Self-drive with rental car overland from Yunnan to Tibet

Day01 Lijiang – Shangri-la Tiger Leaping Groge, Yunnan

-The Tiger Leaping Gorge ( itself is tucked neatly between the Yulong Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain, which surround its two sides, as the turbulent water of the Jinsha River is forced by Hailuo Shan standing in its way to turn abruptly 100 degrees northeastwards and thus gives birth of the “First Bend of the Yangtze River”. )

Day02 Shangri-la Shangri-la, Yunnan

-Songzanlin Monastery ( built on a hillside and looks like an ancient fort. The Songzanlin Monastery is often called as the little Potala Palace because of its traditional Tibetan architectural style. )
-Napa Lake ( this wetlands area is a true paradise for all types of birds, most especially for water fowl.)
-Shangri-la Alpine Botanical Garden ( There are more than 900 species of native higher plants, including Isoetes hypsophila, Sorolepidium glaciale, Sinopodophyllum, panacis majoris, etc. )

Day03 Shangri-la – Dechen – Feilai Temple First Bend of Yangtze, Yunnan

-Dondrup Ling Monastery ( one of the most influential monasteries of Gelupa Tradition housed over 700 Buddhist monks during its peak time by the end of the 19th Century. )
-Feilaisi ( a nice village only 15 minutes drive from Dechen Town. )
-Kawa Karpo (6740m) ( the highest mountain of Yunnan, is one of the most sacred mountains for Tibetans.)

Day04 Feilaisi – Yanjing Kawa Karpo, Yunnan

-Mingyong Glacier (The glacier is sacred to the local peoples. The glacier is fed by snows which fall on 6,740 m (22,107 ft) Mount Meili, also known as the Meili Snow Mountain.)
-Langcang River (Mekong River) ( From the Tibetan Plateau the river runs through China’s Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. )

Day05 Yanjing – Zuogong Salty Fields by the Mekong River, Yunnan

-Joba and Dongda ( at 5008m above sea level. )

Day06 Zuogong – Ranwu Lake Ranwu Lake,Tibet

-Ranwu Lake ( a spectacularly crystal blue lake cupped by snow peaks. )
-Palong Tsangpo ( a branch of The Yarlong Tsangpo River. )

Day07 Ranwu Lake – Bome Snowy Peak, Bome, Tibet

-Lush green forests, crystal blue alpine lakes, snowy peaks, and picturesque farm houses
-Midui Glacier ( the glacier tongue of which reaches woodland flowers and bushes. )

Day08 Bome – Nyingtri Snow Capped Peaks with Forests in Nyingtri, Tibet

-Poto-chu Valley at Tramog ( located deep in the thickly forested gorge of Parlung Tsangpo with glacial waterfalls streaming from the mountainsides.)
-Tang-me ( where the Tsangpo and Parlung Tsangpo rivers meet.)
-Mt.Namche Barwa ( The traditional definition of the Himalaya extending from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra would make it the eastern anchor of the entire mountain chain, and it is the highest peak of its own section as well as Earth’s easternmost peak over 7,600 metres.)
-Buchu Temple ( a temple in an ancient monastery about 28 km south of the modern town of Bayi, which replaces the old village of Drakchi, in Nyingchi County of eastern Tibet.)
-Lamaling Temple ( a Buddhist monastery located near the village of Jianqie )

Day09 Nyingtri – Lhasa Basum Tso Lake, Tibet

-Basum Tso Lake ( also named as Cuogao Lake meaning green water in the Tibetan language. It is a famous holy lake of the Nyingma Sect. )

Day10 Lhasa Potala Palace,Lhasa,Tibet

-Potala Palace ( the landmark of Tibet and once served as the winter residence of the Dalai Lama. )
-Jokhang monastery ( the holiest temple in Tibet )
-the holy Barkhor circuit ( The Jambhala Lhakhang is below the chapel, with a central image of Marmedze, the past Buddha, and a small inner Kora path. Starting here, you can go back to the north or you can take the eastern way and join the Barkhor circuit.)
-Remoche Monastery ( It was originally built to house the Jowo Sakyamuni image brought to Tibet by Princess Wencheng but sometime in the 8th century the image was swapped for an image of Akshobhya, brought to Tibet in the 7th century as part of the dowry of King Songtsen Gampo’s Nepali wife, Princess Bhrikuti.)

Day11 Lhasa Norbulingka Park,the Summer Palace, Lhasa

-Drepung monastery ( one of the “great three” Gelug university gompas (monasteries) of Tibet.)
-Norbulingka Park ( the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780s up until the 14th Dalai Lama’s exile in 1959. Part of the “Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace”, Norbulingka is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was added as an extension of this Historic Ensemble in 2001.)
-the Sera Monastery ( one of the “great three” Gelug university monasteries of Tibet, located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) north of Lhasa and about 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the Jokhang.)