One-Day Luoyang Longmen Grottoes and White Horse Temple Private Tour
Luoyang, an ancient city with a long history and splendid culture, lies in the west of Henan Province, which is located in central North China. High-speed rail makes it more convenient to get to Luoyang and takes 1½ hours to get from Xi’an.
The best well-known attraction is Longmen Grottoes, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. The site represents the highest achievement in art relating to sculptures, which is a real treasure in China in terms of religion, fine arts, architecture, and calligraphy. White Horse Temple (Baima Temple) was the first Buddhist temple to be built in ancient China.
Taking this one-day private tour with no other participants to learn the rich ancient history and religious culture about Luoyang, Longmen Grottoes and Withe Horse Temple from our knowledgable tour guide!
Tour Highlights
- Visit UNESCO-listed Longmen Grottoes, an outstanding manifestation of human artistic creativity.
- Learn China's religious culture and history by visiting the first Buddhist temple in China.
- Private tour with your dedicated English-speaking local guide who has full knowledge of Luoyang.
- Enjoy a lunch of popular regional dishes at a local restaurant.
The Design of the Day Trip
- Guide: better than a normal licensed tour guide; friendly and helpful with fluent English.
- Driver: reliable licensed local driver with at least 5 years’ driving experience.
- Vehicle: Air-conditioned business car with GPS facilities, big windows, and ample space.
- Professional product team analysis on every part of the trip to ensure a smooth and enjoyable travel experience.
Detailed Itinerary
You’ll receive a welcome call from your guide via hotel at the night before your tour day, he/she will double confirm the pick-up time for the next day’s trip with you. If you are not available at that moment, the tour guide will leave a message for you.
Just in case that if you don’t receive our emails or phone calls, please call our 24-hour hotline at +86-18807734970 or add WeChat ID: trippest666 and we will put things right.
Your guide will be waiting for you in your hotel lobby which is centrally located in Luoyang City at 9:00AM holding a sign with your name on it. We can also pick you up at Luoyang Longmen/ Luoyang railway station. Then brings you to our first stop--the Longmen Grottoes. As you travel, listen as your guide tells tales of Longmen.
Your guide will be waiting for you in your hotel lobby
Good to Know:
- The hotel pick-up and drop-off area should be within Luoyang city center (including Luoyang Railway Station and Luoyang Longmen Railway Station). For further distance there might be an extra cost for the transfer which you'll be notified by your travel advisor.
- If you take an early high-speed railway and arrive at Luoyang/ Luoyang Longmen Station in the morning or catch a train after tour, please provide your train information(train number, carriage number, arrival/departure time) at the time of booking. We will pick you up at/drop you off to the station for free.
Your exploration of the Longmen Grottoes site begins. Please follow your guide to discover the grottoes which house the biggest collection of Chinese art from the late Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties, from between the 4th and 10th centuries.
Full-view of Longmeng Grottoes
The Yi River flows between Mount Xiangshan (to the east and known as East Hill) and Mount Longmen (to the west and known as West Hill), and most of the grottoes and caves are on the western side. About 2,300 grottoes and niches, more than 40 crematory urns, 25,000 inscribed stone tablets, and over 100,000 Buddhist images and statues are carved into the cliffs.
Buddhist statues are carved into the cliffs.
Various Buddhist images and statues
Head into the site, and enjoy a guided walk along the riverbanks to see the highlights, admiring the earliest niches with their simple Buddha statues, to the later and more richly carved caves, featuring rich depictions of Buddhas, court figures, and other decorative elements.
Along the riverbanks
Lotus Cave
Buddhas on the cave
There some highlights you should not miss on West Hill, such as Guyang Cave which is the oldest cave, Fengxian Temple which is the largest cave and the biggest sculpture of Vairocana Buddha, Wanfo Cave which is the smallest cave, etc.
Vairocana Buddha
Buddha statues
Good to Know:
- The Longmen Caves area is very large. Although you can take a battery car from the entrance to the site, you also need to walk a lot. Wearing a pair of comfortable shoes is recommended.
- Please be prepared to climb steps. All the steps are fenced safely and you can ascend them easily. Your experienced guide will take good care of you.
