2020 Saga Dawa Festival date, program and tour price

14 days

Duration

8/10

Physicality

US$ 468.00

Single Supplement

2020 Saga Dawa Festival

2020 Saga Dawa Festival is the most important annual festival in Tibet. The 15^th day of the 4^th month in the Tibetan calendar is the day that Buddha Sakyamuni was born and also the day he attained Nirvana. During this period, Tibetans go to this area of Mt. Kailash, two or even three weeks before this date. During this time, the giant flagpole at Tarpoche is ritually taken down and prayer flags replace it. During the flagpole ceremony, as the pole’s tip is raised and pointed east toward Gyangdrak monastery, monks of that monastery perform a special ritual. Music from long trumpets, conch shells, and other instruments welcome the rising flagpole.

Departure Date: one Departure on 2020 May 29^th

A 30 days prior to the festival is needed for applying Tibet Travel Permits

Festival Date

2020 June 5^th

Departure Date

One departure only on 2020 May 29^th

Arrive

Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China

Departure

Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China

Activity

Religious festival, Trekking

Group size

Minimum 8 people, maximum 16 people

INCLUDED

Licensed English-speaking guide

Tibet Travel Permits

Accommodation based on double occupancy

Entrance fees to all sites listed in the itinerary

Arrival and departure airport transfers

Private Transportation

Breakfast

Walking and driving tour per itinerary

Yaks and Tibetan that to manage Yaks during trek

8 – 9 people Tour: 8 yaks and 3 Tibetan to manage yaks
10 – 12 people Tour: 10 yaks and 4 Tibetan to manage yaks
13 – 16 people Tour: 12 yaks and 4 Tibetan to manage yaks

Included free baggage weigh 15 kilograms per participant

Breakfast

NOT INCLUDED

Medical costs	China visa fees
Personal expenses	Lunch and Dinner
Single supplement	Personal Equipment such as mattress, sleeping bag

Arrive in Lhasa

2020 May 29^th Arrive in Lhasa airport, meet your guide, and then drive to your hotel. En route, we’ll visit to Nie-Tang Buddha, a Buddha image engraved in the face of the mountain. In the afternoon we’ll take a walk to Norbulingkar, the former summer palace of Dalai Lama.

Overnight: Tashi Nota Hotel | Breakfast , Lunch and Dinner

Lhasa Visit

2020 May 30^th We’ll visit Potala Palace, Jokhang temple and Barkhor Street.
Potala Palace , the winter palace of the Dalai Lama dominates the skyline of Lhassa atop the crest of Marpo Ri hill, the seventh-century Potala is considered Lhasa’s holiest destination for a pilgrimage. Going up the hill, a stone path leads to the 14-story, 1,000-room. Each day, thousands of pilgrims give the prayer wheels a clockwise spin as they make their way to the entrance.
The Jokhang Temple is the home of the statutes of the revered Buddha, Shakyamuni. While all Buddhist statues are adorned with colorful brocade, pearls, turquoise, coral, and silver, solid gold bowls of holy water rest before Shakyamuni as well as offerings of Yuan (money) and khatas (scarves) left by pilgrims.

Then after we will stroll around in the Barkhor street

Overnight: Tashi Nota Hotel | Breakfast | Lunch and Dinner

Lhasa Visit

2020 May 31^st Visit Sera, Drepung, and Nechung monasteries.
Sera Monastery, one of the Six Great Monasteries of Gelug Pa, located at the foot of Hill Tatipu. It is as prestigious as Drepung and Ganden, which had a longer history. Sera in Tibetan means “Wild Rose Garden” since opulent wild rose woods once grew around it.
Drepung monastery once housed 10,000 monks and if we’re lucky, we’ll ease into a dark columned hall to see and hear the lilting, booming chanting of the sutras, or sit under a willow tree and watch the monks engage in theatrical debate.
Nechung Monastery the seat of Nechung, Tibet’s State Oracle. Major decisions of the state are made in consultation with the Nechung Oracle.

Overnight: Tashi Nota Hotel | Breakfast | Lunch and Dinner

Lhasa to Shigatse via Gyantse

2020 June 1^st Depart from Lhasa, the first spot we will reach at after about 2 hours drive is Yamdrok Lake. We will have a unforgettable panorama view of this highland lake at Kangpa La (5,050 meters), then drive to visit Karola glacier via Simila then to Gyantse. There, you’ll visit the Gyantse Palcho monastery and Gyantse Kumbum ; after the visit,drive toward Shigatse for overnight.

Overnight: Tashi Choeta Hotel | Breakfast | Lunch and Dinner

Shigatse to Saga

2020 June 2^nd Today we will enter the West Tibet Plateau, which has an average altitude of 4, 800 meters. This is where the road leads to the “Belly” of the earth that the Buddhist thought about. The first night in West Tibet will be Saga, a small town that provides shelter and food for those pilgrims in the ancient time. Today, it became a modern small town with features of the “wild west.”

Overnight: Local hostel | Breakfast | Lunch and Dinner

Saga to Manasarovar lake

2020 June 3^rd We will drive to reach the holy lake of Manarsaovar, which is a personification of purity per Hindu theology, and one who drinks water from the lake will go to the Abode of Lord Shiva after death. This holy lake lies at 4,556 meters above sea level making the highest freshwater lake in the world. The lake freezes in the winter and melts in the spring. It is the source of the Sutlej River which is the easternmost tributary of the Indus. Nearby are the sources of the Brahmaputra River, the Indus River, and the Karnali River (Ghaghara) which is an important tributary of the Gangdes River.