Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan

There’s no better reminder that we’re still in the midst of a golden age of travel than our great classic Himalayan Kingdoms. Hero-explorers like Alexander Csoma de Koros, Sven Hedin, and George Mallory, among many stalwart others, may have managed to visit one of these Himalayan kingdoms, but each schemed and dreamed fruitlessly to visit the others. We bless our luck that now we can easily and gloriously accomplish this historic travel hat trick.

We begin in Beijing, then fly over the Tibetan Plateau to Lhasa, a city de Koros called “the furthest goal of travel.” We’ll roam Lhasa’s Potala Palace, a giant testimonial to the Buddhism that even today enriches Tibetan life, visit the Jokhang Temple, Tibet’s spiritual center, and stroll in the city’s old quarter, the Barkhor. Before flying to Kathmandu, we make the marvelous drive past cobalt lakes and ice peaks to Shigatse’s grand and gilded Tashilunpo Monastery and Gyantse’s architectural masterpiece, the Kumbum. From Kathmandu, where we spend a day inspecting this historic city’s most important monuments, another breathtaking flight delivers us to the Dragon Kingdom of Bhutan for five days of focused wandering in this quietly proud bastion of culture and openheartedness (which we extol exuberantly, often). We end with a short flight to Bangkok before returning home.

Day 1: arrive in Beijing • Day 2: fly to Lhasa • Days 3–5: Lhasa • Day 6: Lhasa to Shigatse via Gyantse • Day 7: Shigatse • Day 8: return to Lhasa • Day 9: fly to Kathmandu • Day 10: Kathmandu • Day 11: fly to Paro, drive to Thimphu • Day 12: Thimphu • Day 13: Thimphu to Punakha • Day 14: Punakha to Paro • Day 15: Paro • Day 16: depart Bhutan.

Angkor Extension is available for this trip

Laos Extension is available for this trip

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