The roof of the world

In this age of information, jets, information super highways and the Internet, mysterious places are rare to be found. But, Tibet is an exception.

Refered to as Shangri La, The forbidden Land, The Roof Of the World and by many more, the mysterious Buddhist Kingdom remained long closed to foreigners, exerting a strong hold on the imagination of the world.

For centuries, it has fascinated mankind. It was hardly accessible to the outside world and has been always a challenge to human beings. Tibet, a "forbidden land" not only by man but also by nature, attracted many explorers, scholars, and pilgrims and adventure lovers, all in pursuit of "Real Shangrila".

It is not only the geographical and natural enchants but also a long historical culture and religion that appeal the foreigners to visit Tibet at least once in a lifetime.

   Lhasa (The Land of Gods) Lhasa is the spiritual and political capital of Tibet. There the ancient kings and successive incarnation of the Dalai Lama lives and ruled from the Potala, a great 1,100 rooms winter palace, and the Norvulingka a smaller more intimate summer palace within a walled and forested park with gardens where tame wildlife was allowed to run free. At a mere twelve thousand feet above the sea.

Mt. Kailash, the fabled mountain in western Tibet is holy to both Hindusm and Buddhism. People come from far a-way lands to perform a pilgrimage, one even circle the mountain on in the stomach. The mountain is the source of for major Asian river systems. Lake and caves arround the region are also holy.

Guge
The remote and antic kingdom beyond Mt. Kailash was the first point, through where buddism was brought into Tibet! Today it's ruins are still impressive, the dry climate has preserved Guge up today !

Passport

A traveler should have a valid passport with validity remaining no less than six months. Make sure that it has plenty of blank pages for visas, entry and re entry stamps and extensions. Besides, holding other IDs like student card or driving license will be an advantage. Loosing passport in Tibet can be a very unpleasant experience, as a new one is issued in Beijing.

Visa / Travel Permit

You require Chinese visa plus Tibet Travel Permit to travel to Tibet. There are 2 kinds of visa.

Individual visa:

This kind of visa, in principle is meant for the travelers to mainland China. Chinese embassies abroad or in Nepal issues visa to individuals.
Warning: do not mention in the application form that you are going to Tibet. This visa is not enough to secure your entry to Tibet. You will also need a travel permit which is given to a group of minimum 5 participants and is processed by an agency like us. For this, you will have to book with us a minimum service like transportation and guide. Don't worry if you don't have 5 participants. There will be always people to join-in. Once you are in Lhasa, you can split up and stay in Lhasa as long your visa lasts.

Group Visa:

People wanting to go, particularly to Tibet must be in group visa for which also, 5 participants are must.

Read the Visa/Travel Permit section properly before booking a trip. Confirm the information with us because the China-Tibet Tourism Authority keeps changing their policy on visa and permit.

You have to provide us with your passport details by fax or mail at least a couple of weeks prior your departure to Tibet. Our Tibetan counterpart will process the visa and permit in Lhasa.

Your original passport should be available in Kathmandu at least one working day prior departure to Tibet. Chinese embassy visa section opens only Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a couple of hours from 0930 am to 1130 am. For a comfortable processing, it is always recommended that your passport should be available quite some days prior to your departure.

Best Season to go to Tibet

You can travel to Tibet throughout the year but mid July through to the end of September is the best period.

Climate

The temperature varies sharply from the south grassland to north plateau. The south is warm and rainy. Most rain falls during May to September. It is warm from June to August. The coldest months are from December to February and crossing over the passes becomes almost impossible.

Money

The Chinese currency is known as-RMB.The basic unit of this currency is called ‘Yuan’, which is substituted by Chinese word ‘kuai’. RMB comes in paper notes issued in denominations of one, two, five, ten, fifty and hundred yuan, one, two and five jiao, and one, two and five fen. 10 fen makes one Jiao and 10 jiao makes one yuan.

Bank of China has their branches in Zhangmu, Shigatse and Lhasa. You can use your credit card nowhere else in Tibet except in Lhasa branch of Bank of China. Getting telegraphic transfers to Tibet takes five weeks in average.