Admire the lush scenery around the caves, and afterward, head to a local restaurant for a lunch of popular regional dishes.
Please let us know your food preferences, such as a vegetarian diet, gluten-free food, etc. so that we can make preparations in advance.
Pork Soup
Great lunch time
Duly refreshed, continue with a 40-munite drive to the White Horse Temple, founded in 68 AD, and held to be the first Buddhist temple in China. Backed by the Mangshan Mountain and overlooking the Luohe River, this ancient temple consists of ornate religious shrines holding images of Buddhist deities.
White Horse Temple
Soak in the spiritual atmosphere, and tour of the main areas, including halls, pavilions, and courtyards, as you learn about the temple’s history and why it’s regarded as the cradle of Chinese Buddhism.
The courtyards
In front of the hall
After visiting the White Horse Temple, the tour comes to an end, we will transfer back to your hotel in Luoyang city or Luoyang(Longmen) railway station. If you want us bring you to the Luoyang airport, there will be an extra fee which you'll be notified by your travel advisor.
Please make sure to reserve at least 3 hours if you want to catch an onward flight or 2 hours if you want to catch an onward train. Please book the transfer with us in advance and tell us your flight (or train) number and departure time.
You may follow us on our Facebook page to see the latest updates, photos and posts from your tour guide at: https://www.facebook.com/trippest/
Schedule and Pricing
| Group Size | Price | Group Size | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group of 1 | $ 170 USD p/p | Group of 2-3 | $ 120 USD p/p |
| Group of 4-5 | $ 95 USD p/p | Group of 6-9 | $ 90 USD p/p |
| Group of 10 | $ 60 USD p/p |
Important Notes:
- The tour is NOT open during the China National Day golden week from Oct. 1st to Oct. 7th.
- Daily departure.
Price Include:
- Admission to attractions listed on the itinerary.
- Private transport, including pickup and return to your hotel (within Datong city center).
- Private English-speaking local guide.
- Lunch.
Price Exclude:
- Airport transfer.
- Personal expenses.
- Gratuities to the tour guide & driver (usually CNY 50 - 100 per person per day for each of them, please tip them separately.). It is not compulsory but would be a great encouragement for them.
FAQs About This Tour
The hotel pick-up and drop-off area should be within Luoyang city center. For further distance there might be an extra cost for the transfer which you'll be notified by your travel advisor.
Pick-up and drop-off area of Luoyang
- If we are not able to implement the contract due to war, flood, typhoon, fire, strikes, storm, earthquake, or any other condition we are not able to foresee and avoid, we will inform customers at the first possible opportunity and offer the best possible solutions, and the final bill shall be settled based on the service we actually provide.
- Up to 7 days before departure: 100% refund of all money paid, excluding penalties charged by hotels, railways, airlines, and PayPal, if applicable. All penalties will be itemized.
- From 3 to 7 days before departure: 90% refund, excluding penalties charged by hotels, railways, airlines, and PayPal, if applicable. All penalties will be itemized.
- Within 3 days before departure: no refund.
- After the trip has commenced, we are unable to refund any amount for cancelled services due to non-participation, early departure, late arrival, or missed days on tours.
- For groups of more than 10 people: The terms for cancellation may vary from case to case. Please ask your travel advisor regarding the cancellation policy for your group.
In order to making sure we have enough time to arrange your trip and make sure the availability we usually require customer make their booking at least 24 hours in advance and that’s why you can not book directly on-line for a 24-hour last-minute booking.
But that does not mean you have no chance to book a last-minute trip within 24 hours. For urgent booking, please make a phone call to us at: +86-18807734970 to check the availability or send an email (not recommended as you may not get the response immediately) at: inquiry@trippest.com
Due to state control of internet security in China, many popular websites and APPs are blocked, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, WhatsApp etc. It is very possible that you may not be able to receive your emails and other important information. For this reason, we highly recommend you to sign up for a VPN service(for example, ExpressVPN) before your trip, to make sure you can connect to the global internet.
Good to know: Wechat is widely use in China, we suggest you to use Wechat for further communication if possible.
Mobile: +86 18807734970
WeChat: trippest666
Email: niko@trippest.com
