2020 GeoEx Catalog

Himalayan Explorer

TOURING | 12 DAYS · CUSTOM

KEREN SU / CHINA SPAN

T  his journey is close to our hearts, inspired by one of the first trips we operated in the mid-1980s. Back then, one of our early visionaries had to skillfully negotiate the crossing of a forbidden border in order to take travelers from Lhasa, Tibet (a province of China), to Kathmandu, Nepal. Today, this route still feels like a great adventure. After a few days in the Holy City of Lhasa, taking in the Potala, joining pilgrims at the Jokhang Temple, and strolling and bargaining in the Barkhor, the city’s old quarter, we begin one of the planet’s most dramatic drives. We crest 15,700-foot

Khampa La and wheel past turquoise lakes and icy peaks to Gyantse’s astounding giant chorten , the Kumbum. Con­ tinuing over the high and dry Tibetan Plateau, we stop at Sakya, a monastery that was instrumental in transmitting Buddhism to the Mongol court of Kublai Khan. Then up

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to Rongbuk, the world’s highest monastery, set at the base of Everest’s iconic north face. A short distance from here, the early British expeditions of the 1920s and ’30s made their valiant, doomed attempts on the earth’s apex. Another tremendous drive takes us down to the warmth and greenery of Kyirong Valley (“Valley of Happiness” in Tibetan), across the frontier bridge, and through classic Nepalese landscapes to the bright lights of Kathmandu. We revel in aerial views of Mount Everest and get to know the capital’s old and current heart, Durbar Square and Hanuman Dhoka, a beguiling complex of buildings, temples, and courtyards, thronged with street merchants, wandering holy men, and businessmen worshipping at gaudy little shrines.

Day 1  arrive in Chengdu ✦  2  fly to Lhasa ✦  3 & 4  Lhasa ✦  5  drive to Gyantse ✦  6  by road to Shigatse ✦  7  on to Shekar via Sakya monastery ✦  8  excursion to Everest Base Camp ✦  9  drive to Kyirong ✦  10  on to Kathmandu ✦  11  Everest sightseeing flight, Kathmandu ✦ 12  depart.

BELOW  Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet. “Tibetan architecture sought to instill a sense of exaltation, security, and delight in a person’s nervous system,” wrote the great Tibetologist Robert Thurman.

MICHAEL YAMASHITA / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION