Lhasa to Kathmandu Biking tours

Trip Duration 20
Group Size 2 to 20
Best Time for Visit March to May, Sep to February

Trip Overview

Overview

The Lhasa to Kathmandu biking tours is an exhilarating and awe-inspiring journey that takes cyclists through some of the most enchanting landscapes in the world. Covering approximately 1,100 kilometers, this once-in-a-lifetime adventure spans across the majestic terrains of Tibet and Nepal, offering an extraordinary fusion of culture, history, and nature. The trip commences in Lhasa, the heart of Tibetan Buddhism, where cyclists have the opportunity to explore iconic landmarks like the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple before embarking on their two-wheeled expedition. As the journey unfolds, participants traverse high-altitude plateaus, meander through quaint Tibetan villages, and pedal alongside emerald lakes surrounded by snow-capped peaks. The route challenges riders with varying terrains, from smooth asphalt roads to rugged mountain trails, demanding both physical endurance and mental fortitude. Along the way, cyclists get treatment with panoramic vistas of the Himalayas, including breathtaking views of Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak. The cultural encounters are equally enriching, as cyclists interact with local Tibetan and Nepalese communities, witnessing their unique way of life, traditions, and warm hospitality. Nights are spent in traditional guesthouses or camping under the star-studded skies, fostering a profound connection with nature and the region's spiritual essence. The highlight of the tour is the crossing of the formidable Friendship Bridge, symbolizing the transition from Tibet into Nepal. The landscape dramatically transforms as riders descend into the lush valleys of Nepal, passing through picturesque hamlets, terraced rice fields, and verdant forests. Throughout the journey, experienced guides provide valuable insights into the history, religion, and ecology of the region, enhancing the overall cultural experience. Safety remains a top priority, and support vehicles accompany cyclists, offering assistance, refreshments, and carrying luggage.

Conclusion and Summary

The Lhasa to Kathmandu biking tours is an unparalleled adventure that allows cyclists to immerse themselves in the grandeur of the Himalayas, appreciate the spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism, and witness the rich tapestry of local cultures. It is an extraordinary escapade that leaves participants with cherished memories and a deep appreciation for the natural and cultural wonders that this part of the world has to offer.

Itinerary

Arrive at Lhasa. Our staff will pick you up. transfer to the Hotel.

Included: H | Overnight at Hotel.

On this day we will enjoy a full day of sightseeing. We will visit Dshokhang Temple and the local market, but the highlight of the day will undoubtedly be the visit to Potala Palace, the former residence of the Dalai Lamas, which dominates the city.

Included: H/B | Overnight at Hotel.

 

After breakfast, we’ll visit the monastery of Drepung. In the afternoon you will be free either to explore the remaining attractions or prepare for the next day’s biking.

Included: H/B | Overnight at Hotel.

Finally, your trans-Himalayan biking adventure begins. We leave Lhasa and cycle along the Tsangpo River to the foot of the Kamba Pass (3700 m). When you arrive you will find tents, latrines, shower tent and facilities ready. Overnight accommodation in tents

Included: C/B/L/D

Your first mountain pass. A strong uphill climb reaches a summit lavishly adorned with prayer flags (4794m). After descending we continue alongside Lake Yamdruk, at the far side of which we set camp (4490m). Overnight accommodation in tents.

Included: C/B/L/D

Leaving the beautiful lake behind, we cycle through a ravine and up to the foot of the Karo Pass (4750m), to Ralung where our tented village will be prepared for the night. Overnight accommodation in tents.

Included: C/B/L/D

A significant day on the tour, as we have to get up early to climb the high Karo Pass (5010m). By now you will be feeling in good physical condition. Around us, we can see glaciers of 6000m and beautiful lakes. You are rewarded for your effort with a night in a top hotel in the city of Gyantse (3980m). Overnight accommodation at the Hotel.

Included: C/B/L/D

 

First, we will take an hour to visit the Palkhor Monastery and the old part of Gyantse town. Although today involves a longer distance, the highway is paved and flat. In the afternoon we will arrive in Tibet’s second largest city, Shigatse (3860m). Overnight accommodation at the Hotel.

Included: H/B/L/D

We leave Shigatse and ride over two small passes and through several small Tibetan villages. We will cycle past the isolated Gyachung Monastery and camp. Overnight accommodation in tents at around 4100m.

Included: H/B/L/D

The route leads us through picturesque valleys. Then the long ramp begins which leads to the Yulong pass (4520m). After lunch, we head towards Lhatse (3860m). Just before this town, there is a hot spring. We will camp approx. 10 km after Lhatse. Accommodation in tents.

Included: C/B/L/D

Today we have to contemplate the stunning canyon of the 5220m Lakpa Pass. On a clear day, you will be rewarded for your effort with your first view of Mount Everest. After a 40 km ride through flat prairie towns you will arrive in the town of Pelbar, often referred to as Shegar. This town is a popular stopover for anyone heading to the Everest region. Overnight accommodation in a hotel.

