Voyage to the Roof of the World

Day 1 — Beijing

Arrive in Beijing and transfer to the Four Seasons, or similar. The welcome dinner this evening is your introduction to the group you will spend the next fortnight with.

Day 2 — Beijing

The Great Wall at Badaling in the morning — a restored section with long views along the ridges — and the afternoon free in the city. In the evening, a Peking duck dinner at one of the capital's specialists.

Day 3 — Beijing, and boarding the train

A full day on imperial Beijing: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City where emperors ruled for nearly five centuries, and the Summer Palace with its lakeside pavilions. If you would rather see the modern city, the alternative takes in the Olympic Village, the CCTV Tower and the National Museum. This evening you board the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express for the welcome dinner on board.

Day 4 — Luoyang and Xi'an

The train arrives at Luoyang, capital to thirteen dynasties and 4,000 years old. The Longmen Grottoes hold more than 100,000 Buddhist statues carved into the limestone cliffs above the Yi River; the Shaolin Temple, at the foot of Mount Song, is the birthplace of both Zen Buddhism and kung fu, and the monks still train in its courtyards. There is time in the old town for Luoyang's water banquet dumplings before the train runs on to Xi'an, where a Tang Dynasty banquet with music and dance is waiting.

Day 5 — Xi'an

Xi'an's city walls are among the most complete in the world, and you walk the ramparts for the view over the old town. After lunch, the Terracotta Warriors: more than 6,000 life-sized figures buried to guard Qin Shi Huang, discovered by farmers sinking a well in 1974, each one modelled individually. Back on board afterwards.

Day 6 — Chengdu

Breakfast on board as the train reaches Chengdu, then Kuanzhai Alley — a preserved grid of Qing dynasty lanes with teahouses, courtyards and craft shops. In the afternoon the Sichuan Opera Theatre is reserved for the group: silk costumes, fire, and bian lian, in which the performer's mask changes faster than the eye can follow. Tonight you stay ashore at the Waldorf Astoria Chengdu, or similar.

Day 7 — Chengdu, then on board

The morning is spent at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, among the bamboo. Back to the train for lunch, and the afternoon is yours — the observation car has a 270-degree view, and the bar is open.

Day 8 — Xining

A slow morning crossing the Qinghai plateau before Xining. Kumbum Monastery is one of the most sacred sites in Tibetan Buddhism, and your guide takes you into its quieter corners as well as the main prayer halls, with butter tea and cookies in a courtyard afterwards. Then choose between the Qinghai Provincial Museum, strong on Silk Road material, and the Shui Jing Xiang market.

Day 9 — Dunhuang

The Mogao Caves are cut into the cliffs at the edge of the Gobi — several hundred decorated grottoes recording a thousand years of Buddhist devotion, from the 4th century to the 14th. A guide takes you into a selection of the finest chambers while local musicians and dancers perform. After lunch, a camel ride over the dunes to Crescent Lake, a spring-fed oasis that has outlasted the desert around it.

Day 10 — The Qinghai-Xizang Railway

After breakfast you transfer to the Qinghai-Xizang Railway, the highest in the world, for the long run from Xining towards Lhasa across grassland, salt lakes and snow-capped ranges. If the altitude concerns you, there is the option of a direct flight to Lhasa instead, with extra time to acclimatise.

Day 11 — Tanggula Pass and Lhasa

The line crosses the Tanggula Pass at 16,640 feet, its highest point, with the Himalaya on the horizon. After lunch you arrive in Lhasa and check in to the St Regis, or similar. The afternoon offers an optional tour of the Jokhang Temple, the heart of Tibetan Buddhism, and the Barkhor Market that circles it — or simply time to rest and let the altitude settle.

Day 12 — Lhasa

The morning is at the Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama's summer palace, laid out in the 1740s as a retreat from the heat: gardens, lotus ponds and a great deal of quiet. Lunch is Tibetan, with folk music. In the afternoon, the Potala Palace — a 17th-century structure rising 300 metres above the valley, its red and white front visible from most of the city, and inside a warren of chapels, golden stupas and relics. The farewell dinner is this evening.

Day 13 — Lhasa

Private transfers to Lhasa airport for your onward flight.