Tibet → Nepal · On-road · Rental or own bike
Two capitals, one Himalaya between them. West from Lhasa along the old Friendship road, up to Everest Base Camp, then over the border at Kyirong and down into Nepal.
The ride
Three days in Lhasa first - not padding, but the acclimatisation that makes the rest of the ride safe and enjoyable. You collect your temporary Chinese license, walk the Barkhor with the pilgrims, and let your body catch up with the altitude.
Then the bikes head west, following the monasteries: Gyantse and its Kumbum, Shigatse and Tashilunpo, the grey fortress-monastery at Sakya. Over Jiawu La at 5,210 m five eight-thousanders line the horizon at once, and the road drops you at Rongbuk - the highest monastery on earth - and Everest Base Camp at 5,154 m.
The last full day is the long one: 366 km past Paiku Tso beneath Shishapangma, down to Kyirong at 2,800 m. Then the border, and the descent off the plateau into green Nepal. Run as a private tour with a Tibetan tour guide and a support vehicle carrying luggage, fuel, spares and oxygen.
Where it goes, and how high you sleep
The blue line is the road as actually ridden. Click a stop to open its day.
Arrive Lhasa
Arrive in Lhasa at 3,650 m and transfer to the hotel. Take the first day slowly and drink plenty of water - the plateau is not to be rushed.
Motorcycle license · Sera debate
Collect your temporary Chinese motorcycle license in the morning. In the afternoon, Sera Monastery (founded 1419), one of the six great Gelug seminaries, where the monks’ public scripture debates are part of the daily education.
Jokhang · Barkhor · Potala
The Jokhang (647), the oldest timber-and-masonry structure standing in Tibet, and the Barkhor pilgrim circuit around it. In the afternoon the Potala Palace, and at dusk the Parla Lupu cave shrine for the panorama over it.
Lhasa → Kamba La → Yamdrok → Karo La → Gyantse
The ride begins. Over Kamba La (4,796 m) for the first sight of Yamdrok Yumtso (4,441 m), then past the Karo La glacier (5,010 m) and Simi La to Gyantse at about 3,900 m. In the afternoon, Pelkor Chode and the Kumbum stupa - 42 m high, 76 chapels of 15th-century murals.
Gyantse → Shigatse → Sakya
Via Shigatse (3,880 m), Tibet’s second city and traditional capital of Tsang, and Tashilunpo Monastery (1447) - seat of the Panchen Lama, home to the largest gilded Maitreya in China. On to Sakya and its great grey monastery (1073), founding seat of the Sakya school.
Sakya → Shegar → Jiawu La → Rongbuk → Everest BC
Past Shegar (4,300 m) and over Jiawu La (5,210 m), where five giants line the horizon left to right - Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Nuptse, Cho Oyu. In the afternoon Rongbuk Monastery (4,980 m), the highest monastery on earth, and Everest Base Camp at 5,154 m. Sunset on the north face, weather permitting.
Rongbuk → Paiku Tso → Kyirong
Everest at sunrise if the sky is clear, then the long ride west and south. Paiku Tso (4,590 m) sits beneath Shishapangma (8,012 m) - over 300 km² of water held between three ranges, with wild ass and wild horses on the shore. Late afternoon into Kyirong town at 2,800 m, near the Nepal border.
Kyirong → border → Kathmandu
A short ride to the border, where you hand back the rental bike and say goodbye to your guide from Lhasa. Cross into Nepal and descend off the rocky plateau into green hill country - one of the great descents in motorcycling.
The fine print, in plain words
See it to believe it
Photography by Liu Bin · Greatway field archive
Dates & enquiry
Private departures on your dates, roughly April to October. Tell us when you're free and how many are riding - our motorbike travel consultant will get back to you within 24 hours.
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