Post-MTP Chengdu 2027 group trip with Johnny Ward
China to Nepal overland via Tibet & Everest
Post-MTP Trip 1: China, Tibet & Nepal
Finished in Chengdu? Take the long way home.
Eleven days overland from Chengdu to Kathmandu, via Chongqing, the Tibet train, Lhasa and Everest Base Camp. Most trips have one, maybe two main events. This one has about seven.
As a GrandMaster myself, a friend of Charles and Luis and a sponsor of the MTP Summit in Chengdu (October 21–24, 2027), I’m running a few wild group trips around the conference. You’re already in China, surrounded by some of the most travelled people on the planet. Fly home?! Absolutely not.
I’ll be guiding this one myself. No serious hiking, no technical climbing, no expedition experience needed. Just ridiculous scenery, remote roads, culture, altitude and one hell of an adventure.
Tour highlights
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Everest Base Camp
The Tibet side, no hiking
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The Tibet Train
Two nights on the Qinghai–Tibet Railway
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Ancient Lhasa
Two days, Potala Palace included
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Cyberpunk Chongqing
China’s viral vertical city
Trip facts
- Dates
- Trip length
- After MTP
- Leave Chengdu together on 25 October
- Rooms
- Twin share, single supplement available
- Everest Base Camp
- About 5,200m (17,060 ft)
- Guides
- Johnny + local English-speaking guides
Day by day
The Itinerary
Day 1: Chengdu to Chongqing
· Hotel, Chongqing
MTP Chengdu is finished, but we’re definitely not going home yet. We jump on the high-speed train to Chongqing, one of the strangest and most spectacular cities in China.
After check-in we head for Jiefangbei and Hongya Cave, because this place is at its best after dark. Skyline views, then a proper Sichuan hotpot dinner. There’ll be options for anyone who doesn’t want their mouth medically reconstructed.
Day 2: Chongqing & the Train to Tibet
Overnight on the Tibet train
Another day to explore Chongqing properly: giant skyscrapers, multi-level streets, trains running through buildings and viewpoints over the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. Who on Earth designed this place?
Later we head to the station and board our train towards Lhasa. Get comfortable, this is home for the next two nights.
Day 3: Across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
Overnight on the Tibet train
One of those rare days when sitting on a train is the main event. The railway tops 5,000 metres, with huge empty plains, snowy mountains, lakes and yaks rolling past the window.
Read a book, drink tea, chat rubbish with the rest of the MTP crew. It’s also a much gentler introduction to the altitude than landing in Lhasa from sea level.
Day 4: Arrive in Lhasa
Hotel, Lhasa
We roll into Lhasa, at roughly 3,650 metres, and transfer to the hotel. Today is deliberately gentle so our bodies can adjust before we head even higher.
Once everyone’s settled, an easy wander around the old city and our first taste of Tibetan culture. No heroics. Eat, hydrate, walk slowly.
Day 5: Lhasa & the Potala Palace
Hotel, Lhasa
Today we properly explore the Tibetan capital. The centrepiece is the Potala Palace, one of the most recognisable buildings in Asia, but Lhasa is much more than one landmark.
We spend the day in the old quarter and at Tibetan Buddhist sites while we keep acclimatising. And somehow Everest is still ahead of us.
Day 6: Lhasa to Gyantse & Shigatse
Hotel, Shigatse
Road-trip time. We leave Lhasa and head overland via Gyantse towards Shigatse, over high passes, through enormous valleys and past Tibetan villages.
This is why I love overland travel: the gaps between the famous places become the trip. By evening we reach Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city and our last big stop before Everest.
Day 7: Everest Base Camp
Everest Base Camp area
The day everyone’s been waiting for. Deeper into the Himalayas until the highest mountain on Earth appears ahead of us, and we reach the Everest Base Camp region on the Tibetan side.
If the mountain gods give us clear weather, we take in the North Face and get the obligatory photos. I climbed this thing in 2023, so drinking beers here without an ice axe sounds pretty appealing. And yes, we sleep up here.
Day 8: Everest to Gyirong
Gyirong, near the Nepal border
We wake up in the Everest region and, weather permitting, get another look at the mountain before turning towards Nepal.
The landscape slowly changes as we descend from the high, barren plateau towards greener Himalayan valleys. Final night in Tibet, close to the border, after an absolutely ridiculous week.
Day 9: Gyirong to Kathmandu
Hotel, Kathmandu
Two countries in one day. We cross from Tibet into Nepal by road, and almost immediately everything changes: language, food, roads, architecture and the general chaos of life.
