6 Days: Lhasa and Tibet

Six days is where a second permit enters the picture: beyond Ganden and Yamdrok Lake, this version adds Shigatse and Tashilhunpo Monastery, which needs its own Aliens’ Travel Permit arranged by your guide once you’ve landed. This builds on our 5-day plan , same acclimatization ladder, one extra permit and one extra day.

Book these before you go

Day Focus Distance from Lhasa
Day 1 Arrival, permit logistics, Barkhor kora In city
Day 2 Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple In city
Day 3 Ganden Monastery day trip ~90 min each way
Day 4 Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery (recovery day) In city
Day 5 Yamdrok Lake day trip 3-4 hours each way
Day 6 Shigatse, Tashilhunpo Monastery, departure ~half-day drive

Day 1: Arrival and the city’s split personality

Arrive by air into Lhasa Gonggar Airport, about an hour from downtown, or by the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, oxygen fed into the cabin as it crests the Tanggula Pass above 5,000 meters. Step outside and the first thing you notice is that modern Lhasa looks nothing like the postcards: broad avenues, malls, Han-run shops, glass hotel towers. Walk a short distance toward the Barkhor and the picture flips entirely, whitewashed old-town buildings, prayer flags, incense smoke and pilgrims prostrating on worn stone. Take it slow, at 3,656 meters altitude sickness on day one is common, so hydrate, avoid alcohol, and keep activity to a gentle walk of the Barkhor kora. Get your VPN sorted tonight too, along with cash or Alipay.

Day 2: Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple

The Potala Palace runs a capped, real-name reservation system with no same-day tickets sold at the gate, and it sells out routinely in peak season, so your agency needs this locked in well before you fly out. Inside you get a strict window of about an hour through the Red and White Palaces, once the seat of the Dalai Lamas, dense with chapels and burial stupas. Jokhang Temple in the afternoon is the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism, pilgrims prostrating outside, murmured mantras inside, and a strict no-photos rule on the chapel interiors and Buddha images.

Day 3: Ganden Monastery

By day three you’ve banked two full days of city-level acclimatization, exactly the buffer that makes the push up to Ganden Monastery , around 4,300 meters and 90 minutes out, a sound idea. The ridge-top kora and valley views up there are worth every extra meter.

Day 4: Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery, a recovery day

Time Sera Monastery for the afternoon monk debating session, running most days Monday through Saturday, monks slapping their palms together over points of philosophy in a dusty courtyard. Drepung Monastery, once the largest monastery on the planet with more than 10,000 monks at its peak, deserves a slow climb through its whitewashed colleges. Both sit at city altitude, deliberately, so you recover before tomorrow’s bigger push.

Day 5: Yamdrok Lake

This is the big one before Shigatse: Yamdrok Lake , turquoise and glacier-fed, reached via the Kamba La pass at nearly 4,800 meters, 3-4 hours each way through dramatic high-altitude scenery. Skip the temptation to swap this for Namtso Lake unless you’re staying overnight there; Namtso sits even higher and the altitude jump from Lhasa is severe for a rushed same-day visit.

Day 6: Shigatse and Tashilhunpo Monastery, then departure

This is the day the extra time and the extra permit buy you. Shigatse sits roughly a half-day’s drive from Lhasa, and Tashilhunpo Monastery there, seat of the Panchen Lama, has a scale and atmosphere distinct from anything in Lhasa. This route has historically needed an Aliens’ Travel Permit beyond your Tibet Travel Permit; some reports describe a June 2025 exemption for Shigatse specifically, others as recent as March 2026 still list it as required, so confirm the current rule with your agency rather than assuming either way. Head back to Lhasa in time for your onward flight or train, permit in hand for the boarding check.

Worth knowing

A Tibet Travel Permit and an accompanying guide are mandatory for every foreign passport apart from Hong Kong and Macau, arranged through a licensed agency 20-30 days before you book flights. Carry cash, since Alipay and WeChat dominate and foreign cards rarely work outside the biggest hotels, and set up a VPN before you land. Want a full week instead? Our 7-day itinerary adds one more buffer day before you push toward Shigatse.