Adventure Tibet

Thirteen days into Tibet, starting at Chengdu with a domestic flight up to Lhasa, and finishing at the foot of the highest mountain on earth. The altitude is the defining feature of the whole trip and the operator builds a rest day in at Lhasa for that reason.

Lhasa itself sits at 3,650 metres and holds the Potala Palace, the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas until 1959, and the Jokhang, the most revered temple in Tibetan Buddhism. Basongcuo follows through the forests of Lulang, then Nyingchi and Mainling past the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, which is the deepest canyon in the world, with the Namcha Barwa peak visible when the weather allows.

Shannan comes next, circling the sacred Yamdrok Lake and crossing the Kharo-La Pass at 5,036 metres, past the Karola Glacier which comes right down to the roadside. The route then continues to Everest Base Camp on the Tibetan side, where the north face rises straight out of the Rongbuk valley, with the Tashi Lhunpo monastery at Shigatse on the way back.

Edelweiss include a choice of CFMoto motorcycle, which is a Chinese marque rather than the usual BMW and reflects the practicalities of operating here, along with twelve nights in comfortable middle-range hotels, the Chengdu to Lhasa flight, a guide and a tour book. International flights are separate and the inclusions are not itemised in full on the operator’s page. Prices are per person for 2026. Most of this route sits above four thousand metres and much of it above five, so altitude sickness is a genuine consideration regardless of fitness, and the rest day at the start is there to be used rather than ridden through.