The following morning, you'll travel for four hours by bus to Sakya, the base of the Sakya sect of Buddhism, where you'll spend a night before proceeding to the Rongphu Monastery. Perched at an altitude of over 16,000 feet, the early 20th-century monastery built by the Nyingma Lama has (not surprisingly) spectacular panoramic views. While staying at the monastery's simple guesthouse, you may even get a chance to join the nuns during their evening prayers. This part of the trip includes admission to nearby Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park and a two-hour hike to the Everest base camp.

A four-hour drive then brings you to the village of Lao Tingri, where you can experience rural Tibetan life and take in views of imposing Mount Everest. Stay overnight before proceeding to Zhangmu on the border with Nepal. You can expect to notice the landscape and humidity levels change as you near the border—where the Tibetan plateau abruptly ends.

Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet (Gavin Hellier/JAI/Corbis) [enlarge photo]

You'll cross into Dhulikhel, Nepal, at the foothills of the Panchkhal Valley, an old Newari settlement that resembles a Victorian town. Spend the night and then make your way back to Kathmandu. You'll stay one more night at Hotel Marshyangdi before heading home.

Before you go, visit the tourism websites of Tibet and Nepal.

Getting There This package doesn't include international airfare. Here's an idea of what you might pay for a round-trip flight to Kathmandu, departing on Sept. 7 and returning on Sept. 21, 2008: $1,503 from New York City (Qatar Airways), $2,034 from Chicago (Qatar), $2,119 from Houston (multiple carriers), $2,148 from L.A. (Qatar), and $2,510 from Miami (multiple carriers). Prices are based on a recent search on Kayak.

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