The Road That Takes You Beyond the Ordinary.

After landing at Chengdu Airport, make your way to your hotel by taxi, metro or the Airport Express Train if you haven’t arranged an airport pick-up with us. Your hotel is right in the heart of the city, so once you’ve checked in, Chengdu is yours to explore.

Keep the rest of the day at your own pace. You might spend an afternoon wandering through Jinli Old Street, catch a Sichuan Opera face-changing performance, and settle in for your first Sichuan hot pot. If you’ve been to Chengdu before, head somewhere a little different, perhaps the old industrial spaces of Dongjiao Memory or the lively streets around Taikoo Li.

No need to rush. Take the time to settle in, get a feel for the city, and enjoy your first taste of Sichuan life.

• Chengdu has two international airports — Shuangliu (16 km from downtown) and Tianfu (67 km). Please check which one you arrive at.
• Please let your travel consultant know your flight arrival time in advance.

After breakfast, a scenic drive carries you from the Chengdu Plain (500 m) up to Kangding (2,560 m), gateway of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau — watch the landscape and altitude change mile by mile. Beyond Kangding you cross Zheduo Mountain (4,962 m), the first gateway to the Kham region: Tibetan villages, vast grasslands and grazing yaks under blue skies and drifting clouds. Then comes Xinduqiao (3,460 m), a photographer's paradise of tranquil villages, meandering rivers and fragrant alpine meadows — in autumn a living canvas of color. In the evening you reach Yajiang County.

• Routing flexes with traffic: the S434 Kangding Airport Road via Honghaizi, or the classic G318 over Zheduo Pass.
• Skip baths for the first three days at altitude to avoid sickness; shower briefly once adapted — hot water can be unstable.
• Occasional power or water cuts in western Sichuan — pack wet wipes and a small flashlight.

The Sky Road of Eighteen Bends: leave Yajiang westward through the Jianziwan Tunnel and over Kazila Pass (4,718 m) to Litang (4,014 m), hometown of the 7th Dalai Lama — wander Letong Ancient Town of a thousand Tibetan households and its little museums of local history, and visit Litang Chode Monastery, the oldest and largest Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) monastery in the Kham region. Then westward over Tuer Mountain (4,696 m) and Haizi Mountain Nature Reserve, the plateau's largest ancient glacier site (4,500 m); the Maoya Grassland with its wildflowers, cattle and sheep; and the Sister Lakes, two turquoise lakes nestled together beneath snow-capped peaks, before you arrive at Cuopugou Scenic Area, north of Batang County.

• Today you sleep at 2,500 m after visiting 4,000+ m — a deliberately gentle acclimatization rhythm.
• Maoya is at its flowery best May–August; in autumn the light on the Sister Lakes is the draw.
• Keep your Tibet Travel Permit handy — it is checked at the Jinsha River tomorrow.

A full morning in one of the most beautiful spots on the entire G318 — snow-capped mountains, grasslands, forests, lakes and monasteries folded into a single valley. Yasuo Monastery, a striking red building of the Nyingma sect, reached by the valley's sightseeing bus; Rekeng Hot Springs, over 150 springs above 85 °C — enjoy a hot-spring-boiled egg in ten minutes; Zhangde Grassland, hailed by China National Geography as western Sichuan's most beautiful high-altitude grassland; and Cuopo Lake, the most sacred lake of Kham, ringed by wildflowers in summer, with Cuopu Monastery and the Kangzhulatso and Zhimayongtso lakes. Then across the Jinsha River Bridge — you enter the Tibet Autonomous Region and continue to Mangkang for the night.

• From here on, speed limits apply throughout Tibet — your driver manages the clock, so settle in and enjoy the views.
• If you are lucky, marmots pop up around Cuopo Lake — a favorite with photographers.
• Your guide handles every permit check at the bridge; have your passport accessible.

Today is an adventure through steep mountains and canyons — the longest day of the journey. Climb over Mount Lawu (4,358 m) and Mount Dongda, over 5,130 m, the journey's highest point: from the pass, the brown-red valleys run by like burning flame, while the highway glitters below like two bright ribbons shuttling through thousands of mountains. Cross the Bangda Grassland, eastern Tibet's great pasture where yaks and sheep roam at leisure. Then the highlight: descending from Yela Mountain Pass (4,650 m) to the Nu River (2,800 m) in just 12 kilometers — countless 180-degree turns coil like a dragon down the mountainside, the most spectacular and exciting stretch of the entire G318. You overnight in Baxoi town.

