For many people, the main reason that they go to Tibet is to see the amazing view of Everest’s famous North Face. The view of Everest from the Tibet side gives a clear, sweeping view of the mountain. I receive more emails about the Everest region that any other region of the Tibetan Plateau. I have been fortunate enough to go to the Tibet-side Everest Region more than a dozen times over the years. In this [...]
Many people ask if it is possible to cycle in Tibet. Not only is it possible to cycle in Tibet, it has become very popular over the past 10 years. The same travel regulations apply however, if you want to cycle. There is no independent travel and you still need to be part of an organized tour that includes travel permits, a tour guide and a private vehicle with a driver. There are NO exceptions to these regulations. [...]
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 [...]
Lhasa ལྷ་ས་, meaning “place of the gods” in Tibetan, is the most important city in Tibet. Lying at an elevation of 3655 meters / 12,000 feet, Lhasa is the second largest city on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ཟི་ལིང་. Historically, Lhasa was the capital of the traditional Tibetan region of Ü དབུས་, though today it is the capital of all of the Tibet Autonomous [...]
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 [...]
Every couple of weeks, I receive an email asking if it is possible to travel from Tibet to India (or vice-versa). If you are wanting to travel overland, the answer is no. There are no border crossings between Tibet and India that are open to foreigners. There are a handful of passes through the Himalaya’s that connect Tibet with India, but these are only for use by Indians, Tibetans and Chinese who hold [...]
The Potala Palace པོ་ཏ་ལ་ is the one building that most associate with Tibet. It rises over 300m (985 feet) above the valley below and has over 1000 rooms. It stretches 400m (1312 feet) long from east to west and the pilgrimage kora around the Potala is 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) in length. The massive building can be seen throughout Lhasa and the surrounding valley. Each day, thousands of [...]
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 [...]