Shigatse གཞིས་ཀ་རྩེ is the second largest city in the Tibet Autonomous Region and is the capital of Shigatse Prefecture in the traditional Tibetan region of Tsang གཙང་. Shigatse sits at an elevation of 3848 meters / 12,625 feet and has a population of nearly 100,000. It has been an important town in Tibetan history for many centuries and in the past 30 years, has also become a [...]
Mt. Gang Benchen, rising to 7295 meters in the Langtang section of the Himalaya's The Himalaya Mountains! Probably the most popular reason people go to Tibet is to see the world’s highest and most spectacular mountain range. No trip to Tibet is complete without seeing the Himalaya’s, particularly Mt. Everest. There is something about looking out to the world’s highest peaks that just can’t [...]
A common question that travelers to Tibet have is “Do I need a sleeping bag?”. Most travelers to Tibet will not need to bring a sleeping bag. Unless you plan to go trekking, there is probably no reason to bring a sleeping bag with you from across the globe. Most regions of the Tibet Autonomous Region that travelers go to, including Lhasa, are quite modern and have several modern style hotels and [...]
Lhasa and most areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) will be reopening later this week. Travel permits for this region have already started being processed for some groups. It normally takes travel permits about 3 days to be processed so the first foreign travelers should be able to arrive in Lhasa as early as April 1st. This reopening is for Lhasa and most of the TAR except for Chamdo prefecture in far [...]
The 830 kilometer route linking Lhasa with the Nepal border at the Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge remains the most popular overland route in Tibet. The Friendship Highway follows the western portion of Chinese National Highway 318. At the Nepal border, the Friendship Highway continues on the Araniko Highway for a further 115 kilometers to the capital of Kathmandu. Starting in Lhasa, this route goes through many [...]
On April 22, 2012, Plateau Photo Tours, the company that I own, will be hosting The Digital Trekker Matt Brandon and my good friend and business partner Brian Hirschy, on a 13 day photography workshop adventure through Tibet and Nepal. This workshop is a follow up to our very successful 2011 trip through the Himalaya’s (read link for testimonials from this years workshop). The workshop will begin [...]