Preliminary Day by Day Itinerary

June 25            Depart San Francisco
Thursday    
Meet your travel companions with whom you will share this remarkable journey. Air China flight 986 departs San Francisco at 2:20 PM. Add-on flights can be arranged from many U.S. cities. (Meals aloft) 

June 26            Arrive Beijing
Friday
We will follow the sun on the ten hour flight, as we journey across the Pacific. Crossing the International Date Line enroute, we arrive at Beijing (144 ft) International Airport at 5:05 PM on June 26. (No worries about losing a day since you’ll gain it back on your return flight.) Welcome to China! Our guide, Sam Su, will meet our plane and escort us to the hotel for a good night’s sleep. Dinner will be available at the hotel. (Meals aloft-D)

June 27            Beijing
Saturday            Chengdu       
The morning will be free to recover from jet lag or to explore Beijing. Guided sightseeing excursion to the Great Wall.  You might also choose to stroll around Forbidden City and Tiannanmen Square on your own.

This afternoon, our group will fly to Chengdu (1670 ft) via MU5425 departing at 3:15 PM and arriving at 5:50 PM. We’ll enjoy an authentic Sichuan dinner at the Baguobuyi Restaurant before checking into our hotel. (B-L-D)

June 28            Chengdu
Sunday            Tsedang
We’re off to Tibet, the Rooftop of the World with our Tibetan guide, Lhakpa! We’ll be on the first plane available to Tibet departing at 6:50 AM for Lhasa via CA4401 and arriving at 8:50 AM. Upon arrival at Tibet’s Gonggar Airport, you’ll immediately feel that you are at a high elevation of around two miles above sea level (12,000 ft). We will take several days to adjust to the altitude gradually.  Here you will be warmly welcomed by our land cruiser drivers.  All drivers are expert local Tibetans with mountain driving experience.  Our four-wheel drive vehicles are equipped with a walkie-talkie system, so all can hear our guide enroute. 

This region is said to be the sacred place where the first Tibetan was born to the fairy girl, Rousa, and her monkey lover. We’ll make a one-hour drive along the Yarlung Zangbo Jiang River to Tsedang (11,155 ft), seat of the Shannon prefecture. Picture stop on the way at Jie-de-xiu, a village famous for making women’s ornaments. Our modest but newly renovated hotel, Tsedang Hotel, (unrated)  is in the town center. The remainder of the day is at leisure. (B-L-D)

June 29            Tsedang
Monday
We’ll spend an exciting day in Tsedang. After breakfast, we’ll drive to the pier at the Yalun River, where we will be ferried for 50-minutes to her far bank and the Samye Monastery—the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. The exquisite murals and monks chanting in the background make this aged monastery even more mysterious. After lunch, Lhakpa will take us to the Yumbu Lakang Monastery, the oldest dwelling in Tibet, reputedly home of the Yarlong kings. 

When their monarchy ended, the castle-like temple became a monastery.  You may slowly walk up to the overlook if (and only if) you feel like a short hike. Yumbu in Tibetan means doe and Lakang means sacred temple. On the way back to our hotel, we stop at the Tsamdruk Temple, said to be built in the seventh century during the reign of Songtsen Bampo. Here you can see an invaluable Tangkar, or thangka (a painting on silk or sateen), embroidered with 29,026 pieces of pearl, diamonds of various colors and other expensive ornaments. (B-L-D)                        

June 30            Tsedang
Tuesday            Gyantse
Today’s adventure will begin just after breakfast when our group will board our coach headed for Shigatse.

We’ll travel about one hour along the comfortable and newly-paved road to Gyantse (13,050 ft), seeing Yamdrok Lake, Bakkor Monastery and explore her ancient fortress where the Tibetans fought British invaders in the late 19th century. We will have lunch along the way at a local restaurant or perhaps a picnic lunch at Dalailama Lake. Dinner tonight will be at a deluxe local restaurant. (B-L-D)

July 1            Gyantse
Wednesday            Shigatse (Xigaze)
We’ll depart today from Gyantse for an hour-long scenic journey to Shigatse. First, we’ll visit the Tashilhunpo (Heap of Glory) Monastery, seat of the Panchen Lamas. Built in 1447, it is the head monastery of the Yellow Hat sect (Gelukgonpa). Today, it is one of Tibet’s most active monasteries. Also you can browse the traditional Tibetan free market, famous for its handicrafts. Time for shopping or people watching. Enjoy lunch at a deluxe Tibetan restaurant. (B-L-D)

