Yangtze and Tibet

A popular tour itinerary that combines the mystery of Tibet with the majestic scenery of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River. The start of services on the Tibet-Qinghai railway allows rail travel to Lhasa for the first time on the world's highest railway, a feat of engineering, as it crosses the high plateau.

An escorted tour, with your own English-speaking guides and car and driver, using mainly 4- and 5-star hotels and 5-star Yangtze River cruise boat.

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow or regional airports.
Day 2 Arrive Beijing. Met on arrival and transfer to 5-star hotel. Rest of the day free.
Day 3 One day excursion to the Great Wall at Badaling and the tombs of the Ming emperors (B, L)
Day 4 Visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and Summer Palace (B, L)
Day 5 Transfer to airport for flight to Xi'an. Transfer to 5-star hotel. Rest of the day free (B)
Day 6 Excursion to the famous Terracotta Army, created by China's first emperor to guard his tomb, plus the Shaanxi Historical Museum and Big Wild Goose Pagoda. (B, L)
Day 7 Transfer to airport for flight to Xining, capital of Qinghai province. Visit the impressive Ta'er Si monastery on the outskirts of the town, one of the most important Tibetan monasteries outside Tibet as the birthplace of the founder of the Yellow Hat sect to which both the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama belong. Also visit the Great Mosque, built in the 14th century. In the evening transfer to railway station to catch the train (soft sleeper class = equivalent of first class, sharing 4-berth compartment) (B, L)
Day 8 On train. Arrive Lhasa in the evening. Transfer to 5-star hotel.
Day 9 Visit the Potola Palace, the former palace of the Dalai Lamas, Jokhang Temple, the most sacred temple in Tibetan Buddhism and Barkhor Street, the vibrant street around the temple full of traders and pilgrims (B, L)
Day 10 Visit two of the great monasteries on the outskirts of Lhasa - Sera and Drepung - plus the Norbulinka, the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas (B, L)
Day 11 Travel by road to the town of Gyantse through the stunning scenery of the high Tibetan plateau. Stop en route at the sacred Yamdrok Lake. Stay at Gyantse Hotel (3 star, local best) (B, L)
Day 12 Gyantse was once an important trading town on the route between India and Tibet and still retains a lot of its charm. Visit Pelkor Chode Monastery and the Hundred Thousand Buddha Pagoda. Onward by coach to Shigatze, Tibet's second city. Stay at Shigatze Hotel (3 star, local best) (B, L)
Day 13 Visit the Tashilhumpo Monastery, traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. Continue by road back to Lhasa. (B + L)
Day 14 Transfer to airport for flight to Chongqing. Transfer to pier to join your 5-star Yangtze cruise boat for departure later that evening (B)
Day 15 to 16 Yangtze River cruise downstream through the Three Gorges, including shore excursions to Fengdu and the Three Gorges Dam and trip in small boats on either the Shennong Stream or Daning River, tributaries of the Yangtze (B + L + D)
Day 17 Arrive Yichang. Transfer to airport for flight to Shanghai. Transfer to 5-star hotel (B)
Day 18 One day excursion to the Yu Garden, Jade Buddha Temple and Shanghai Museum (B, L)
Day 19 Transfer to airport for flight back to UK, arriving later the same day (B)