Lhokha Prefecture Travel Guide

Lhoka Prefecture is also called Shannan Prefecture. The prefecture covers an area of 79700 square Kilometers. It is located in the south of Lhasa Prefecture, west of Nyintri Prefecture, east of Shigatse Prefecture, and north of Bhutan and India. The topography averages at 3700 Meters above sea level, making it lower than the Lhasa and Shigatse prefectures. The population of Tsedang city was 330,100 in 2007.

The prefecture is located on the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung River valley. The river valley makes it the most prosperous region in Tibet, with ample fertile farmland for agriculture. Lhoka prefecture is often regarded as the birthplace of Tibetan civilization. It is the ancient historical background with the first Palace, the first Buddhist Monastery, the earliest farmland, and also the first Lhamo (Tibetan Opera) and the Cham dance are said to have been performed in this region.

Due to its rich, fertile soil and abundant water resources. The prefecture is prosperous in its agricultural products. Tsedang in the central city of the prefecture. The Yamdrok Lake, Samye Monastery, Yumbulhakhang, Traduk Temple, Mindrolling Monastery, and Chonggye.

Please scroll down for more on the Lhoka Travel Guide.

• Gallery
• Travel Tips of  Lhoka Prefecture
• Weather / Best Time
• Where to Stay
• Festivals in Lhoka
• Packing List
• Places to visit in Lhoka Prefecture
• Recommend Tours In Lhoka

Getting to Lhoka

The airport of Tibet, Lhasa Gongkar Airport is located in Lhoka Prefecture. The airport is just over 96 Kilometer to the main town of the prefecture, The Tsedang Town. All the inter and intra prefecture roads in Tibet are paved. The region is accessible from all the region of Tiet Via road journey. Now the new express high way from the Lhasa to Tseadng via the Ganden Monastery monastery reduce the travel journey from 4 hours to a half an hours.

Train to Lhokha

So far there is no train running through the Lhokha Prefecture. But in the coming year, there will be railway lines running through the Lhokha prefecture once the Tibet-Sichuan railway line is completed. Right now the trains are only available until the Lhasa and Shigatse.

Flights to Lhokha

Lhasa city airport in the western end of the prefecture. this makes the prefecture access to all the flight to Tibet as it is to the Lhasa prefecture. There are 30 different daily flights from other parts of China to Tibet and two daily flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa. The flights are coming in from Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Xining, Shangri la, Chongqing and Guangzhou to Tibet. The most number of flights are available from Chengdu to Lhasa.

High Altitude Sickness and Elevation

The average elevation of the Lhokha Prefecture in 3700 Meters above sea level, making it one of the lowerest of all regions in entire Tibet. It is recommended for travellers to start your Tibet travel from the prefecture if you have a group member of the elderly. It is very common for travellers to suffer from the high Altitude sickness upon arrival in Lhokha. It might take a day or days to acclimatizations in Lhokha. For some, it can be severe and for some, it could be little breathlessness while climbing the stairs.

There are many locally produced Medicine for the high elevation; Some local Tibetan Medicine.  We are in no position to recommend the medicine, But we would highly recommend consulting their doctors about the plans to go to Tibet and bring their own medicine. We want to suggest you the same.

Tibet Travel Permit for Lhokha Prefecture

Though we will take care of all the required Tibet Travel permit for Lhokha Prefecture. If you would like to know in detail about the permit requirement to Prefecture. Here is the information.

If you are visiting the Lhokha prefecture, Alien’s Travel permit in addition to the primary Tibet Travel Permit. It usually takes about 12 days in getting that basic permit done. We will make your permit before your Arrival in Tibet and the Aliens permit will be applied by your tour guide upon arriving at the Tsedang Town.

But you must keep in your mind the permit situation is different as per the mode to transportation into Tibet as follow:

1. If you are taking a train from other cities in China beside Chongqing. You have required only the photocopy of your Tibet permit. Hence we will send you a copy in an email, and you can take the printout.
2. For the train from Chongqing to Lhasa. The Train station in Chongqing will need to see your original Permit. For this, we will have to send you original permit to your hotel in Chongqing.
3. Taking the flight to Tibet from any part of China, we will need to send your Original Tibet travel permit. Any airport in China will require to see your original Tibet travel permit before boarding into the flight.
4. The permit will be at the border with your tour guide for all the travellers coming from Kathmandu to Tibet.  If you are taking the overland journey from Nepal to Tibet, your guide will be at the China custom at the border port with the permit. For the flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa, your tour guide will be with the permit waiting for you at the China Custom counter in Lhasa Airport.

