Day 1 Arriving Beijing, met by your tour guide at the airport and transferred directly to hotel. Stay at Poly Plaza or a hotel of similar Star rating.

Day 2 Today we intend to visit the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs.

Day 3 Full day tour to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven.

Day 4 Take flight to chengdu, free in the afternoon. Make preparation for Tibet tour. Stay at Yinhe Dynasty Hotel or a hotel of similar Star rating.

Day 5 Board the morning flight to Lhasa, flying over the mysteries land and arriving at Lhasa airport, where we travel to our hotel. In the afternoon we suggest you rest to become acclimatized to the high altitude. Stay at Tibet Hotel or a hotel of similar Star rating.

Day 6 Lhasa remains an air of remoteness and otherworldliness like so much of Tibet, its life has a medieval atmosphere-although many recent changes are apparent as Tibet opens up more and more to visitors and traders from overseas. In the morning we visit the sera monastery, one of the largest monasteries in Tibet, affiliated to the Yellow Hat Sect. In the afternoon visit the Jokhang Temple; plus places of pilgrimage of many devotees who come from all parts of Tibet, prostrating themselves along the route. Barkhor Square is at the heart of the local bazaar, and always popular with visitors.

Day 7 This morning visit the Potala Palace, home of the Dalai Lama with 10,000 Many rooms, including the study of the now exiled Dalai Lama and darkened halls and frescoes lit by glimmering buffer lamps with their acrid smell which visitors always associate with Tibet. The afternoon visit is to the Norbulingka - the former summer palace.

Day 8 Today our exploration take us into the countryside to the clear blue waters of Yamdrok Lake, with the Himalayas as a backdrop We pass through the 5,000 m kambala pass, before passing through Gyantse and arriving in the evening in Xiagatze, the second city of Tibet. Stay at Shigatse Hotel or a hotel of similar Star rating.

Day 9 Time will be spent visiting a Tibetan village and the principal temple of the city of Panchan Lama - the Tashilumpo.

Day 10 Return journeys to Lhasa. The road covering is the same. It is possible to vary the routing depending on weather conditions.

Day 11 Morning flight to Beijing. On arrival we will be met and transferred to hotel. After Lunch we will have a free afternoon for shopping or a further look at Beijing - a city where there is always more to know. In the evening, an imperial banquet will be held of the Fangshan Restaurant in Beihai Park - one of the imperial gardens in Ming and Qing dynasties.

Day 12 Morning departure home.