Getting
There
By Air
: Kathmandu - Gonggar : a twice-weekly
flight operates between Kathmandu
and Lhasa from the beginning of April
through October and sometimes till
November depending upon the weather
conditions. The 55 minute flight offers
spectacular views of the Himalayas
and the southern Tibetan plateau.
By Road
: An approach that has great
appeal for hardy and adventurous travelers
is to enter or leave Tibet by road,
following the footsteps of explorers
who for more than a century tried (and
usually failed) to reach Lhasa overland.
Visa
China has two kinds of visa system :
Group Visa for Tour Groups &. Individual
Visa
People can travel to Mainland China
with a Group Visa or an Individual Visa
but for Tibet Autonomous Region, people
must be in a Group Visa if they are
entering via Nepal . People traveling
Mainland China with Individual Visa
also can travel to Tibet but they must
procure Tibet Travel Permit and a number
of other permits. The Government authorized
Tibet Tour Operators and their overseas
agents, only after you book the tour
with; processes group Visa and Travel
Permits. The Group Visa and Permits
are valid for the period of the trip
that you buy with the operator. Group
visa means-all the participants enlisted
in one group visa must travel together
while in Tibet , including entry and
exit.
In order to procure Group Visa or Travel
Permit, you will have to provide us
your passport details (Name as on passport,
current address, date and place of birth,
passport no., date and place of issue,
date of expiry and the profession) at
the time we receive your booking. The
details are forwarded to our Lhasa based
representative who will process the
visa and necessary permits. A copy of
visa approval letter will be faxed to
our office. Our office submits the visa
approval letter, original passports
of all the participants and list of
the participants on a special format
to the embassy in Kathmandu. Currently,
Chinese embassy of Kathmandu accepts
visa application only on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays from 09.30 am to 11.00 am.
Regular visa processing takes 3 working
days but against payment of emergency
processing charge, we can collect the
visa on same day or the second working
day. People entering Tibet via mainland
cities, of course, they will bring their
visa individually on the passports.
Yet, they will require a Travel Permit
to get into Tibet that will be pre-arranged
and you can collect a copy of it at
our representative offices in Chengdu
, Xian, Shanghai and Beijing . Besides,
there are numerous other permits like
inner line permit, road permit, military
permits etc but you don't have to worry
about all these as it's the basic job
of the local operator.
Best time for travel
However, the best time to visit Tibet
is from April to September. Tibet ,
being a Trans-Himalayan region, receives
very less rain in the summer. From October
onwards, the temperature drops significantly
and starts snowing up in the passes.
You can travel to Central Tibet throughout
the year. If you are taking Trekking
or Circumambulation walk of Mount Kailash
and western region, the best period
is from June to Mid September. The Air
China suspends the flight between Kathmandu
and Lhasa in the winter.
Travel within
Tibet
Travel within Tibet is only by motor
vehicles or trek. There is no domestic
air service, helicopters and does not
have a railway track. The only way to
see the country is either on foot or
by road. The distances are huge and
the only recommended mode of transportation
is hiring the vehicles from the travel
agents
Money
& Exchange
Banks in Tibet/china are closed on Saturday
& Sunday. So, you are kindly requested
to carry about US $ 100 per person in
cash over and above the tour cost to
cover your extra expenses for main meals
and others enroute until Lhasa. If it
is cash dollars, even local people help
you to get them exchanged in Chinese
yuan. Travelers Cheques & credit
cards are very difficult to be cashed
outside the banks especially Outside
Lhasa. The unit of currency is yuan
. Us$ 1 = 8 yuan.
Communications
Many areas of Tibet are without communication
facilities, including telephone and
postal services. In Western Tibet
, there is no telephone facility after
Saga, the small city near the famous
Brahamaputra River . In case of emergency,
please ask your family and friends
to contact the staff at our Kathmandu
office that will provide information
and respond to their needs accordingly.
Accommodation
Only Cities like Lhasa , Gyantse and
Shigatse have hotels with private toilet,
hot shower and some modern amenities.
Electricity and hot water supply may
be disrupted although the hotels of
cities promise them. Hot water availability
in some hotels may be for a few hours
of the day only. You will have to check
out that at the reception.
