Qinghai-Tibet-Nepal. Too much of the same?

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jade55
jade55

We love landscapes and are planning these trips:
-Train from Xining to Lhasa (for the mountains)
-Overland Xining-Yushu-Zato (for the grasslands, nomads, and headwaters of the Mekong)

Now, in addition to the above, we are thinking of going overland from Lhasa to Nepal (mainly for EBC).

In terms of landscape, will it be more of the same? Is EBC worth the effort, especially after the above two trips?
Wonder if we will be saturated by the time we do the Friendship Highway.

Love to hear some views to clear our uncertainty.

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lhasalb
lhasalb

there is nothing like coming off the tibetan plateau down towards Nyalum along the highway with a whole row of the himalayas infront of you and Sishibana to the right of you....for alot of the year this is a good clear magnificent scene.
And not overly being a mountain fanatic I have to say a view of Mount Everest from Rhongbuk and the base camp is pretty satisfying...if you have never been overland to nepal from Lhasa, then do it and there will be no regrets, and the other parts of your trip also sound good and complementary.
p.s. your statement 'train xining to lhasa (for the mountains)"...this is not as you are expecting, yes a panorama, but not mountains surrounding you

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westwood
westwood

Nothing like driving along and seeing Mt Everest in the far distance. In fact, the whole trip from Lhasa to EBC was amazing, a lot of the same landscape in stretches but plenty of variety.
My recollections of the train trip are more of open tundras than mountains. If you can get train tickets, its a trip worth taking (though time goes by really slow) along with the one heading to Nepal.

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jade55
jade55

much tks for the useful info. food for thought.

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anamore
anamore

The Everest base camp is a group of tents named hotels in which you can sleep with a group.In the same tent there is a stove to warm the tent ,boil water and cook. No separate rooms.
The place is very windy and cold and the toilets far away from the tents are so horribly disgusting... dirty and smelly, like most toilets in Tibet. No washing facilities. When I saw a couple of girls controlling each others hair for lice, I decided the place was just too much for me. My travel friends were of the same opinion and we went back to a place with hotel.
The Everest was behind the clouds so not worth taking pictures. Resuming I could have missed that place. However the drive there offered so many great views and a feeling of the greatness of the Himalaias the silence, the space, the sky, all of it was just amazing.

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westwood
westwood

#4 obviously hasnt had kids.

Sure, it can be cold and the facilities are pretty basic but the experience was well worth the slight discomfort of one night.

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jade55
jade55

The decision is made. We are doing the overland trip from Lhasa to Nepal!!!!!
Thanks so much for the insights and comparison, really very helpful.

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