Best of China & Tibet

Set out on an orientation walk near the hotel with your CEO to get your bearings. They will show you restaurants, points of interest, supermarkets, ATMs, etc.

Your opportunity to meet your CEO and fellow travellers, and learn more about your tour. Opt to join the group for a local meal afterwards. Don't forget to see the notice in the lobby (or ask reception) for the official time and place to meet up with the group.

Check out the iconic Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing. For 500 years the palace was only accessible to the emperors’ attendants and officials by invitation only. Visit sights like the Clock Exhibition Hall, wander through the Three Great Halls or stand in the shade of the cypress trees in the Imperial Garden.

Get around underground via public transit.

Explore one of the world's largest public squares and the symbolic centre of Chinese power. Framed by the Gate of Heavenly Peace with its Mao portrait, Mao's Mausoleum, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum, and with elaborate flag raising and lowering ceremonies at dawn and dusk, it's a place of pilgrimage for the Chinese tourists who consider it the heart of their nation.

Spend a free afternoon in Beijing. Opt to visit Hutong Area, the Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace. Opt to have a Peking Duck meal in the evening.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the comfort of your shared bus transportation from Beijing to Mutianyu.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the comfort of your shared bus transportation from Mutianyu to Beijing.

Climb the rolling hills of Huairou County at Mutianyu, one of the best-preserved sections of the Great Wall. Enjoy scenic views as the wall winds along mountain ridges, and take brag-worthy photos of the wall from any of the 22 towers. The Great wall is an incredible piece of engineering stretching 6000 km west from the mountain ridges north of Beijing. It was originally constructed to protect Chinese empires from nomadic northern tribes, and even though it failed in this purpose, it's still one of the country's most remarkable achievements and an iconic destination. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is located about 80km away from the Veijing City Center. The walk is approximately 5 kilometres and will take 2 to 3 hours depending on your level of fitness.

Explore the lively Muslim Quarter and its serene Great Mosque, making time to indulge in the offerings of exotic local street food stalls. At night, head out for some of the best street food in China – the spicy beef and lamb kebabs are always a favorite.

Get to your next destination faster than the speed of light (ok maybe not that fast) aboard a high-speed train.

Enjoy a CEO-led orientation walk close to the Xi'an hotel to help you get the lay of the land. Learn where you can find local services (like ATMs and laundromats) and, perhaps, see some city highlights. Every CEO does something slightly different for their orientation walk to show visitors what they like best about the city.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Take a guided tour of the Terracotta Warriors where more than 8,000 clay soldiers and hundreds of replica horses and chariots stand in three pits. Learn why the Emperor Qin Shihuang commissioned the statues to serve as his army in the afterlife and how they were discovered. Spend a half-day exploring this archaeological wonder.

Sit down for an included lunch at a restaurant run by a local family at their own home near the Terra-Cotta Museum. Dishes will include foods like home-cooked noodles, stir fried dishes, and seasonal fruits from the garden.

Explore all the city has to offer.

Catch a high speed train to our next stop.

Visit the popular pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, created to provide an ideal breeding environment for these endangered creatures. Learn about their life cycle and habitat and take memorable photographs of these iconic national treasures. See a number of other rare species, including the little-known red panda. Arrive in the fall for a chance to see tiny newborn pandas.

Built in 1911, the People's Park was the first public park in Chengdu. It's the largest green area in downtown. The park features an artificial lake, gardens, teahouses, and is a popular place for locals to enjoy the outdoors. Walk to Tianfu Square in the centre of the city, surrounded by museums.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.

Join your CEO for an orientation walk around Lhasa.

Enjoy a tour of this beautiful temple, which has been called the spiritual heart of Tibet. Watch prostrating pilgrims circle the temple day and night, some of them traversing the extremes of the Tibetan landscape by foot to come here and celebrate their faith. Make a kora ("revolution" in Tibetan) of the Barkhor, the holiest devotional circuit, which surrounds the Jokhang and houses a market bazaar where people bargain for Buddha images, yak skulls with ruby eyes, woodcarvings, carpets, prayer wheels, and the odd goat's head.

Explore the square with your CEO and learn more about this city.

Join your group for a local Tibetan cooking class. Make delicious, local dumplings called momos. Then sit together and enjoy your yummy creations!

Enjoy a tour of Potala Palace, a magnificent structure and true architectural wonder built in the 1600s and steeped in history. This is where the Dalai Lamas would meditate, handle affairs of state, and eventually where their burial stupas remain. Check out the golden statues, three dimensional mandalas, ancient scriptures, and the devoted pilgrims who circle the palace day and night. This is truly a remarkable place.

Visit the Sera Monastery and witness the monks engaged in lively debate, a philosophical practice they have held for hundreds of years.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Get your bearings of Gyantse on CEO led orientation walk.

Enjoy a visit to these two significant places in Tibetan Buddhism. Pelkor Chode Monastery was founded in 1418 and is regarded as the centre of Gyantse. Gyantse Kumbum (meaning 100,000 images) is an 8 story structure containing a seemingly endless series of tiny chapels full of Buddhist images – Buddhas, demons, protectors, and saints.

This massive complex is visited daily by hundreds of devotees, armed with yak butter to feed the lamps, who prostrate themselves around the stupas or walk up to the chapel that houses the 26m-high (85ft), gold-plated statue of the Maitreya (future) Buddha.

Take in the stunning views of one of Tibet's oldest monasteries and surrounding landscape.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Enjoy a visit to Rongbuk Monastery, the highest monastery in the world. It was first built in 1902 by the Nyingma Lama and originally housed more than 500 monks. Today, only about 50 monks and nuns remain, sharing the same prayer hall but maintaining separate residences. The nuns here are great fun and will be delighted to have you join their evening prayers.

Hike around 5 km (1.5 hours) up to an Everest viewpoint about 2.2km away from Everest Basecamp. Even though the viewpoint isn't from the Basecamp, it doesn't mean the views will be any less breathtaking. Pack some water and your camera and get hiking for a tiny taste of what it's like to scale this magnificent mountain.

At the foot of Mt Everest, stay in a tent similar to those of nomadic Tibetan people. From a tent made completely on yak hair, take in the breathtaking view of Mt Everest.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Take an orientation walk of Kyirong town, 4200 m above sea level.

Ready for a little more ink in your passport? Grab your bags and get ready to check another country off your bucket list.

Visit this unique old town known as the City of Devotees. Explore Hindu temples, pagodas, palaces, and monuments, including the beautiful wood-carved palace in Durbar Square. You can pick up clay pots and other souvenirs in the colourful open markets and taste home made yogurt, known as khopa dhau, which Bhaktapur is famous for.

Every orientation walk will be a little different, allowing our CEOs to show off their favourite bits of the square. Learn more about Durbar Square and Kathmandu and get a good introduction to Nepal.

Durbar Square was built primarily in the 16th and 17th centuries. Within the square there is of course the Royal Palace and many temples built in the traditional Newari pagoda style. On the south side lies the Kumari Chowk, home to Nepal's living goddess the Kumari, a prepubescent girl chosen as the incarnation of the Hindu goddess Talejn. The Kumari lives a cloistered life rarely leaving the confines of the chowk, when she does it is for important religious festivals and whilst traveling her feet must never touch the ground. Once the Kumari reaches puberty another 3-5 year old girl will take her place.