July 16th: Day 1: Fly USA to Beijing
July 17th  Day 2: Lost day due to date line.

July 18th  Day 3: Arrive Beijing overnight in Beijing
An English speaking guide will meet you at the airport and facilitate the transfer to your hotel.  After refreshing in the hotel the group will head out for dinner for a taste of authentic Chinese cuisine.

July 19th  Day 4: Arrive in Lhasa from Gonkar airport.  Transfer to Gorkha hotel.
In the morning we transfer back to Beijing airport and fly to Lhasa.  We’ll meet our cultural guide for our time in Lhasa and drive 1 hour past the Yarlung Tsangpo and Kyi Chu rivers to our hotel in Lhasa.  In the evening we’ll dine in one of Lhasa better restaurants.

July 20th  Day 5: Visit Jokhang Temple and Barkor Market in the morning – free
afternoon to relax and acclimitise.
Allowing adequate time to acclimitise is essential so today we plan an easy day.  In the morning we’ll walk to the Jokhang temple and share the most famous Buddhist monastery in Tibet with hundreds of pilgrims. We’ll explore the Barkor market that surrounds the Johkang then you are free for the afternoon.  You can explore the old part of town on foot or return to the hotel and rest and relax with a good book. 

July 21st  Day 6: Visit Potala and Sightseeing
This morning we visit the famous Potala Palace.  The Dalai Lama’s former winter residence and now world heritage site is a “must see” on any journey to Lhasa.  In the afternoon we’ll visit Norbulingka, the summer residence of the Dalai Lama.

July 22nd Day 7: Morning shopping for expedition supplies etc.  Afternoon visit Sera
Monastery.
This morning we’ll have a team meeting to discuss and prepare for the rivers stage of the trip.  You’ll meet some the river guides and they’ll make sure that you are fully prepared for rafting. If you need to buy any extra outdoor clothing, sunscreen or water-bottles our
guide will show you where to find them in Lhasa.  In the afternoon we’ll visit Sera monastery.  Sera is one of the biggest monasteries in Tibet and every afternoon the monks engage in dramatic debates, testing each others monastic knowledge. 

July 23rd Day 8: Tolung Chu half day trip.  This is a scenic class 2/3 run and will enable the group to get a feel for paddling at high altitude. (camp at take-out)
Driving out of Lhasa on the north road we enter the Tolung Valley.   The Tolung valley is renowned for its fertile fields producing barley and canola.  In July/August the valley floor is bright yellow with canola flowers.  The Tolung Valley is the gateway to the northern Qinghai region of Tibet and we may see the new train rumbling north towards Golmud.  We’ll get a feel for the first time of the pace of life in rural Tibet.  Goat and Yak herders often come down to the river to curiously stare at the strange foreigners in their boats!  The Tolung river is the perfect warm up for rafting in Tibet.  We spend about 3 hours on the water today, getting to know the rafts and your guides.  We have lunch by the river and camp at the take out.  (Driving time: 1.5hrs)

July 24th Day 9: Drive to Reting Tsangpo put-in. Relax, acclimitise and prep rafts in
afternoon.  (4 hour drive to put-in)
Today we drive to Yangpachen at the head of the Tolung valley and get our first taste of the true Tibetan Plateau.  To the north is the majestic Nyenchen Thanglha range and if it is clear we will get fabulous views of 6-7000m peaks.  We drive through the frontier town of Damshung then on over a pass and into the Reting Tsangpo watershed.  The Reting Valley is home to nomads and villagers and each night, our campsites will be visited by the locals.  They are incredibly curious and provide us with a rare insight to ruaral Tibetan life.  We will camp at the put-in and spend the afternoon relaxing, acclimitising and prepping our rafting gear for the morning.

July 25th Day 10: Put-in on Reting Tsangpo
This morning we begin rafting on the Reting Tsangpo.  We will begin with a safety talk and paddling lessons from our guides before practicing on easy rapids.  Today the whitewater is easy but the river is fast flowing and we slide by yak herders and their villagers.  We met another small tributary and the volume gradually builds.  We ease into the expedition schedule of eating when we are hungy, stopping when we are tired and camping where ever we choose.