Clothes and other necessities.

In the summer months, unless you are not planning to go on a high altitude trekking, a couple of inner T-shirts and a good sweater will work enough. Thermal underwear, a down jacket and even a balaclava for ear protection are essential during other months of year. A light sleeping bag would be an advantage. Good walking boots and thick shocks, hat, raincoat will be useful. Sunglasses, sunscreen lotion, lips guard, toiletries etc are other needs.

Health

There is no need to be overly worried about altitude sickness or other risks to health. Very few travelers are reported to be affected by altitude for long. Some travelers who fly or go overland to Lhasa are likely to experience some symptoms of altitude sickness but in most cases, they are mild and recedes after a couple of days of rest in Lhasa. However, all visitors to Tibet should have knowledge about Altitude Sickness, its cause, prevention and remedies.

Other health hazards are like sunburn, cold, motion sickness, giardiasis, diarrhoea, dysentery etc. Your travel insurance should be valid in China and cover all expenses incurred due to health hazards.

Accommodation

Tibet travelers are not supposed to expect luxury, more choice and options. Tibetan urban centers like Lhasa, Gyantse, Xhigatse and Tsedang have choices and better condition hotels but in the rest of the destinations, may be you have to throw in yourself into a truck stop or inns with a row of rooms each containing four or five beds. Hot water is provided in jugs or thermoses with washing basin. Do not expect running water and electricity in such places.

Security

Generally you won't meet any criminality in Tibet, but poceting is reported in the urban centers relatively often. Otherwise tibetans are just nice people to encounter. The Chinese population and administration is more cool towards tourist, and police does not openly hindrance you or create hassels. However in Lhasa you will find certain "red light" and dance club areas where nightlife is abundant and also all related to it.

Roads and passes

"High" passes often cross the 4.500 mark, and even the 5.000 metres are common to find in Tibet, so roads are exposed to extreme conditions. Most roads are blank earth ones and full of hindrances such as holes and jumpers. As soon rain falls, mud and landslides become a frequent phenomena and you should betweem June September be prepared for such events. After all, Tibet remains an adventure still in the new century!

Mt. Kailash, 6,740 m. is situated to the north of the Himalayan barrier, wholly within Tibet. It is the perfect mountain with awesome beauty, with 4 great faces. It is the spiritual centre for four great religions: Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, the Jain religion and the pre-Buddhist animistic religion - Bonpo. To Tibetans it is known as Khang Rimpoche (Precious Jewel of Snow) and they see it as the navel of the world. It is said that a stream from the mountain pours into a nearby lake and from here

rivers flow in the four cardinal directions. The River of the Lion Mouth to the North, the River of the Horse Mouth to the east, the River of the Peacock Mouth to the south and the River of the Elephant Mouth to the West. Strangely enough, four major rivers do indeed originate near Kailash, the Indus, the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), the Karnali and the Sutlej. Tibetans believe that it is the residence of Demchog, a fierce looking tantric deity who lives there with his consort, Dorje Phagmo. For the Tibetans also, it is a particularly special place in that their poet saint Milarepa, spent several years here meditating in a cave.

For the Hindus Mount Kailash is the earthly manifestation of Mt. Meru, their spritual centre of the universe, described as a fanatastic ‘world pillar’ 84,000 miles high, around which all else revolves, its roots in the lowest hell and its summit kissing the heavens. On the top lives their most revered God, Shiva, and his consort Parvati.
For the Jains, an Indian religious group, Kailash is the site where their first prophet achieved enlightenment. For the older, more ancient religion of Bon, it is the site where its founder Shanrab is said to have descended from heaven. It was formerly the spiritual centre of Zhang Zung, the ancient Bon Empire that once included all of western Tibet. Bon people walk around the mountain in a counter clockwise manner, unlike the other religions.

Over the centuries pilgrims have constantly journeyed immense distances to achieve enlightenment or cleanse themselves of sin, braving enormous distances, particularly harsh weather and bandit attacks.