Trip Length: 3Nights/4 Days

Trip Highlights
• Explore the beauty of Yarlung Tsangpo
• Unique culture of Tibet
• Fascinating lifestyle of Tibetan People
• Inspiring Landscape

Day 1 : Drive along the Yarlung Tsangpo, crossing the river by open barge – a fantastic experience, as you must weave your way between the many sandbanks; the colors of the river and mountains are incredible and there is an usually large variety of bird life to be seen, as well as fellow pilgrims on the barge. It is then about 20 minutes to the monastery by whatever form of transport has come to meet the ‘ferry' – open truck, tractor or minibus.

Day 2: Samye is Tibet's first monastic institution. Constructed in 769 in the shape of a mandala, it is also one of the most attractive as it combines Indian, Tibetan, Khotanese and Chinese artistic traditions and has been affiliated with different traditions of Tibetan Buddhism throughout its history.
There is also the option of taking a day-trek into the Chimphu valley to visit the tiny h b
 nunnery and the many hermitage caves that scatter the hillside.

Day 3: The Yarlung Valley is considered the cradle of the Tibetan people. It was from here that the Yarlung King Songsten Gampo unified central Tibet in the 7th century. The fortress-palace of Yambulakhang is dramatically situated on a hill above the valley, its founding dating back to a time of myth and legend. The Yarlung kings, including Songsten Gampo, were buried at Chongye, the tombs showing evidence of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion.

Day 4: An early start for the drive to the airport for the return flight to Kathmandu.