July 2            Shigatse
Thursday            Old Dingri
Another day of exceptional scenery. Today as we journey closer toward Mt. Everest, we’ll stop at several places on the way to view the great mountain in the distance and see amazing waterfalls. We’ll have lunch in a local restaurant and arrive early this afternoon at Old Dingri. Dingri is a very small town with several hundreds of local residents. Local Tibetans run our hotel, the Old Dingri Hotel. The hotel facility is minimal — a bungalow with twin-bed rooms, with toilet and solar-heated showers separate from your room. Your room is not heated but it is clean and warm thick quilts will keep you toasty! From your room, you will be able to see the sun set behind Mt. Everest, weather permitting. Be sure to have your binoculars and/or a camera ready for this amazing event. (B-L-D)

July 3            Old Dingri
Friday   Base Camp
Today is the day we have been waiting for! Many think that a visit to Mt. Everest is limited to the tough backpackers and professional mountain climbers. Today we prove them wrong! Although we will not ascend her Summit, we will touch her foothill (17,000 feet) and view the charming and awesome face of this legendary mother of all the world’s mountains.

Tonight we will stay in a camp prepared especially for us by our guide and his friends. Our accommodations, although rustic, will be quite comfortable. Our tents (each accommodating five to seven people) will be heated and brand new sleeping bags will be provided. There will be ample water for drinking and washing, but no shower facility is available. Rest room facilities will be available. There is also a real hospital and post office at the Base Camp.

Prepare yourself for amazing scenery this day. We’ll be here at the best time for optimal view of the mountain, though it can never be assured. The skies should be clear and the weather not too cold. (B-L-D)

July 4 Base Camp
Saturday            Old Dingri - Shigatse
We’ll awake this morning to the awe-inspiring scenery of Mt. Everest with a beautiful sunrise. No you weren’t dreaming; you really are at Mt. Everest! After a hearty breakfast, we’ll journey back to Shigatse and the comfort of the Wuce Hotel. We’ll stop for lunch in Old Dingri. After our outdoor adventure at Base Camp, the luxuries of the Wuce Hotel will be even more inviting! (B-L-D)

July 5            Shigatse
Sunday             Lhasa
Today we wave goodbye to Mt. Everest as we depart to Lhasa, a drive that will take most of the day. Along the way we’ll see hot gas erupting from underground fissures, and of course the Tibetan grasslands. (B-L-D)

July 6 Lhasa
Monday
This morning will be spent at the famous Potala Palace. Towering on its hill above Lhasa, the Potala Palace is said to have first been built by King Songzamgambu in the 7th century. A thousand years later, it was reconstructed by the order of the Fifth Dalai. As we explore inside the Palace, we’ll witness many frescoes, statues and fabulous jewels. After lunch at a Nepalese restaurant, we will explore one of Tibet’s three largest monasteries, the Drepung Monastery. Built in 1416, the magnificent architecture is stunning. The monastery is so big that it resembles a town. The monastery consists of a number of grand halls chambers, and the Dalai Lamas’ palaces. Before he moved to the Potala Palace, the 5th Dalai Lama lived here. 

We’ll also see the famous Jhokang Temple and Bakkor Street, a shopper’s delight. It is also fun to mingle with the Buddhist pilgrims journeying to Jhokang. This evening we’ll say goodbye to our Tibetan guide at a farewell dinner at the Crazy Yak restaurant. (B-L-D)

July 7 Lhasa  - Chengdu
Tuesday            Shanghai
Transfer to the airport, an hour’s drive from Lhasa, and take the early morning flight CA4402 (9:00 AM) to Chengdu. A bonus will be a visit to the panda breeding research center in another suburb of Chengdu.  It is equally as good a site as Wolong (four hours). You will see pandas in a natural habitat of bamboo forest.

Later we have an evening flight to the cosmopolitan city Shanghai (338 ft), where we’ll be met and transferred to our deluxe hotel. Dinner tonight will be at our hotel. (B-L-D)

July 8            Shanghai
Wednesday     
Today we’ll tour China’s most metropolitan and dynamic city, Shanghai, and take in some of her most famous sites. We’ll marvel at the Jade Buddha Temple, renowned for its two rare statues of Buddha—each carved out of a single piece of Burmese white jade! Our next stop will be at the Huangpu River delta—the Yangtze River outlet. From here you can take in the activities on the Huangpu river. You will see the second tallest radio and TV tower in the world and the downtown waterfront area with Shanghai’s old European architecture. Lunch today will be at a deluxe restaurant in Shanghai. Next, we’ll journey to the Shanghai Museum and experience its collection of 123,000 cultural artifacts with bronze ware, ceramics, calligraphy and painting. (B-L-D)

July 9            Shanghai
Thursday            San Francisco
Transfer to the airport for our trip home. Depart Shanghai at 12:05 PM on Air China flight #985 to San Francisco. Arrive San Francisco at 2:10 PM, before you departed Shanghai! We’ve just regained the day we lost en route. Welcome home! (B and meals aloft)

 B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=dinner.

Note: Flight schedules always subject to change.