July 26th Day 11: Reting Tsangpo Rafting

Today we continue rafting deeper into the valley.  The hustle and bustle of Lhasa is now a distant memory and we begin to encounter the true nomad people of Tibet (Drokpa people)  Many of these people still follow the nomadic lifestyle their forefathers have followed for generations. Living in yak hair tents, they graze their yaks in the surrounding side valleys.  Moving their camps to higher elevations in summer and lower elevations in the harsh winter.  Today we also encounter some big rapids, interspersed by calm sections.  We camp where-ever we choose as there is an abundance of beautiful campsites along this section of river.

July 27th Day 12: Reting Tsangpo Rafting (explore Reting Monastery)
Today we meet some of the larger rapids, big bouncy waves that look intimidating but once we get amongst them we discover that we are now paddling like a well oiled machine and no rapid is to big for us to challenge!  We camp below the famous Reting Monastery.  We can either explore the Monastery this evening or early in the morning.  The Reing Monastery is one of the most important monasteries in the region.  It is situated in a rare juniper forest and is currently undergoing restoration.

July 28th Day 13: Reting Tsangpo Rafting then drive to Drigung (Hotsprings)
This morning we challenge the last few grade III+ rapids before the river eases off and we find ourselves at the take out at Phodo.  Here we meet our vehicles and drivers again.  We have lunch then drive down the Kyi Chu valley.  This valley has numerous and ruins of Tibetan forts and monasteries. In the Evening we pull up the Drigung Chu side valley and camp by the river. (Driving time 3.5 hrs)

July 29th Day 14: Drigung Chu Rafting (Visit Drigung Til Monastery)
This morning we can sleep in then enjoy a lazy breakfast.  The drivers will have brought us fresh food and we can enjoy the luxuries of scrambled eggs and fresh coffee again.  Once we are feeling suitably rejuvenated we head up the valley to the spectacular Drigung Til Gompa.  This Monastery is perched high on the valley wall and commands a panoramic view of the Drigung Valley.  Above the monastery is one of Tibets most famous sky-burial sites and we can see the vultures circling above.  (Out of respect for Tibetan culture, we do not visit the burial site).  We have lunch back down by the river before rafting back to our campsite.  The Drigung Chu is a stunning class 3/4 river with granite boulders and clear water.  It is a very different style to the glacial fed Reting Tsangpo.

July 30th Day 15: Drigung Chu Rafting

Today we drive to the head of the Drigung Valley where two smaller tributaries come together to form the Drigung Chu.  Today’s run starts with a challenging class 4 rapid then ease to class 3 and 3+ as we float through spectacular alpine scenary.  We aim to be back in camp for an early dinner.  After dinner we drive for half an hour up the Tidrum valley to the sublime hotsprings at Tidrum Gompa.  If soaking your tired muscles in ancient hotsprings is not your thing you can explore the quaint nunnery. 

July 31st  Day 16: Drigung Chu Rafting then drive to Lhasa

This morning we load the rafts on the truck and drive 5mins down stream.  Just downstream of our camp is a dangerous gorge with unrunnable rapids so we prudently put-in just downstream.  While the guides prepared the rafts you can take a short hike into the gorge to check out the rapids.  Today is the most exciting days rafting on the Drigung.  We start out with easy class 3 rapids but after about 3km we encounter the Class 4 Drigung gorge.  This dramatic section has a fantastic tight drop where the raft crew have to work hard together to negotiate the rapid the right way up! (If big rapids are not for you, it is possible to walk around this section!)  After lunch the rapids build again and we savour our last afternoon rafting in Tibet.  In the evening we drive back to Lhasa.  (Driving time: 2.5hrs)

Aug 1st    Day 17:  Fly to Beijing
Aug 2nd  Day 18:  Fly home