Guesthouse accommodation and dormitories
with very basic facility are available
in the rest of the part of Tibet . In
such places, you will not expect private
toilet, hot shower, TV or any other
amenities. In Mount Kailash and Trekking
region, we have to set the tented camps.
You will adjust in a two-person tent,
furnished with mattresses and pillows.
Besides, there will be a dinning tent,
a kitchen tent and a few toilet tents
installed.
Go to Tibet
for an adventure and not for a luxury.
Tibet is the land of overwhelmingly
beautiful landscape, rich culture, ancient
religion, amazing myths and gorgeous
mountains. Renowned as the last Shangri
La in the world, Tibet is isolated by
the high Himalayas and is one of the
least developed parts of the world.
Facilities are being upgraded and professionalism
is still underway. So travelers are
warned that they should not expect a
luxury and a full fledge professionalism
in Tibet . Its extreme remoteness, harsh
weather, and difficult geography makes
the journey challenging.
Food
In Central Tibet , the trip includes
daily breakfast in the hotels. While
trekking and Mount Kailash trip, there
will be a team of Nepalese and Tibetan
crews to prepare 3 meals a day for you.
Most of the supplies come from Nepal
and some vegetables are purchased locally.
The cook changes the menu every day,
from Nepali to Tibetan to Continental!
with whatever possible from the limited
supplies that they bring from Nepal
. The major cities like Lhasa , Gyantse
, Shigatse , Tsetang and Zhangmu have
choices of restaurants serving Continental,
Chinese and Tibetan dishes. Besides,
you may want to bring with you energy
bars, dry foods like chocolates, cookies,
dried fruits etc to eat on the way.
Guides
Tibetan guides are reported to have
limited English and you may not expect
a fluent explanation about culture and
religion or any other academic topics
from them. They find their job well
done in dealing with the bureaucracies
and clearing with the checkpoints. However,
we try out best to assign trained and
knowledgeable guides, certified by Tourism
Authority of Tibet. On a big size group
tour, Nepalese Tour Leader will accompany
the group from Kathmandu who will make
sure that everything goes in the right
order
Photography
Photography at the airport, bridge
and government establishment is not
allowed. On violation of this rule,
it's not only the penalty that you
will pay but you will loose the film
also. Inside the monastery, you can
take pictures with permission only
from the Lamas or monks and you may
have to pay 10 to 20 RMB in each chapels/chambers.
Climate, clothing and equipment
Tibet is cold in winter, cool in summer
and generally dry, receiving only
450 millimeters or rain or snow. Sunlight
is extremely intense. The thin air
neither blocks nor holds heat, so
sunshine feels warm, shadows are chilly,
and temperatures can vary greatly
within a day, exceeding 29 degree
Celsius (84 f) in desert areas in
summer, and plunging below 4 degree
Celsius (40 f) the same night. The
most pleasant months for tourism are
from April to October.
Clothing should be simple and consist
of layers which can be added or removed
as the temperature varies during the
day. A warm windbreaker and stout
comfortable shoes are especially recommended.
Formal attire such as a necktie or
dress is never needed - trousers and
sweaters are the style.
Lhasa now has many pharmacies selling
Tibetan, Chinese and some westerns
medicines but, it is advisable to
bring your own comprehensive first-aid
kit, sunglasses with good ultra-violet
protection, sun block and lip cream
and a flashlight is important because
many interesting sights are poorly
lit.
Altitude
& Health Tips
Travelling in Tibet is an adventure
involving high altitude and could
be strenuous. While most visitors
have only minor effects from the altitude,
we advise specially the guests with
known heart or lungs or blood diseases
to consult their doctor before travelling.
Mild headache, fever, loss of appetite
or stomach disorder can take place
in a process of acclimatization. Our
advice for better acclimatization,
drink 4 liter. Of water minimum a
day, do not exhaust yourself so much,
breathe deep and take rest more than
usual.
Emergency
Evacuation
Seriously ill travellers should not
consider trying to leave Tibet by
road, as the difficulties and uncertainties
of such a journey pose unacceptable
risks. Your only choice is to fly.
Tipping
Guides and Drivers would be happy
to receive tip and in fact it motivates
them to work harder and provide better
service
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