Shigatse prefecture (གཞི་ཀ་རྩེ།) is the central prefecture of Tibet. The area is traditionally known as Tsang. Bordering Lhasa and Lhokha on the east, Nepal on the south, Ngari prefecture on the west and Nagqu Prefecture on North. It is the home to the most famous monastery of Sakya Monastery and Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Famous mountains like Mt Everest and Himalaya region.
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Geography of the Shigatse prefecture
The prefecture is sandwiched between the great Himalaya and northern highland of Tibetan Plateau with Yarlung Tsangpo river flowing in the middle. Many of world 8000+ meter mountains are located in this prefecture. The flow of Yarlung Tsangpo makes the majority of the central area fertile. The region of Gyantse and Shigatse town is well known as the breadbasket of Tibet Autonomous region for its high production of wheat and Barley.
The main city of the prefecture is Shigatse town. The town is located at the 3846m above the sea level. The second biggest city in the prefecture is Gyantse. The Town is well known for its beautiful stupa and fort. It is located at the 4033m above sea level. For its average high elevation, it is recommended to stay in Lhasa city for three days to acclimatize before travelling to this prefecture.
Popular destinations in the Shigatse prefecture.
Mount Everest Basecamp is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the prefecture. Yamdrok Lake and Pangong Tso lake are two most popular and beautiful lakes in the prefecture. There are two Gateways to reach Nepal from the prefecture. These are Kyirong and Zangmu town. right now the Later one is closed for international travellers to cross and only Kyirong is open for travellers to cross country travel.
Getting to Shigatse Prefecture
You can reach this prefecture overland from Nepal. From Lhasa ( the major gateway city in Tibet). You can either take the car to the prefecture or take a train to Shigatse. The prefecture has an airport called Shigatse peace Airport. Though it is not a popular flight destination for international travellers yet there is a daily flight from Chengdu.
High Altitude Sickness and Elevation
The Elevation of Shigatse prefecture above 3800m above the sea level. While the average elevation of Tibet as a whole is 4500m. We also have some areas which are located at lower elevated than the Shigatse like Lhasa city, Tsedang, and Nyintri area.
It is very common for travellers to suffer from the high Altitude sickness upon arrival in Shigatse. We would recommend staying in the lower places before coming to Shigatse. It might take a day or days to acclimatizations in Lhasa. For some, it can be severe and for some, it could be little breathlessness while climbing the stairs.
Most Responsible travel agency in Lhasa would start all the tours from Lhasa, as it gives some days in Lhasa City to acclimatize before moving up to the higher elevation. Majority of the trip in Tibet will have three days in Lhasa to visit the sight in the city in additional with acclimatization process. With us, we provide Oxygen cylinder in the hotel room in an emergency and 24X7 assistance from the hotel staffs and us ( The Tibet travel agency). You can always call us if you need help).
We would like to recommend visitors to go to Shigatse city only after the proper adaptation. Lhasa city has the best medical facilities in the Entire Tibet and best transportation transit if you need to evacuate. Which is why it is best to stay in Lhasa until the proper acclimatization.
There are many locally produced Medicine for the high elevation; Some local Tibetan Medicine. But we always recommend all our clients to consult 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 Shigatse Prefecture
Though we will take care of all the required Tibet Travel permit for Shigatse Prefecture. If you would like to know in detail about the permit requirement to Shigatse Prefecture. Here is the information.
If you are visiting the Shigatse Prefecture, the permit required are the primary Tibet Travel Permit, Aliens Permit, and Border permit. It usually takes about 12 days in getting that basic permit done. The alien permit is an additional basic permit required, but the border permit is needed only if you are going to the Mount Everest base camp and overland journey from and to Nepal.
But you must keep in your mind the permit situation is different as per the mode to transportation into Tibet as follow:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Weather / Best time to visit
The southeastern part of the Shigatse prefecture is lower at 3800 meters. Elevation at the other part of the region is mostly above 4500m. In the lower region, it is warm in summer and in the coldest winter months, the temperature is above freezing during the sunny days. The climate is a semi-arid monsoon, with a low average temperature of 1.2 to 7.5 °C (34.2 to 45.5 °F). Average annual precipitation is 466.3 millimetres, with 85% falling in the June–September period. Typically there are 3,000 hours of sunshine each year.
SHIGATSE WEATHERBest times to visit.
The best time to come to Shigatse 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 a Tibet tour without many tourists. Winter is an excellent time to come to Shigatse.
Where to stay
Tashi Choeta
Gesar Hotel
Roof of the world
Snow leopard
Rongbuk monastery
Tent Hostel
Festival in Shigatse Prefecture
Packing List
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
Places to visit in Shigatse Prefecture
Our Special Arrangments
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