Depart From: Depart from home for China.

Note: This is a required overnight to give you a chance to rest and get your Tibet permit before your early morning fight into Lhasa. There is no programming on this day, except for an orientation.

Arrive To: Early morning arrival to Beijing International Airport. Transfer to the airport hotel for breakfast and time to rest until orientation.

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: After breakfast, join your Group Leader for the program orientation. This is an opportunity to discuss about altitude sickness and how to mitigate it as well as your program in Tibet.

Lunch: Lunch on your own.

Afternoon: Free time to relax from your long flight.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Oriental Garden Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Note: Please remember, Lhasa is 12,000ft above sea level. You may experience some altitude sickness. Please drink lots of water.

Breakfast: Early breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Depart for your flight to Lhasa, the ancient capital of Tibet.

Lunch: A light lunch will be served in flight

Afternoon: Arrive at the "rooftop of the world" and transfer to Lhasa to your program hotel, where you are welcomed by a Tibetan ceremony. (Note that although Tibet uses ‘Beijing time,’ it is actually about 2 hours ‘later’ than Beijing. Your itinerary adjusts for this time difference.)

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Tibet Dekang Hotel Lhasa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Explore the heart of Lhasa - Jokhang Temple, built in the 7th century. This is the most revered temple in Tibet, and the destination of pilgrims who journey by any means, even on foot, to worship here. Surrounding the temple, the Bokhor Bazaar offers an exciting array of Tibetan goods both old and new: Tools, cloth, thangkas, jewelry and yak hides.

Lunch: Enjoy lunch near the bazaar.

Afternoon: Walk to the nearby traditional Tibetan Medicine Hospital for an introductory talk by Dr. Chiwang, who explains the precepts of Tibetan medicine and treatments. Enjoy the hospital's colorful array of medical thangkas. Depart for Norbulingka, the summer palace of the Dalai Lama which contains his residential quarters.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Tibet Dekang Hotel Lhasa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel. Before breakfast, meet in the hotel courtyard to learn Gorshay, an exuberant circle dance.

Morning: Travel to Nomadic grasslands beyond Lhasa where pastoral families raise yak, sheep, goats and horses. If it is grazing season, visit with nomadic families and then observe Tibetan rural life in a small village. Visit its primary school and meet with its dedicated director.

Lunch: Enjoy a picnic on a knoll beside the village.

Afternoon: On the return to your hotel, stop at the Tibet Museum, home to a rich collection of cultural relics, antique thangkas, scriptures, costumes, and folk art. For those who would like to continue on to the hotel instead of visiting the museum, your coach will take you back.

Dinner: Dinner on your own.

Lodging: Tibet Dekang Hotel Lhasa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Explore the Potala Palace, seat of the Dalai Lama and one of the most awe-inspiring princely residences and palaces in the world.

Lunch: Lunch at Lhasa cuisine restaurant.

Afternoon: Learn about traditional Thangka painting (Tibetan religious scrolls) through a talk and demonstration by a Master at Tibet University. Afterwards, choose to return to the hotel or continue to the outskirts of Lhasa to experience the magnificent Drepong Monastery, Tibet's largest.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Evening: Enjoy a private Farewell Tibetan Dance and Singing party.

Lodging: Tibet Dekang Hotel Lhasa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Kathmandu is 2 hours and 45 minutes behind Lhasa (Beijing) time.

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Transfer to the airport for your flight to Kathmandu. Upon arrival in Kathmandu, transfer to Dhulikhel and check into your hotel. Dhulikhel was once a main trading hub between Kathmandu, Tibet and India. Historically Dhulikhel is a Newar settlement, one of the major ethnic tribe in the Kathmandu valley. Newars are also the oldest and the most traditional of Nepal's ethnic groups and have a culture strongly based on religion, celebrated with a calendar of festivals.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel.

Afternoon: Discover the old town of Dhulikhel, where you can lose yourself to time in the tangle of cobbled laneways, ancient houses with sagging wooden frame works, intricate carvings, hidden temples and thriving market squares.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Dhulikel Mountain Resort

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Sunrise over the Himalayas / Bhaktapur / Drive to Kathmandu / Cultural Immersion

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel. For those interested, wake up early to see the sunrise over the Himalayas.

Morning: Enjoy a morning hike around Dhulikhel to get a view of the Himalayas. Then check out of hotel and transfer to Kathmandu, with a stop at Bhaktapur, once the capital of Nepal during the Malla Kingdom until the second half of the 15th century. It was listed as a UNSECO world heritage site for its rich culture and temples, its wood metal and stone artwork.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Continue to Kathmandu and check into hotel. In the late afternoon, join in a presentation on how the Himalayan Mountains help shape the people and culture of Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan, with main focus on Nepal.

Dinner: Enjoy dinner with university students to learn about college life in Nepal.

Lodging: Crowne Plaza Hotel Kathmandu Soaltee

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: This morning, coach to Pashupatinath, one of the most sacred Hindu temples in the world. During Shivaratri, an annual pilgrimage, thousands of devotees of Lord Shiva from all the Hindu communities of the world, pay their homage here.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Explore Boudhanath the largest Buddhist Stupa in the world, situated just beyond the Pashupatinath temple. It is built on a flat surface of various levels of terraces and painted in pastel colors and adorned with prayer flags, and set in a Mandala design. Altogether 108 Buddha images and 147 insets of prayer wheels adorn the base of the huge circular edifice. The settlement of Boudhanath has the largest community of Tibetans – twelve thousand in all.

Dinner: Dinner at or near the hotel.

