UPDATED 13 April 2013 Each year I do my best to keep up-to-date on the various travel regulations and restrictions across the Tibetan Plateau. Tibet, including the regions of Amdo and Kham, can sometimes be politically unstable. When areas and regions are unstable, the government (not travel agencies) either closes specific areas or imposes travel regulations, such as group travel. It is important to remember [...]
Labrang Monastery བླ་བྲང་བཀྲ་དགོན་པ་ is the largest monastery in the traditional Tibetan region of Amdo. Established in 1709, Labrang housed over 4000 monks at its peak, but now only has around 1500 monks with another couple of hundred lay students. Located in the Gansu Part of Amdo, Labrang is considered the cultural heart of Amdo Tibetan culture along with nearby town [...]
Getting a Chinese tourist visa is a fairly simple process. For many nationalities, including North Americans, EU citizens, UK citizens. Australians and New Zealanders, you can apply for a Chinese tourist visa at the Chinese embassy/consulate in your home country and in most Chinese embassies/consulates around the world. On the Chinese visa application, it asks for you to list the places in China that you plan [...]
The 1200 kilometer route from Xining to Chengdu through the traditional Tibetan region of Amdo has become quite popular in recent years. This route passes through several amazing Tibetan towns that are home to some of the most important monasteries in Tibet. This route also goes through some excellent nomadic regions. In fact, some of the best nomadic areas in all of Tibet are found in this area. This route [...]
As you are probably aware of by now, Lhasa and the rest of the Tibet Autonomous Region is closed indefinitely to foreign travelers (UPDATE: The region reopened in July 2012). There is no telling at this point when the area will reopen. Does that mean you need to cancel your upcoming trip to Tibet altogether? Not necessarily! It is important to remember that Tibet consists far more than just the Tibet Autonomous [...]
UPDATED October 30, 2012 This year has been a difficult year so far for those wanting to travel to Tibet, including the regions of Amdo and Kham. All areas were closed during March and some areas in Kham didn’t reopen until late April/early May. Here is the latest update on travel regulations and closures across the Tibetan Plateau (NB: This information is current at the time of writing. It is important [...]
Though Tibetan nomads are becoming fewer and fewer each year, they can still be found across the Tibetan Plateau. Nomad life is simple, but difficult. Hardships include yaks dying from disease, yaks starving to death from heavy snow, difficulties selling meat, low yak wool prices and the constant pressure to resettle to towns. Many nomads are now only semi-nomadic. They live on the grasslands in their yak wool [...]
For the 5th year in a row, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) will be closed to foreign travelers during the month of March. The closure will actually begin around February 20th and most likely will last until the end of March or the beginning of April. Though China usually claims that these closures are due to “bad weather”, in reality the region is closed because March is the anniversary of several [...]