Tibet Travel Informations

Before arriving in Lhasa, all international visitors going to Tibet must arrange their travel with a travel agency in Lhasa, including a Tibet Travel Permit. The Tibet Permit is often wrongly called a Tibet visa. The Tibet Tourism Bureau in Lhasa issues the Tibet permit. Only a registered local Travel agency can help you apply for it on your behalf.

Please contact us for the tour arrangement at least six weeks before you arrive in Tibet. This gives them enough time to help you make your custom tour itinerary, provide all the necessary Tibet travel information, and apply for your travel permit.

We will be sure to apply for your permit in advance. You must send us a clear copy of your passport and visa to do so.

Additional Tibet Travel Permits.

There are a few other permits for the primary Tibet travel permit. You don’t need to worry about it at all. It is the responsibility of your travel agency to make it for you. If you travel with us, we will send them the list of permits needed on the tour contract. If not, we can help you with sending the list. In this way, you can be sure to have all the required documents before leaving Lhasa.

The Tibet Tourism Bureau is the sole authority that issues Tibet travel permits. Therefore, only a local travel agency registered with them can help you apply for the entrance permit.

When applying for a Tibet travel permit, remember the following points.

Book a tour with us. We will apply for it on your behalf.

• Only a Locally registered Travel Agency can apply for a Tibet travel permit. Since all tours in Tibet must be organized, international visitors have to book a tour with local agencies to be able to apply for Tibet travel permits on their behalf.

Send a tour deposit to their bank account.

• Before applying for a Tibet travel permit, you must send us a tour deposit. We must submit the bank receipt for the tour deposit and your Passport and Visa.

Please send copies of your Passport and Visa to us.

• The traveler will also have to send copies of their Passport and Visa for the application. Your Passport must be valid. We will need your Chinese Visa. If your country has a free visa policy in Tibet, you can only send your Passport.

It takes about seven days to get the permit.

• After a recent change by the Government of Tibet Autonomous Region of China, getting Tibet travel permits is faster and easier. The minimum number of days required for the Tibet travel permit process is seven days. But it is recommended to start making a permit a month before your arrival.
• Therefore, you have enough time to send the permit and make changes for any reason.

Additional permits for primary Tibet travel permit.

• There are other additional permits to the Tibet travel permit. Each of these permits requires additional days in the permit process.For example, if you are going on the Mount Kailash tour, there are three additional permits. If you are going on the Mount Everest tour, there are two additional permits.

Depending on your Nature of arrival in Tibet, there is a different situation for the permit. It is only when you are traveling to tibet on flights from other cities of China, you will need the original permit in hand while boarding flight for Tibet. So here we will discuss how to get the tibet travel permit before you take flight to Lhasa/Tibet.

Delivery of Permit at the airport: We can help arrange the delivery of permit at the airport in Beijing and Chengdu while you wait for the Lhasa flight during the transist. Our delivery person can meet you at the airport. For better communication it is highly recommend to download WeChat for better and timely comminication between you and permit delivery person.

Delivery of permit at the hotel China: We can send the permit to your hotel in China. You will have to your hotel information along with your booking details. We will contact the hotel have them keep the permit so that you can get it when you check in.

Preparing for your Tibet Travel can be confusing. With all the information online, each website has so much diversity and difference. Our Tibet Travel Guide page has divided all the required 99 pieces of information into 17 categories. It will give you clear and concise information you will need.

There are two primary ways of getting into Tibet: One via traveling from Nepal and another through other regions of China. Otherwise, there is no other way to reach Tibet. There is no direct international flight to Lhasa, except between Kathmandu and Lhasa. Overland travel is only possible from Nepal and Other regions neighboring Tibet.

Nepal and Tibet are great complementary destinations for travelers visiting the Himalayas for the first time. Therefore, many travel to these two regions on the same holiday. However, the Tibet Travel Regulations and permit situation are slightly different if you travel from Nepal to Tibet.

The traveler must get the Chinese Group Visa from the Chinese Embassy in Nepal. It will take three business days to get a group visa in Nepal. It has to be applied through a valid visa agency. They don’t issue it to the individual applicant. All the preexisting valid Chinese visas will be canceled. If you have a multi-year visa and do not wish to get it canceled, it is recommended to visit Tibet first via other cities in China and then go to Nepal.

Some Important Tips

• Overland travel and flight to Lhasa are the only options for reaching Tibet. If you take an Overland tour to Tibet, our tour guide will await you at the Sino-Nepal Border in Kyirong with the permits. He will help you with a custom check.
• Remember, during the monsoon season. The road on both sides of the border often gets washed away. It is less frequent and faster to fix on the Tibet side. While waiting for a Visa in Kathmandu, check with your Visa Agency in Nepal for the latest update.
• If you take a flight to Lhasa, there is at least three flight a week from Kathmandu. Book your flight ticket in advance. Your guide will wait for you at the Lhasa airport with the permits.
• Please remember that the weather is not right during the monsoon season in Lhasa. The flight often gets routed to Chengdu, and you will transfer to Lhasa the next day.