Lodging: Crowne Plaza Hotel Kathmandu Soaltee

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Begin the morning with a presentation on Newar Art. Then continue to Patan Square, a UNESCO world heritage site and a compression of marvelous monuments.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: After lunch, explore Patan Museum. It exhibits cover a long span of Nepal's cultural history and some rare objects are among its treasures. Their meaning and context within the living traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism are explained in extensive labels. Most of the objects are cast bronzes and gilt copper repousse work, traditional crafts for which Patan is famous. The reminder of the afternoon is on your own.

Dinner: Dinner is on your own this evening.

Lodging: Crowne Plaza Hotel Kathmandu Soaltee

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Learn about Swoyambhunath Stupa, the most recognizable symbol of Nepal with the painted eyes of Buddha watching all who ascend its steps. Also a UNESCO world heritage site, it is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal and is the source of the valley's mythical beginning.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Spend the afternoon exploring Kathmandu Durbar Square. Then rest of the afternoon on your own.

Dinner: Join a family hosted dinner with a presentation on the role of women in Nepal.

Lodging: Crowne Plaza Hotel Kathmandu Soaltee

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: This flight is purchased by our local coordinator in Bhutan.

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Depart for your flight to Bhutan.

Lunch: Lunch in Paro, Bhutan upon arrival.

Afternoon: After lunch transfer to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. After checking in, join the site coordinator for a country orientation on "Introduction to Bhutan."

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Namgay Heritage Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Thimphu / Cultures and Traditions / Free time / Gross National Happiness

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Begin the day as many locals do with a morning walk (15 minutes from the hotel) to the National Memorial Stupa, built in 1974 in memory of the late third King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. This place is popular among the pious, young and old alike, who make it part of their daily ritual to visit. Continue to the National Institute of Traditional Arts and Crafts, also known as the painting school, where 13 different forms of Bhutanese traditional Arts and Crafts are being taught to young and enthusiastic students. It is the trained students who keep these age-old Bhutanese traditions alive. They are responsible for passing on the valuable ancient knowledge and skills to the next generation of Bhutanese.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Free afternoon for you to explore Thimphu on your own. In the late afternoon, join in a discussion on Gross National Happiness.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Namgay Heritage Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: There is a short hike this afternoon to the temple. The hike is along the edge of rice patty fields, but a relatively easy hike.

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Take a field trip to the Tashicho Dzong or fortress, the administrative headquarters of the government of Bhutan. While the northern half of the fortress houses monks, the southern half houses the office of the King, the Prime Minister's office, the Ministry of Finance, the Home Ministry, and the Office of Gross National Happiness Commission. In the face of increased globalization, there has been a growing need for Bhutan to preserve its culture, including its national language, Dzongkha. The center of these preservations attempts is here at the fortress.

Lunch: Early lunch in town.

Afternoon: Transfer to Wangdi Phodrang via Lobesa. In Lobesa, take a walk through rice fields to Chimi Lhakhang (temple of the divine madman) located on a small hilltop. This temple is famous for its fertility blessings. It is dedicated to the great 15th century Yogi, Lam Drukpa Kuenley or popularly known as the “Divine Madman” in the west. He preached in the way that is unlike the stiffness of clergy and society of the time; he dramatized the teachings using songs and outrageous sexual humor. A popular pilgrimage spot for the Bhutanese, the temple is frequently visited by childless couples and parents who have difficulty raising children.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Dragon's Nest Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Participate in a field trip to the Punakha Dzong, the winter residence of the Je Khenpo, the Chief Abbot of Bhutan. This Dzong is one of the most beautiful Dzongs in the country and a splendid example of Bhutan’s fine architectural and artistic traditions. It is situated between the two rivers Pho Chu and Mochu (Male and Female Rivers respectively). This Dzong/fortress had served as the capital seat of the Kingdom for more than three hundred years until 1955 when Thimphu became the capital.

Lunch: Lunch included.

Afternoon: Transfer to Paro. Upon arrival check into hotel and get a debriefing about tomorrows hike.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Khangkhu Resort

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: This is an all day hike to the temple and back with a 2000 feet increase in elevation.

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: After breakfast start on strenuous but a rewarding hike to view the spectacular and famous Taktsang monastery (Tiger's Nest). The trail to the monastery climbs through a beautiful pine forest; many of the trees are festooned with Spanish moss. Walk past an occasional grove of fluttering prayer flags. Continue at a leisurely pace and those who choose can stop mid-way at the cafeteria for rest and refreshment.

Lunch: Picnic lunch along the way.

Afternoon: Continue the hike further up until the imposing Taktsang monastery is seemingly within reach. Built in 1600s, this incredible monastery clings to the edge of a sheer rock cliff that plunges 900 meters into the valley below. It is believed that, in the 8th century, Guru Rimpoche, the tantric mystic who brought Buddhism to Bhutan, landed here on the back of a flying tigress to subdue a demon. Guru Rimpoche is believed to have meditated here for three months. Over the centuries, numerous Buddhist Masters have meditated here as well. It is considered one of the most sacred places for Buddhists.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Khangkhu Resort

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: This flight is purchased by our local coordinator in Bhutan.

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Transfer to the airport for your flight to Bangkok.

Lunch: Light lunch on flight.

Afternoon: Upon arrival in Bangkok, check into hotel and time to relax.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Lodging: Majestic Grande Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Explore the icons of Bangkok, the Grand Palace and Wat Po and the city's most famous landmark. Built in 1782, it has been the home of the Thai King for the last 150 years and serves as the Royal court and the administrative seat of government. Wat Po is home of the reclining Buddha and the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.

Lunch: Lunch at a riverside restaurant.

Afternoon: Free time in Bangkok for you to explore on your own.

Dinner: Farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Evening: Late evening check out of your hotel and transfer to the airport for your return flight home.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Arrive To: Arrive back home.