This short trip is ideal for those wanting to see the highlights of Tibet and Lhasa. You fly or drive across the Himalaya to Lhasa, where you have plenty of time to visit the main sights in and around the town including the Potala Palace, the Norbulingka (the Dalai Lama’s summer palace) and the Jorkhang Temple which contains Jowo Shakyamuni, the most holy statue to all Tibetan Buddhists.

You also visit the major monasteries in the Lhasa Valley including Samye, Drepung and Sera. You then drive along the Friendship Highway to Nepal, one of the most spectacular road journeys in the world. You visit the towns and monasteries in both Gyantse and Shigatse and then have a spectacular drive across the Tibetan Plateau with great views of Everest from the north side and Shishmapangma, the only 8,000m mountain totally in Tibet. Finally you drive through the Himalaya and down into a spectacular gorge back to Nepal and Kathmandu.

Potala Palace 
The Potala, one of the most famous architectural works of our nations, is erected on top of the Red Hill in Lhasa. The word &ampampquotPotala” comes from Sanskrit. In the 7th century, after the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo’s marriage with Princess Wencheng of the Tang Court, the Palace was built for meditation. In the mid-17th century, it was re-built by the 5th Dalai Lama to its present size, and ever since it became the Winter Palace of the Dalai Lamas. The construction took fifty years from its beginning to completion. The Potala is divided into two sections, namely, the Red Palace and White Palace. The total height of the Potala is 117 meters which is built in thirteen storeys, the length of the Palace from east to west has 400 meters and the breadth from south to north has 350 meters. The whole building is a structure of stone and timber. The top most flat glistens with golden roofs. It is a majestic architectural work and the cream Tibetan culture and complex of Tibetan and Han culture.