China & Tibet by the Qinghai–Tibet Railway, 13 Nights

Met at Pudong International and driven into the city, around an hour. After check-in, an evening walk along the Bund, where the 1920s banks and trading houses face Pudong's lit skyline across the Huangpu. Rest well: this is a long journey that ends high on the Tibetan plateau, and arriving in Lhasa rested and healthy matters more than anything done in the first few days.

Yu Garden in the old town in the morning, a Ming family garden of rock piles, pavilions and koi ponds beside a busy bazaar. Then the Bund on foot in daylight and a stretch of Nanjing Road, the city's historic shopping street. In the late afternoon, over the river to Pudong and up to the 88th-floor deck of the Jin Mao Tower as the lights come on. The evening is free.

The morning high-speed train from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing South, around four and a half to five hours. Met at the station and taken to the hotel. In the early evening, a guided walk through the restored Qianmen lanes just south of Tiananmen and on to Wangfujing, whose side streets fill with snack stalls after dark. The capital has many Indian and vegetarian restaurants for dinner.

Tiananmen Square, and then the Forbidden City, the palace of the Ming and Qing emperors, walked from the Meridian Gate through the ceremonial halls to the Imperial Garden. Tickets are issued in advance against passports and it closes on Mondays, so this day and the next may be swapped. After lunch, the Temple of Heaven, whose round hall is one of Beijing's defining images, and a drive past the Olympic Green's Bird's Nest stadium.

To Juyongguan, north-west of the city, where the Great Wall runs steeply up both sides of a mountain pass. Take the steps slowly; this is also the right moment to start drinking more water and building up walking fitness for Lhasa. The Summer Palace follows on the way back: Kunming Lake, the long painted gallery on its shore and Longevity Hill above.

The high-speed train from Beijing West to Xi'an North takes around four and a half to five and a half hours; a flight is the alternative, and we book whichever suits your dates. Met on arrival and taken to the hotel. In the evening, a stop on the Ming city wall and then the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Tang tower built for the scriptures Xuanzang carried back from India, with the fountains playing in the square below.

About an hour east to the Terracotta Army: some eight thousand clay soldiers, horses and chariots buried in battle formation to guard the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Pit 1 holds the famous ranks of infantry; Pits 2 and 3 and the museum's bronze chariots complete the picture. Back in the city, time in the Muslim Quarter for noodles, breads and dried fruit, and an early night before moving higher.

West to Xining, capital of Qinghai province, either by high-speed train through the Gansu corridor, about five hours, or by a flight of an hour and a half; we book whichever suits your dates. At around 2,300 m, Xining is the first real step up in altitude, and a quiet afternoon here is part of the plan. For those feeling well, the old Dongguan Mosque and the evening food streets are easily reached.

A long day on the plateau, which doubles as acclimatisation at around 3,000 to 3,200 m before sleeping lower again in Xining. Qinghai Lake, China's largest, is a vast blue inland sea ringed by grassland, prayer flags and yak herds. Further west, Chaka is a salt lake so flat and shallow that on a calm day it mirrors the sky; visitors walk out on the salt crust. Expect around ten hours out, with plenty of time in the vehicle.

A slow morning, then the transfer to Xining station for the train to Lhasa, a journey of around twenty-one to twenty-two hours. Tibet Travel Permits are checked before boarding, alongside passports and tickets. The line climbs past Golmud onto the high plateau and crosses the Tanggula Pass at just over 5,000 m, among the highest railway lines on earth. Carriages have supplementary oxygen at each berth, and sleeper compartments have four bunks. Drink plenty of water, avoid alcohol and rest.

The morning brings the plateau at its most dramatic: wide grasslands, grazing yaks, nomad tents and snow peaks along the line. The train reaches Lhasa, at about 3,650 m, around midday or in the afternoon. The licensed Tibetan guide meets you at the station with the traditional white khata scarf and takes you to the hotel; after that, nothing is scheduled and the afternoon is deliberately empty: rest, walk slowly, drink water and let your body adjust.

The Potala Palace in the morning, thirteen storeys of white and red rising from Marpo Ri hill, former seat of the Dalai Lamas. Tickets are timed and numbers are limited, and the climb to the entrance is long and steep at this altitude, so go slowly. In the afternoon, the Jokhang Temple, the most sacred shrine in Tibet, and the Barkhor, the circuit of lanes around it that pilgrims walk clockwise with prayer wheels and prostrations.

The Norbulingka in the morning, the Dalai Lamas' summer palace set in gardens on the west side of the city. In the afternoon, Sera Monastery on the northern edge of Lhasa, one of the three great Gelug monasteries, where on most afternoons monks gather in the courtyard to debate points of doctrine with loud claps and stamps. Evening free for a last walk around the Barkhor as the pilgrims make their circuits.

Breakfast, then the transfer with your guide to Lhasa Gonggar airport, about an hour along the Yarlung Tsangpo valley, for the onward flight. Most international connections run through a Chinese hub such as Chengdu. There is no time for more sightseeing today, and none is needed; the drive itself, past river flats and villages, is a fitting last view of Tibet.