Lhokha prefecture averages 3,700 meters (12,100 ft) above sea level. here the climate is mild and generally warm and temperate. With precipitation during the driest month, the rainfall in the prefecture is significant. The rainfall averages 1121mm and average annual temperature is at 15.9°C.

Best times to visit.

The best time to come to Lhokha prefecture in April to Mid June and September to November. During those days it is warmer and no rainfall on average.

If you would like to enjoy Tibet without many tourists. Winter is an excellent time to come to Lhokha.

Clothing

• Comfortable, broken-in hiking shoes or hiking boots with Spare laces
• 3 or 4 pairs of hiking pants ( at least 1 pair of waterproof/windproof hiking pants
• *1 pair of comfortable tennis shoes, flip-flops or croc-style sandal to wear
• 2 or 3 pairs of cotton socks
• 3 or 4 pairs of wool socks
• 4 to 6 pairs of underwear (*trekker should bring some spandex or non-chaffing underwear)
• 1or 2 sets of thermal underwear (tops and bottoms)
• 1 set of warm pajamas for overnight
• Mid-weight or heavyweight winter coat ( down recommend for treks and any Tibet Travel in the month from October to April) 
• Lightweight hooded rain jacket for treks and any travel done from April thru October
• Warm Hat
• Warm gloves
• Scarf (Optional)
• Sun Hat with the wide brim
• 2 or 3 fleece tops
• 4 to 5 T-shirt (Mixture of short and long sleeved. *Wicking shirt should be used for treks.)

Accessories

• *1 lightweight, quick0drying towel
• *Gaiter (optional for trekkers)
• *bandana (optional for trekkers)
• *mid to heavyweight sleeping bag of -12°C to -18°C (10°F to 0°F)
• Sunglass with UV Protection
• Protection small flashlight (torch) or headlamp with extra batteries
• 1 liter Nalgene bottle
• Small thermos for tea/hot water
• *day pack that is 30L to 40L in size ( Only if you are trekking)
• *2 durable trekking poles ( Only if you are trekking)
• 1 or 2 small plastic bags for dirty clothes, etc
• Personal Hygiene and Toiletry items
• Sunblock/ Sunscreen that is SPF 35 or higher
• Lip balm that contains sunscreen
• Skin moisturizer (optional)
• Anti-Bacterial hand sanitizer
• Small hand-held mirror (Optional)
• Deodorant
• Feminine products
• Shaving products
• Travel size Soap and Shampoo
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Wet wipes
• 2 to 3 rolls of toilet papers
• Nail clipper
• Band-Aid and moleskin for blisters
• Earplugs
• Cotton buds/Q-tips

Medicines

• Medicine to treat travelers Diarrhea
• Anti-biotic ointment for minor cut or blisters
• Personal Tylenol, ibuprofen, cold medicine, antihistamine, etc
• Diamox / Acetazolamide (Optional….contact your doctor for details)
• Medicine if you are prone to motion sickness (optional)
• prescription drugs (contact your doctor)
  

Extras

• iPod/iPad/Kindle(optional)
• Batteries for personal items (Camera, Flashlight, etc)
• plenty of memory cards for your camera
• passport/ money holder
• extra copy of your passport and Chinese Visa (Make an Extra copy of your travel permit in Tibet)
• Protein bars, Chocolate, dried fruit or Other snacks of your choice.
• Electric outlet adapter for China
• Small notebook with pen
• 3 to 4 small zip-lock bags

Tenzin Travel is the best Tibetan Travel agency in Tibet. Our agency is one of Tibet’s most experienced tour operators, with over 20 years in the industry. Founded by a local Tibetan family with decades of expertise as guides, managers, and route planners. We craft personalized itineraries for every traveler. Our agency is the highest-rated and most recommended Tibet travel agency on TripAdvisor, Google, and Lonely Planet.

We can make holistic arrangements for your trip to Tibet. Including a Tibet Travel Permit, a Tibetan tour guide, flight tickets, train tickets, vehicle arrangements, and hotel bookings in Tibet.

Our Lhasa office is just steps from Barkhor Square. All our Tibetan team ensures deep cultural, linguistic, and religious insights, setting us apart from other agencies.

Beyond tourism, we support Tibetan communities by donating a portion of each tour to local projects. Your travel to Tibet is about more than profit—it’s about the opportunity for us to give back.