4 Days in Lhasa and Tibet
Four days is our 3-day itinerary plus Yamdrok Lake, the postcard turquoise lake over the 4,800-meter Kamba La pass. It only works because Ganden on day 3 already banked you a real taste of altitude beyond Lhasa’s own 3,656 meters. It’s still built entirely around a permit sorted weeks before departure.
Book these before you go:
- Tibet Travel Permit: 20-30 days lead time through a licensed agency
- A hotel in the new city or Barkhor edge : confirm your agency’s booked zone
- A licensed Tibet operator : required before the permit process starts
| Day | Focus | Distance from Lhasa |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival, rest | In Lhasa |
| 2 | Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor kora | In Lhasa |
| 3 | Ganden Monastery, Sera Monastery debate | ~90 min each way |
| 4 | Yamdrok Lake, departure | ~3-4 hours each way |
The paperwork that makes the trip possible
Every foreigner outside Hong Kong and Macau needs a Tibet Travel Permit, arranged through a licensed agency, and a guide attached for the entire trip. Apply 20 to 30 days ahead; standard processing takes 8 to 10 working days, and staff check the permit before you board, whether you came through a mainland hub like Chengdu or Beijing, the seasonal direct flight from Kathmandu, or the Qinghai-Tibet Railway with its onboard oxygen and 5,072 meter Tanggula Pass crossing.
Day 1: Arrival, and actually resting
Get to your hotel and stay there. Lhasa’s altitude, 3,656 meters, causes real headaches and sleepless first nights even in fit travelers. The new city around most hotels looks like a standard mid-size Chinese city; walk toward the Barkhor instead if you feel fine by evening, where the shift to whitewashed old-town buildings happens within a few minutes on foot.
Day 2: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor kora
The Potala runs a real-name reservation system capped at roughly 2,300 visitors daily, no same-day tickets. Entry runs CNY 100 to 200 by season and route. Afterward, the Jokhang Temple and the Barkhor kora, walked clockwise, round out the day.
Day 3: Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery
Ganden Monastery , 4,300 meters and about 90 minutes out, gives you a ridge-top kora and your first taste of altitude beyond the city. Back in Lhasa by afternoon for Sera’s monk debate, roughly 3 to 5pm.
Day 4: Yamdrok Lake, then departure
Two full days of altitude exposure behind you now, arrival plus Ganden, which is the actual minimum before going higher, so this is the right day for Yamdrok Lake . The drive runs 3 to 4 hours each way over the 4,800 meter Kamba La pass, turquoise water against bare mountains the whole way, a full-day commitment stacked on top of your departure.
Is a same-day Yamdrok trip and flight out realistic? Only with a late evening departure. If your flight or train leaves before mid-afternoon, swap this day with day 3 instead, or push for the 5-day itinerary so you’re not doing a high mountain pass and an airport run in the same 12 hours. Keep small yuan notes on hand for the road; cash and Alipay or WeChat Pay run this city, foreign cards mostly don’t.