It is better and more convenient to travel to Tibet via other parts of China. There are more transportation modes available, and you don’t have to spend extra days getting the visa and the Tibet travel permit. There are regular trains and flights available to Lhasa from all the major cities in China.

If you are flying to Lhasa, you must get the permit in hand before boarding the flight. For those Traveling to Lhasa by Train, you must take a printout of the permit before going to the train station.

There is a regulation Train to Tibet from eight major cities in China, and these trains travel across all the major Train hubs in China. Tibet is a popular travel destination for international visitors and a trendy destination for domestic travelers. Therefore, booking the train ticket a month in advance is advisable. You can book your train ticket with us.

While boarding the train to Tibet, you must show a copy of your permit at the train station. We will email you a copy of your permit, and you will have to print it out. Please make sure you have access to your email while in China.

There are daily flights to Lhasa from 8 different cities in China and from Kathmandu to Lhasa. However, the Kathmandu to Lhasa flight is the only international flight to Lhasa. In addition to all the possibilities of transit flights, Tibet is accessible to all international travelers visiting Tibet by plane.

While boarding the flight to Lhasa, you will have to show the original copy of your Tibet travel permit at the airport. We will then have to send it to your address in China. This address could be your hotel or friends and family members in China. It is of utmost essential to have access to your email or WhatsApp in China.
If you are flying from Kathmandu, remember to bring both copies of your visa. You will get your Tibet Travel Permit at the Lhasa airport.

As per the Tibet Travel Regulations, all local Tibetan travel agencies must buy Travel Agency Liability Insurance. This insurance has minimal coverage. Therefore, we highly recommend it for all travelers visiting Tibet. Tibet is a different destination. Though highly skilled and experienced tour guides lead all our tours, you still have a high chance of getting sick due to the high elevation.

While buying insurance, check for one that covers ambulances or an emergency flight. These are essential in case of altitude sickness. Some policies don’t include risky activities like rafting and trekking.

Trip or flight cancellation insurance is also recommended. The traveler needs to pick up the permit before flying to Tibet. There is a risk that the agency doesn’t get the permit on time, and there is also a risk of delaying or losing the permit at the post. In such a case, you cannot board the flight to Lhasa.

Tibet is the second-biggest province of China. It covers an area of 1.25 million square kilometers, bigger than South Africa. The distance between one area and another is enormous and would take hours to reach.

Not all the major attractions are clustered into a region. They are distributed across the entire area of the Tibetan Plateau. Hence, most tours in Tibet depend on distances. A minimum number of days required for the Mount Kailash tour is 13. Also, the Mount Everest tour is eight days long minimum.

You can learn about all the attractions in Tibet, divided into prefecture-level destinations on the Tibet destination page.

Except for Lhasa, all travelers must travel in Tibet by private vehicle. This private vehicle comes with your organized tour and will be arranged by the travel agency. Depending on the number of group members, it is more likely to be a Van or Minibus.

Road transport in Tibet has improved dramatically in recent years. Therefore, we no longer use a four-wheel drive for regular tours.

If you stay in Lhasa, you can use public transportation such as buses and taxis or the Chinese ride-hailing app Didi. However, this option applies only within the city.

As per the Tibet Travel Regulation, all tourists or travelers traveling in Tibet should have a Tibetan Tour Guide assigned to them. While you are in Lhasa, the guide will only accompany you during the guided tour to sightseeing. Otherwise, they will leave you free for the rest of the day.

When traveling outside Lhasa city, your guide will be with you until the end of the tour. However, in the evening, after reaching the destination, you are free on your own.

We are mainly responsible for assigning you a tour guide. Many Tibetan tour guides speak Stable English, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese. Yet later three are rarer than the above two.

Usually, all travel agencies can help you book a hotel in Tibet. Because of our excellent relationship with all the hotels in Tibet, we can reserve your room at the best price. Hence, you will only have to let us know the star range of the hotel and your budget. We can recommend the hotel accordingly.

If you wish to book a hotel yourself, make sure it has a license to host international visitors. It is better for the travel agency to make a booking for you outside Lhasa city. Many hotels outside Lhasa city are not available on the online booking platform.

In Lhasa and Shigatse, you can choose your meals from a wide range of varieties. In addition to these two cities, prepare for Chinese and Tibetan meals.

A meal per person could cost approximately 50 RMB or 7 USD.

As you go towards western Tibet, the meal options are fewer and fewer.

Arranging your meal with a travel agency is not a good idea. Instead, it is better to have free options.

You will have to pay entrance fees at most of the travel sites in Tibet. Usually, the entrance fees are included in the tour price, but many budget travelers choose to pay the entrance fees themselves. It is a good way to decide if you like to visit or not.

But remember, there are some sites that you will drive into, such as Yamdrok Lake and Karola Glacier. For these sites, you will have to pay the entrance fees.

When applying for your Tibet travel permit, we have to produce a tour contract in addition to the bank receipt. Of course, all travel agencies in Tibet require a deposit upon booking the tour. You can pay the Tour deposit via PayPal or Bank transfer.

We don’t charge a cancellation fee for all private tours. However, the traveler is responsible for the money transfer fees in case of cancellation.