For a tour from Lhasa to Mount Everest Base Camp, we usually have two options for returning at the end - one is to get back to Lhasa and another one is to drive further to Kathmandu through the border town of Zhangmu between China and Nepal.
When planning such a trip, we first shall leave 2 to 3 days in Lhasa, not only for sightseeing there but also for high altitude acclimatization. Most people will not have any problem with the high altitude after some rest. During sightseeing in Lhasa, we should at least include the most beautiful splendor in Tibet - Potala Palace and the Tibetan spiritual center of Jokhang Temple. If the time permits, we usually shall have one day exploration to the Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery to get a glimpse of how Tibetan monks live or study there. Then we will drive out of Lhasa for other places of the route.
As part of the road to Gyantse is under reconstruction now, our next stop would be Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. There is the Tashilumpo Monastery which stores the biggest copper Buddha statue in the world. The old town of Shigatse is also very interesting just like that of Lhasa. You may find some special souvenirs in the local market as well.
The next day we can either drive to Gyantse for a visit (approx. 180km back and forth) or skip Gyantse and drive forward to Ronbuk Monastery. The Shigatse-Ronbuk is a long trip of around 350km with the most difficult part in the last 100km . Ronbuk Monastery is the highest monastery in the world and only 8km from the Mt. Everest Base Camp. Upon arrival, we would be able to enjoy the glorious evening scenery of Mount Everest in distance. Overnight we usually stay at the Ronbuk Monastery guesthouse.
And in the next early moring, we will walk or take a carriage forward to the Mount Everest Base Camp.As we know there is very limited time to view the true face of Mount Everest in a year, it is already an unforgetable experience when just being with this highest mountain in the world..After enjoy the morning scenery of Mount Everest, we will get back to Tingri or forward to Shigatse depending on our last stop to Zhangmu or Lhasa. .
This Mount Everest Base Camp tour requires 7-8 days including that for high altitude acclimatization in Lhasa. The prime time for it shall be from May to October though it is available throughout the year except some snowing days in February (and raining days in August for the Friendship Highway to Kathmandu). Some tourists told us that they feel they changed to another person after the trip. I guess this might be because they experienced something really very unique in life..
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