Included: H/B/L/D

It’s now time to divert from the Lhasa-Kathmandu highway and head towards the world’s highest peak. First, you are faced with 20km of uphill switchbacks (42 hairpin bends in total!) before you reach the summit of the Pang Pass (5150m). Enjoy lunch as you gaze over Makalu (8463m), Shishapangma (8012m), Cho Oyu (8210m), Lhotse (8516m), Everest (8850m) and several other breathtaking peaks. Then a 20-kilometer downhill follows to the Rongbuk Valley (4200m), where we camp. Overnight accommodation in tents.

Included: C/B/L/D

Now you should be at peak fitness and very excited about the approach of Everest Base Camp. A bumpy road winds up through the Rongbuk valley until the majestic Mount Everest appears before you. We will camp beside the monastery with the unforgettable sight of the 8850m peak in front of your eyes. We will stay here for two days. Overnight accommodation in tents (5150m).

Included: C/B/L/D

A day to relax. However, you will definitely want to get as close as you can to Everest. You can walk, cycle or even take a donkey and cart ride to the base camp which is 2 KM from the campsite. Back to Jha Rongbuk Overnight accommodation in camp.

Included : C/B/L/D

Leaving Rongbuk, we head back down the bumpy road then take a “short-cut” into the mountains. Another bumpy trail takes us over a canyon and down into Tingri (4340m). Overnight accommodation in tents.

Included: C/B/L/D

After breakfast in Tingri, we will then start our ride to the Peokutso Lake.

Peokutso Lake Paiku (or Peiku, Tibetan: Paiku-Tso or -Tsho) is a lake at 4,591 meters (15,062 ft) elevation on the Tibetan Plateau at south of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River. The lake is 27 kilometers (17 mi) long and 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) wide at its narrowest. It is surrounded by mountains reaching 5,700 to 6,000 meters (18,700 to 19,700 ft). Streams fed by glaciers cascade to the valley floor, but most sink into alluvial deposits before reaching the lake.

The surrounding catchment is an endorheic basin with no outlet. It would overflow into the Yarlung Tsangpo with a water level about 100 meters (330 ft) higher. The lake’s brackish water is evidence that it has not overflowed in hundreds if not thousands of years.

Included: C/B/LD

Gyirong Town (Chinese: and Kerung in Nepali) is situated in the southern part of Gyirong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is located 70 kilometers (43 mi) south of the county seat Zongga on the bank of Gyirong Zangbo river, a tributary of the Trishuli River. The town has an elevation of 2,700 meters (8,900 ft), with a subtropical mountain monsoon climate, meaning reasonable precipitation and warm weather. In 1961, Gyirong was established as a port of entry by the Chinese government.

Gyirong Town is an important town in the cross-border trade between China and Nepal. Historically it was a major thoroughfare. In December 2014, the port of entry between China and Nepal was opened. This route between China and Nepal is considered to be more reliable than one through Zhangmu.

In Gyirong Town, there is a village of ethnic Nepali referred to as Daman people. They are descendants of Nepalese Gurkha army centuries ago. Previously stateless, they were granted Chinese citizenship in 2003.

Included: C/B/L/D

After the breakfast in Upper Kerong, we will start cycling to Kerong border and will camp in the beautiful scenic campsite and stay overnight there. Hence the campsite is located in an extraordinary site you are encouraged to make the most of this day either cycling around or exploring the beautiful vicinity.

We will cycle around 70km before arriving at this campsite today.

Included: C/B/L/D

After the breakfast at our beautiful campsite, we will start cycling until the lunchtime in Syburbesi where a pickup vehicle will be waiting for us to transfer back to Kathmandu

Included: H/B/L/D
Overnight at Hotel Thamel Eco Resort (Kathmandu)

 

We will drop you at TIA(Kathmandu International Airport). Fly back to your home

Departures & Availability

The set departure dates listed are specially quoted and specified for group joining option. Let us know if the set departure dates are not suitable for you- another dates which are suitable for you can certainly be added by us.

Check Available Dates
Start Date Price Availability

All trip prices are per person based on double occupancy, are subject to change without notice and do not include airfare. All prices and fares are quoted in U.S. dollars.

Price include

  • All ground transfers as per our given itinerary.
  • Hotel in Kathmandu (including breakfast and all taxes).
  • Guided sightseeing in Kathmandu (including all entrance fees).
  • Welcome Dinner with live Nepalese culture show at one evening.
  • Guided sightseeing in Lhasa with all entrance fees included.
  • Hotels in Tibet (including breakfast and all taxes) as per our mentioned Itinerary.
  • All Camping Equipment (such as Two-Man Tent, Dining Tent, Kitchen Tent, Shower tent, Toilet Tent, Tables, Chairs, Mattresses, etc.
  • Support Truck to carry your luggage and a Land Cruiser for assistance. Available at all times (while in Tibet).
  • Three times hot, fresh meals per day while camping, prepared by our very professional kitchen crew.
  • Daily wages and insurance for staff and guides.

