The Ganden-Samye Trek is a 10-day adventure through Tibet’s cultural and natural wonders. It begins in Lhasa, visiting iconic landmarks like the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple. The trek connects the Ganden and Samye monasteries, passing through high-altitude passes, alpine meadows, and vibrant rhododendron forests. The journey offers stunning views of the Tibetan Plateau and visits sites of spiritual significance, such as the Yamalung Hermitage. Accommodation includes hotels in cities and campsites along the trek.
Upon arrival at the Gonggar Airport in Lhasa, over the tallest mountains in the world, you will be received and dropped to the hotel by our representative. For the rest of the day, we get time to acclimatize to Lhasa’s high altitude and time to prepare for the upcoming visits and treks.
We will visit the following places in Lhasa:
Potala Palace: Political and religious centre of Tibet, Potala palace is one of the most beautiful monuments in Tibet. With 1000 rooms and 13 stories to explore this is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Tibet. Elegantly decorated with hundreds of Thangka paintings, frescos and images created hundreds of years ago the Potala palace is a perfect example of how ancient monuments should be preserved.
Jokhang Temple: Jokhang temple which was constructed back ion 7th century attracts hundreds of tourists every year. This temple has a huge Sakyamuni Buddha statue and is considered the holiest place in Tibet.
Norbulingka Palace: Constructed by the 7th Dalai Lama, Norbulingka Palace is not actually just one palace. This is a huge garden with numerous palaces built by many Dalai lamas in different periods of time. Along with these places we will be visiting the Barkhor Market with is probably the busiest place in Lhasa and offers anything you want to buy. Here you can pick up some Tibetan Souvenir for you and some gifts for your loved ones.
Sera and Drepung monasteries: Sera and Drepung monasteries were founded in 1419 which are actually numerous white temples and Buddhist buildings in the foot of a rocky hill. Back in its days, Drepung monastery use to have 8,000 monks to teach traditions of Vajrayana, Mahayana, and Sutrayana, the three vehicles of Tibetan Buddhism.
Today we will drive from Lhasa to Ganden up through Wangpori. Here at Ganden we will visit the beautiful Ganden monastery which is built on a cliff in a natural amphitheatre and start our trek to The Hebu Valley. South across the valley is a steep drainage leading to the first pass crossing Shogarla, which is hidden from this point behind a ridge. The route to Samye descends steadily for 2 hours to Hebu on a well-defined trail, traversing along ridges. We will camp here at the Hebu valley.
After breakfast in Hebu Valley, today we will trek from Hebu valley to Shogarla pass. The trail forms along the base of the ridge and enters valley leading to Shogarla. Many campsites can be found in the meadows located 1 hour or more up the valley and towards the herder camp. You can take picturesque photos of the Tibetan Plateaus in the sunset. We call it a day and camp here.
Today we will head from Shogarla towards Gambala passing a couple of lakes. South of the gambala the trail plunges into a gorge, crisscrossing the stream that flows down from it. After the day’s trek we will rest at the river side and camp there for the night. You can have fun at the river side with some bonfire and drinks in the evening.
This day we will trek from the river side of Gambala to Molong. The trail is now wider and easy to follow. We walk thorugh the thickening scrub forest for one hour where you will come across another stream. The next three hours of the trail is among the most delightful parts of the entire trek. During the spring season, you may come across blooming rhododendrons and fragrant junipers. About an hour of steep climbing from a bridge near the stream, you will reach the Yamalung Hermitage where Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated and received empowerment.
Later we can descend back to the bridge where we will camp for the night.
Today is the last day of our trek from Molong to Samye. The trail is much wider by now and we will walk for another 3.5 hours. We will pass through the Nyango village with its substantially built stone houses. On reaching Samye we will visit the Samye Monastery which happens to be one of the most popular monasteries and one the 6 biggest monasteries in Tibet. The same day after Samye Monastery we will drive from Samye to Tsedang and rest at the hotel.
After breakfast, we will have time to explore Tsedang and visit Yambulakhang Palace and Tandruk monastery in the city. Again, we will spend the night in Tsedang.
On the last day of our tour, we will drive to the Gonggar Airport according to the flight time for your onward journey.
This is a sample itinerary and can be modified according to the client's interests. While all information in this itinerary is accurate to the best of our knowledge, changes to our trips can and do occur. These changes may be due to our efforts to improve the program or for logistical reasons such as alterations in flight schedules, traffic conditions, weather conditions, or government policies. Dharma Adventures will make every effort to keep you informed of any changes but cannot be held liable for any modifications made to the published itinerary.
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