Essence of North Korea

Take an international flight from Beijing to Pyongyang by yourselves. Air tickets will be arranged TCG. After 2 hours, you will land in Pyongyang Sunan International Airport. Your local guide will be expecting you and transfer you to the luxury Yanggakdo Hotel. Enjoy the city view on the journey to the hotel and have a good sleep at night. If you want, you can go to the Kaeson Youth Park with the guides (entrance fee is included. The client should pay if he/she wants to ride any amusement facility.).

Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Yanggakdo Hotel

After breakfast, head to Mansudae to visit the Fountain Park and Mansudae Grand Monument. Located at the center of Pyongyang, Mansudae there is a hill and also a site of ancient Pyongyang city. It is an important attraction to the Korean people as there stands the statues of their former presidents, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il. Visitors are also required to follow local custom to bow and put some flowers in front of the statues. Please note that you can only take full-size photos of the statues and anything considered inappropriate will be deleted by the Korean guide. At Mansudae, you can also see the Chollima Statue, Mansudae Assembly Hall, Mansudae Art Studio, and Mansudae Schoolchildren's Palace. Continue to visit the Kim Il Sung Square, the largest city square in Pyongyang. The square is the venue for important ceremonies, rallies, and military parades. We will then walk to the Grand People's Study House, a traditional Korean style building, which provides free skill training and master and doctor degrees programs. Basically, it is a free public library. Standing on the square, you can also see the Juche Tower with a red torch on the top, which looks like a burning candle when the lights are on at night.

After lunch, we will drive to Nampo city, which is only one hour from Pyongyang. Visit the famous West Sea Barrage. Located about 9.3miles (15km) from Nampo city, the barrage is a 5 mile (8 km) long huge dam that separates the Taedong River from the West Sea of Korea, and is one of the most famous coastal dams in the world. We will visit a local farm before dinner. Stay overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Dragon River Hot Spa Hotel

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and we will drive to Mt. Kuwol. The mountain is one of the five most famous mountains in North Korea (the other four being Mt. Peakdu, Mt. Myohyang, Mt. Kumgang, and Mt. Chilbo), and boasts beautiful scenery of steep peaks, deep valleys, crystal clear waterfalls and pools. What's more, it also has various kinds of flora and fauna.

Continue our bus journey to Kaesong, the city at the southern border of North Korea. Kaesong is an industrial city and is also famous for Koryo ginseng. This afternoon, we will visit the Tomb of King Wanggon. Wanggon was the founder of Koryo, who united the country during his reign. You will learn many traditional customs of ancient Koryo and also the history of the country. Then we will have a shopping stop at a Koryo ginseng store. Then check in at Jannamsan Hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Janamsan Hotel

After breakfast, we will visit one of the most tense border regions, Panmunjom/DMZ, where the northern and southern parts of Korean Peninsula have faced each other for decades. You will have the chance to sit by the tables where the truce of Korea War was discussed and signed. A Korean soldier will show you around. Then head to the Koryo Museum, which was once a royal palace of ancient Koryo in early 11th century and was used to cater for foreign guests. In 1089, it was turned into the imperial college of Koryo and renamed Songgyungwan. Nowadays, the museum houses over 1,000 pieces of precious relics and files of the ancient Koryo.

Lunch is provided at a local restaurant and after that, we will drive back to Pyongyang. Visit President Kim II Sung's Native Home in Mangyongdae. There you will see the old houses and also learn the childhood of this former president of North Korea. Then continue our tour to Pyongyang Metro line 1 to experience the world's deepest metro system. Before going back to our hotel, we will have a stop at the Arch of Triumph, which was built to commemorate the victory of the two wars led by President Kim Il Sung. Our guides will invite you for a farewell dinner in a local restaurant in the city center. Check into the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Yanggakdo Hotel

We will drive you to the airport for your flight back to Beijing.

Meals: Breakfast