Price Excludes

  • Airport Tax.
  • Airfare: Kathmandu-Lhasa.
  • Tibet travel permit, Visa fee, All monastery entrance fees wherever applicable.
  • Expenses of a personal nature; Lunch/dinner in the Hotel; Bar bills; Laundry bills; Telephone bills; Tips, etc.
  • Personal Medical & Travel insurance.
  • Rescue & Evacuation – If necessary.
  • Nepal re-entry visa fee.
  • Excess baggage charges.

Gears And Equipment

MORE ABOUT LHASA KATHMANDU MTB

THE HIGHEST; THE LONGEST

What makes the Trans-Himalayan highway so special? Again, it’s the highest road in the world, averaging an altitude of 4,500 meters above sea level as it traverses the Tibetan plateau. Secondly, the route boasts the world’s longest continuous descent, which of course means that you’ll face the world’s longest uphill if you are heading in the opposite direction. Best of all to mountain bikers is the sense of isolation and awe-inspiring scenery. They must also face an onslaught of zigzagging mountain passes and endure a constant battle against breathlessness.

CONDITIONS

Expect to cover 70 to 100 km per day. Be sure you have clothes for all conditions: remember that you are above the clouds and it can be very sunny and bright. It can also snow, rain, hail and become very, very cold at the drop of a hat. In fact, it’s all character-building stuff and after one week you’ll be more resilient to the harsh conditions.


WHAT’S THE BIKING LIKE?

Children carry baskets of yak dung home. The dung will be used as insulation on the walls of their house and, come winter, will be burnt as fuel. Yaks are everything out here: yak skin tents and canoes; yak milk, butter, curd, and cheese; yak steak; yak wool sweaters; even yak urine as a medicinal remedy for exposed cuts.

After eight or nine days and 600 km of pedaling, you should find yourself around the town of Pelbar and the entrance to the Everest National Park. It’s here that you will probably leave Highway 318 for a few days and head south to Everest Base Camp. By now you are carrying at least 50 percent of the following ailments: knee ligament damage, saddle rash, backache, a very sore backside, cramps in your feet, a runny nose, diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, headaches, nausea, dry eyes, a dusty cough, insomnia, lethargy, sunburn, frostbite, altitude sickness – not to mention any injuries you might have incurred from falling off your bike!

Fear not! For all these maladies combined cannot stop you now. Behold the Pang La, the mountain pass which rises before you! You grit your teeth, you meditate, you turn ‘Eye of the Tiger’ up to 10 on your Walkman; you do whatever you have to do to get into the groove, to get that Lance Armstrong vibe and hunker down for the next four or five hours to tackle this monster.


THE MOUNT EVEREST

Conquering the Pang La is God’s fee for allowing you to witness one of the planet’s most stupefying vistas. After no less than 42 switchbacks and a rise of 900m in altitude, with your weary thighs bursting at the seams, you finally reach the cairn at the top of the pass, adorned in colorful Buddhist prayer flags. Suddenly the curtain is pulled back to reveal the row of Himalayan peaks you have been chasing. The Mount Everest!

You are now feeling physically and mentally ragged. Those last four or five hairpin bends were accomplished on willpower alone. You might well find an emotional tear freezing on your weather-beaten cheek as you finally dismount and gaze in awe at the white bowling pins before you almost close enough to touch: Makalu (8463m); Lhotse (8516m); Jachonggangri (7985m); Cho Oyu (8210m); Shisapangma (8012m); and the one that Tibetans have for centuries been calling Chomolungma (“Mother Goddess of the World”), at 8850 meters above sea level – Mount Everest.


BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE

Over 1258 bikers from 61 different countries have organized Lhasa to Kathmandu bike tour with us since 1998. Success rate is above 96%.

ALTITUDE ACCLIMATIZATION

To get the most from your trek, and to stay safe, it is important to follow acclimatization guidelines. At Makalu Adventure, whenever possible, we follow the acclimatization formula set out by Drs Jim Duff and Peter Gormly; experts in Wilderness Medicine. “Above 2000m, altitude illness is a possibility and above 2500m it becomes common”.
“As a rough guide, above 2500m the maximum daily height gain between sleeping altitudes should not exceed 400m, with a rest day every third day or after every 1000m of sleeping ascent”.
“Avoid overexertion and breathlessness while acclimatizing, stay well hydrated, avoid alcohol, excess caffeine, salt and protein, your diet should be 70% carbohydrate above 3500m”.

WHY CHOOSE MAKALU ADVENTURE

Makalu Adventure has been trading for over 25 years; is one of the leading trek and expedition agents in Nepal and is used as in-country agent by several international adventure companies. At the helm is Mohan Lamsal (MD) assisted by head trekking guide Tenging Sherpa and head climbing guide Sanu Sherpa. Teni started trekking as a porter aged 14 and has hiked every trail in Nepal, many times! Sanu Sherpa has the distinction of having climbed all 14, 8,000m peaks, twice! Mohan Lamsal is not only MD of Makalu Adventure, he is also the General Secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. You are in safe hands with Makalau Adventure.

FAQS

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

Traveler Reviews

These full and frank reviews are from travelers who have traveled with Ace the Himalaya previously. The reviews and experiences shown here are from reputable travel websites like TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook, and Trust Pilot, etc.