Self-Launched Lhasa to Everest Base Camp & Kathmandu Overland

Land at Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) and take the airport shuttle bus (about ¥30, roughly 1 hour) into the city rather than a private transfer. Check into a budget guesthouse near Barkhor Street and do almost nothing: Tibet sits at 3,650 m, so day one is for hydration, light walks and an early night. If you flew in over the Himalayas, grab a window seat on the left. Pick up bottled water and snacks for the days ahead and confirm your guide/vehicle pickup for tomorrow. Independent travellers still need an agency-arranged licensed guide and vehicle in Tibet — book this in advance (usually via a Lhasa-based agency, 2-3 weeks ahead so the Tibet Travel Permit can be processed).

🚌Airport shuttle bus into Lhasa ~£4

🛏Budget guesthouse near Barkhor Street (dorm or simple double), ~£15

• →Airport shuttle to city
• →Gentle acclimatisation walk around Barkhor Street
• →Permit and guide logistics check

Hire your guide and vehicle for the day (shared cost) and start at Drepung Monastery on the western edge of the city — go early to catch the monks' morning debates and the kora (circuit) walk. Continue to the free-entry Tibet Museum for context on Tibetan history and culture, then spend the afternoon in Norbulingka, the old summer palace with its gardens and chapels. Entrance fees are modest (roughly ¥60 Drepung, ¥60 Norbulingka); the museum is free but check opening days. Dinner at a Tibetan teahouse near the old town — momos and butter tea for under £5.

🚌Shared guide vehicle / local taxi trips across the city ~£6

🛏Budget guesthouse, Lhasa, ~£15

• →Drepung Monastery
• →Tibet Museum
• →Norbulingka Palace

Book your Potala Palace ticket in advance — entry is timed and capped per day (about ¥200), so your agency or hotel should reserve it. Climb the 300-odd steps slowly and allow 2 hours inside. After lunch visit Jokhang Temple (¥85), the spiritual heart of Lhasa, then join locals walking the Barkhor Street kora clockwise at dusk, spinning prayer wheels and browsing stalls. This is the cultural high point of the Tibet leg — keep the evening free for rooftop views over the Potala.

🚌Walking plus short taxi hops ~£5

🛏Budget guesthouse, Lhasa, ~£15

• →Potala Palace (timed entry, book ahead)
• →Jokhang Temple
• →Barkhor Street kora at dusk

Leave Lhasa early with your guide and vehicle for the long drive west. Cross Kampala Pass (4,794 m) for the first big view of turquoise Yamdrok Lake, then continue over the Karola Glacier viewpoint and stop at Pelkor Chode Monastery and the Kumbum in Gyantse. Arrive in Shigatse (Samzhubzê) in the evening — Shigatse sits at 3,840 m, so keep it easy. Budget guesthouses and basic hotels around the bus station area are cheap and central; eat simple Sichuan-Tibetan noodles for dinner.

🚌Shared guide vehicle for the Lhasa–Gyantse–Shigatse leg (counted in the agency/vehicle day cost)

🛏Budget hotel/guesthouse, Shigatse, ~£16

• →Kampala Pass viewpoint
• →Yamdrok Lake
• →Karola Glacier
• →Pelkor Chode Monastery & Kumbum, Gyantse

Morning at Tashilunpo Monastery, seat of the Panchen Lama and Shigatse's biggest sight (about ¥80). Then the road climbs through Lhatse and over the Tsola and Gyatsola passes to Gawula Pass, where the whole Himalayan chain — including Everest — spreads out in front of you on a clear day. Enter Mt. Everest National Nature Reserve (vehicle/entry fee payable locally) and reach Everest Base Camp by late afternoon. In season (roughly April to late October) sleep in a nomad tent camp; in winter the tents close and you stay at the Rongbuk guesthouse/hotel instead. It's basic, cold and unforgettable — bring a warm sleeping bag liner, headtorch and cash.

🚌Shared guide vehicle, Shigatse–EBC

🛏Nomad tent camp at EBC (or Rongbuk guesthouse in winter), ~£18

• →Tashilunpo Monastery
• →Gawula Pass Himalayan panorama
• →Everest Base Camp sunset
• →Night at 5,150 m

Set an alarm for sunrise on Everest's north face from the camp area — weather dependent but worth the cold. Visit Rongbuk Monastery, the highest monastery in the world, then head west towards the Nepali border, passing Mt. Shishapangma views and Pekutso Lake. Descend steeply into the green Gyirong valley, a dramatic change from the plateau, and overnight in Gyirong town. This is the sensible place to break the journey before crossing, and there are cheap guesthouses and Tibetan-run hotels along the main street.

🚌Shared guide vehicle, EBC–Gyirong

🛏Guesthouse in Gyirong town, ~£15

• →Everest sunrise viewpoint
• →Rongbuk Monastery
• →Shishapangma and Pekutso Lake en route
• →Gyirong valley

Take a short local ride to the Gyirong–Rasuwagadhi border, clear Chinese and Nepali immigration on foot (allow 1-2 hours; the border can close for holidays, so check in advance), then pick up a shared jeep from Rasuwagadhi to Syabrubesi or directly to Kathmandu (roughly NPR 3,000-5,000 / £20-30 per seat). Shared jeeps and buses run the ~7-9 hour route to Kathmandu; agencies also sell seats on tourist buses. Arrive in Kathmandu, take a taxi to Thamel and treat yourself to a dal bhat and a bed in a Thamel guesthouse — the city is where the trip loosens up and gets cheap again.

🚌Local ride to border + shared jeep Rasuwagadhi–Kathmandu ~£25

🛏Guesthouse in Thamel, Kathmandu, ~£12

• →Gyirong/Rasuwagadhi border crossing
• →Shared jeep through Nepal's middle hills
• →Evening in Thamel, Kathmandu