Luxury Kailash Mansarovar Yatra with Lhasa Exit  - 12 days

A private airport concierge team meets you on arrival, assists with baggage, and transfers you to your hotel in a luxury vehicle. A dedicated operations manager collects passports for priority Tibet visa processing.

The rest of the day is free to rest and adjust, followed by a welcome dinner in the evening to meet your Himalayan Glacier trip leader and fellow travelers ahead of the Yatra.

If your China visa is being processed in Kathmandu, you’ll need to arrive 2-4 days before departure while Himalayan Glacier handles the logistics; your hotel stay for these extra days is not included. These days are fully customizable, relax at the hotel, or add one of the following optional, additional-cost experiences:

Muktinath by Private Helicopter: a same-day private helicopter flight to the sacred Muktinath Temple, returning to Kathmandu by afternoon
Muktinath Overland & Flight: a 3-day/2-night journey combining regional flights and overland roads to Muktinath
Lumbini Pilgrimage: a 1 or 2-day excursion by air to the birthplace of Lord Buddha
Janakpur Cultural Day Trip: a day trip to the historic Janaki Temple, honoring Goddess Sita and Lord Ram
Everest Champagne Breakfast: an early-morning helicopter flight to Mount Everest for a scenic breakfast, or a Twin Otter flight at 25,000 feet, weather permitting
Sacred Valley Heritage & Shakti Peeth Tour: a guided visit to Doleshwor Mahadev, Chandragiri Hills, Budhanilkantha, and the Linga Bhairavi Temple, plus Kathmandu’s historic royal squares
High-Altitude Lakes by Helicopter: an aerial tour to Damodar Kunda or Tilicho (Kagbhusundi) Lake

If you already hold a China L Visa, you only need to arrive on the official Day 1 – your tour begins immediately with airport reception and check-in.

Your standard journey to the border is by private overland vehicle. If you want to save time, you can add an optional helicopter flight for the border segment instead, this is an additional-cost upgrade, subject to weather, and isn’t part of the standard itinerary price.

After border formalities, private vehicles carry you through deep gorges into Kyirong, a Tibetan highland town with premium accommodation designed for high-altitude comfort.

Transport (standard) Private overland vehicle to the Nepal-Tibet border, then onward drive into Kyirong
Transport (optional upgrade) Helicopter ~20-25 minutes for the border segment, weather permitting, additional cost, booked separately, not included in the standard package

Today is a significant ascent onto the open high-altitude plains of Saga, and the day you’ll likely feel Tibet’s true scale come into view: the road climbs out of Kyirong’s forested valley onto a vast, treeless plateau where the horizon stretches uninterrupted for miles. Wide Himalayan views open up along the way, with remote settlements, grazing yak herds, and prayer flags marking the passes.

The long drive is tiring but not physically demanding, and this is also where fellow Yatris traveling overland from Lhasa join your group for the Kora ahead, by evening in Saga, you’ll notice the air is noticeably thinner and colder than Kyirong.

You will be joining a morning Havan/Puja at the sacred lake, typically held at sunrise while the water is calm and the cold is sharpest, many find this ceremony, with chanting and offerings at the water’s edge, one of the most moving rituals of the Yatra.

You will then drive to Darchen, the starting point for the Kailash Kora, with Mount Kailash itself coming into occasional view along the way. The evening briefing and gear check mark a shift in mood as you prepare mentally and physically for the three demanding days of walking ahead.

This is the most physically demanding day of your Yatra: an early start for the Dolma La Pass, an ascent of +550 m / 1,804 ft from Dirapuk, followed by a descent past sacred Gauri Kund at 5,608 m / 18,398 ft.

Vehicle assistance is available at a mid-route point if you’d prefer to return directly to Darchen rather than continue to Zutulpuk. The full Kailash Kora is commonly cited as ~52 km / 32 mi Darchen-to-Darchen; with today’s optional vehicle segment, your walking distance is managed for comfort and safety.