Different companies offer tours of Lhasa. Lhasa tours can range from four, five or six days to eight days in length. Additional days can sometimes be arranged at an additional cost. Common places visited during a Lhasa tour include Potala Palace, Sera Monastery, the Drepung Monastery, and the Tibet Museum. Other places you might visit on a budget tour are Norbulinka, Johkang temple and shopping trips to Barkhor market. You can sometimes fly in to Lhasa from Kathmandu, Nepal or other cities in China, like Chengdu, to begin your budget tour. In other cases, you can take a bus from Nepal or a train from different parts of Beijing.
You can avail of bus tours of Tibet originating in Kathmandu, Nepal. These bus tours generally take about a week, and include hotel and site entry fees. However, these inclusions will vary, depending on the tour operator, and food is generally not included in these inexpensive Tibetan tours. Nepal visa re-entry fees are also generally not included, neither are China visa and Tibet permit fees. Insurance is not included, and there may be some additional sightseeing fees that you may have to pay when you visit the locations.
Longer budget tours may originate in Nepal or Lhasa, and are usually overland tours that explore other parts of Tibet. Longer budget tours are generally around eight days long. Some of these tours may focus on Lhasa, with day trips to nearby locations. Day trips could include nearby religious sites. Adventure enthusiasts can also go on a rafting day trip that includes about two to three hours of rafting on the Lhasa river. Places that are commonly visited on longer bus tours include, Zhangmu, Xegar, Xigatse and Gyantse. Zhangmu is a sub-tropical city at 7,546 ft elevation, uniquely different than the drier cities of the Tibetan plateau. Zhangmu offers a good view of Mt. Everest. Xegar is often an intermediate stop between Zhangmu and Xigatse. Xigatse is the home of the Tashilunpo Monastery, seat of the Panchen Lama. Gyantse is home of the Phalkor Monastery and Khumbum Stupa.