• Today's drive is long and challenging — prepare snacks and drinking water in advance.
• Speed limits are enforced across the Tibet Autonomous Region; please cooperate with your driver to keep on schedule.
• The best 72-Turn viewpoint is at the top — have your camera ready before the descent.

This morning brings you to Ranwu Lake, the most charming lake in eastern Tibet. Its long, narrow blue water and more than twenty kilometers of shoreline lead you through forests, flower-filled meadows and quiet, warm Tibetan villages — a tranquil haven for travelers escaping the noisy city. Then Midui Glacier, ranked the most beautiful in China and the lowest-altitude glacier in the world: ice pours from a 6,800 m peak down to an ice tongue at just 2,400 m, close to the lake, where dense forest, blue water and white ice form a dreamlike Eden — intoxicating in late autumn's colors. If you wish, hike to the foot of the glacier and touch the great ice tongue (optional). Overnight in Bome.

• The glacier hike is easy and optional — sturdy shoes are enough; your guide sets the pace.
• Tonight is your lowest sleep since Chengdu (2,720 m) — breathe deeply and rest well.
• Late autumn turns Midui's forest into a fairy-tale palette; mornings are calmest on Ranwu.

Leaving Bome, the peaks grow more enchanting and the forest denser — snow mountains like diamonds set in clear sky. You find Guxiang Lake hidden in the forest, then climb Sejila Pass (4,702 m) to overlook Namcha Barwa, the towering spearhead at the eastern end of the Himalayas, its snow shining against the blue; the Lulang Forest Platform offers a second grandstand view above the sea of forest. In Lulang town, savor Nyingchi's famous stone pot chicken for lunch. Then a charming Tibetan village: welcomed with a white hada scarf, you drink butter tea, try making tsampa, ride horseback and practice archery, and dress in traditional Tibetan costume for memorable photos — idyllic fields and wooden fences earn it the name “Little Switzerland of Tibet.” Overnight in Bayi Town, Nyingchi.

• Namcha Barwa hides in cloud — mornings offer the best odds of the full, legendary view.
• The stone pot chicken is cooked in a mineral-rich carnelian pot — a Nyingchi specialty worth the stop.
• Bring your camera to the village — the costume session makes a wonderful souvenir.

After breakfast you visit Basum Tso, the holy lake of the Tibetan Red Sect. Unlike any other stop on the highway, the island at its center is a quiet water garden — blue waves all around, ancient trees sheltering a temple. You board across to Tsozong Gompa, a thousand-year-old monastery, and step into a religious culture both ancient and profound. Then the expressway to Lhasa, one section gliding high above the blue Nyang River — a sensation of flying over the sea. When the majestic Potala Palace finally appears, the long, exciting overland journey is drawing to its close: the holy city of Lhasa welcomes you, and your guide and driver take you to the hotel to wash away the travel dust.

• Walk the full island circuit at Tsozong Gompa — every side of the temple frames the lake differently.
• Take the evening gently at 3,658 m — an easy first night makes tomorrow's Potala visit the better for it.
• Ask your guide where to catch the Potala's best reflection at dusk.

Your first stop is the Potala Palace, with a panoramic view over the Lhasa Old Town. Inside, discover the lives and stories of the Dalai Lamas through history and the extraordinary treasures of the palace — above all the gilded burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and the meditation cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet. In the afternoon you reach the very heart of Tibetan religion, Jokhang Temple: within stands the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve; outside, pilgrims prostrate before the gates. Around the temple curls Barkhor Street — join the kora, the devotional circuit, walking alongside pilgrims and locals, then lose yourself in the old market's sights and scents.

• Potala visits run on timed entry with many steps — take the climb slowly; the palace has stood three hundred years, it will wait for you.
• Kora etiquette: always walk clockwise around the temple, with the flow of pilgrims.
• Your guide can photograph your Potala moment from the best vantage afterward.

Today marks the end of your Tibet journey. Please verify your departure flight or train details with your guide in advance — your guide will accompany you to the airport or railway station and see you off as smoothly as you were welcomed. Ten days ago you landed in the lowlands of Sichuan; today you leave from the roof of the world, with monasteries, glaciers and sacred lakes behind you — and, we hope, a plan to return.

• Lhasa is only the gateway. Beyond lie journeys to the world's highest peak — Mount Everest — the sacred Mount Kailash, and the pristine Lake Manasarovar.
• If you would like to extend your journey in Tibet, simply tell your travel consultant — we will tailor the next chapter.