canyon before getting into Old Tingri (4,400m/14,436ft) and head to our guesthouse where we will spend the night.

We begin cycling after breakfast in Old Tingri on an undulating and fairly flat road and head towards Lake Paiko (also known as Peiko Tsho), which is situated at 4,591m/15,062ft southwards of Yarlung Tsangpo River. On a clear weathered-day, we can have glimpses of Mt. Shishapangma, Mt. Everest and Mt. Cho Oyu while pedaling. Riding through a landscape of monasteries, old fortresses and mountain rivers we continue on the highway before turning off heading westward and a final downhill ride to a point before we reach Lake Paiko (4,591m/15,062ft). We will halt here for today while our crew will cook food and set up tents for our overnight sleep.

We will head away from the lake after having our breakfast and face the biggest challenge of the entire cycling tour. Crossing two high passes located at 5,000m/16,404ft and 5,253m/17,234ft is a very long series of bends and twists including 40km uphill and around 30km of downhill until we reach the foothill of the Gontola Pass at 4,750m/15,584ft., which falls in the Gyirong County, known as the back garden of the Himalayas. This area falls in the upper Gyirong region of the Tibetan Plateau. Our crew members will cook for us our lunch and set up tents for overnight halt. We will also have our dinner cooked by the crew and retire for the night at the tents.

Gyirong County is located 70km south of the county seat Zongga on the bank of river Gyirong Zangbo, which is a tributary of the Trishuli River in Nepal. This part of the border between Nepal and China was opened in 2014 and is considered to be more dependable than the one through Zhangmu.

After having our breakfast in the Upper Kyirong region, we begin cycling towards the border area of Nepal and Tibet. In this region, we will find plenty of descendants of the Nepalese Gurkha army who are known as Daman people. Cycling downhill today, we will get reasonable close to the border point at Kyirong border and will set our tents in a beautiful campsite to spend the night. Our lunch and dinner will be cooked by our crew members in the tent itself. After reaching at our campsite early, we will have our lunch and after that we will either cycle around the area of explore the beautiful surrounding of our campsite.

In the morning after breakfast, we will begin our last leg of the cycling tour. It is a 45 km ride from the border entry point up to Syabrubesi. We will have our lunch here and then board a private vehicle that will drive us to Kathmandu which is 140km away from here. On arrival in the capital city of Nepal we will be transferred to our comfortable hotel with a warm welcome. In the evening, you are free to walk around the town and indulge in some last minute shopping or visit a nearby pub and sit down for a few bottles of Nepali beer.

Today, our adventure in the Himalayas comes to an end. A representative from Himalayan Glacier will take us to the airport approximately 3 hours before our scheduled flight to our native country. If time permits, we can do some shopping or Kathmandu heritage sites sightseeing at our own interest. And on our way home, we have plenty of time to plan our next adventure with Himalayan Glacier.