Through the Himalayan foothills to Kathmandu, then out together to soak it up over another big group dinner. Bullet train, sleeper train, the Himalayas by road. Not over yet.
Day 10: Kathmandu
Hotel, Kathmandu
Our last full day, exploring Kathmandu’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Durbar Square, Boudhanath Stupa and Pashupatinath Temple. Then free time in Thamel for coffee and souvenirs.
Tonight we celebrate over one final dinner, swapping stories from 11 days that packed in more adventure than most people get in a lifetime.
Day 11: We’re Outta Here
· Kathmandu
Sadly, every adventure has to end. After breakfast it’s goodbyes, and you fly home from Nepal (or, knowing the MTP crowd, on to another country).
China’s most futuristic city, the highest railway in the world, ancient Lhasa, Mount Everest and the Himalayas into Nepal. Not bad for 11 days.
Your host
Johnny Ward
Irish guy, been to every country in the world, MTP GrandMaster and a sponsor of the Chengdu summit. I summited Everest in 2023 (be ready for me to bore you with details about that), so taking a group to stand beneath it without two months of expedition gear is a treat.
We’ve worked with the same trusted local team in Tibet for over a decade, so the permits and bureaucracy are our problem, not yours. I’ll be guiding the whole way from Chengdu to Kathmandu.
The train is part of the trip, and I’d choose this over flying every single time.
About seven main events
Why this trip?
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Tibet, done properly
Two days in Lhasa rather than racing through, then a road trip across the plateau with permits sorted for you.
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The train, not a plane
Two nights on the Qinghai–Tibet Railway, climbing above 5,000 metres as the landscape transforms outside your window.
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Cyberpunk Chongqing
Trains through apartment blocks and roads stacked on roads. A city that barely makes sense, in the best way.
Before you book
Good to Know
How does this trip connect with MTP Chengdu 2027?
It’s designed as a post-trip for the summit (October 21–24, 2027). No flight elsewhere to start another tour: we simply finish MTP and leave Chengdu together on 25 October. We finish in Kathmandu on 4 November, so you fly home from Nepal.
What about Chinese visas and Tibet permits?
Most nationalities can now apply for a Chinese eVisa quickly and easily, and we’ll guide you through it. We handle all the Tibet permit paperwork through the local partners we’ve worked with for over a decade. The Nepal visa is on arrival and not included.
Do I need to be fit?
No. There’s no major trekking and no climbing. Expect long drives, two nights on a sleeper train, early starts and some fairly basic accommodation in remote Tibet. If your idea of a holiday is a week by the pool, this probably isn’t it.
How high do we go?
Lhasa is around 3,650 metres and Everest Base Camp around 5,200 metres (17,060 ft). The route acclimatises gradually, with two days in Lhasa first, but altitude affects people differently and nobody can guarantee how you’ll react, so take it seriously.
Will we really visit Everest Base Camp?
Absolutely. We visit the Tibetan (north) side and sleep in the Everest region. Clear views of the North Face depend on the weather, which always has the final say in the mountains.
Is the train comfortable?
It’s a long-distance sleeper train rather than a luxury hotel on rails, but you’ll have a proper berth. Bring snacks, headphones and a book, because we’re spending two nights aboard.
Can I just do Chengdu and Chongqing?
Yes. Not everyone has 11 days of holiday, so there’s a separate five-day Chengdu and Chongqing mini-trip (25–29 October 2027, from $1,199), back in Chengdu for the pandas. We share the first night in Chongqing with this group. See all MTP trips, or DM me.
Price and what’s included
What’s included
- 10 nights’ accommodation: 8 nights in hotels and guesthouses plus 2 nights on the Tibet sleeper train
- 35-hour Qinghai–Tibet Railway sleeper ticket
- All transport throughout the itinerary
- Tibet Travel Permit, all organised on our side
- All sightseeing and entrance fees listed
- English-speaking local guides
- Western guide for the whole trip (me!)
- Breakfasts and selected additional meals
What’s not included
- International flights
- Chinese visa, if required (we help with the paperwork)
- Nepal visa on arrival
- Travel insurance (mandatory)
- Lunches and dinners unless stated
- Personal expenses
- Tips for local guides and drivers
Tour price
$3,950
Based on twin sharing
- Single supplement available
- No online booking yet: DM me on Instagram to grab a spot
Post-MTP Chengdu 2027
Chengdu to Kathmandu.
Chongqing, the Tibet train, Lhasa and Everest Base Camp, overland into Nepal in 11 days. There’s no online booking yet, so DM me on Instagram to grab a spot or ask anything.
Rather email? johnny@onestep4ward.com
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