tibet_page

Tibet (Xizang), the Roof of The World, remained unknown to the world until the very beginning of the last century. The massive snow land has exerted an awesome draw to travellers and adventurers ever since. Its majestic and grand scenery, mysterious and exotic religious culture, and wonderful people award every tourist with a life long memory!

Tibet (Tibet Autonomous Region, TAR for short) borders India, Burma, Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal. Covering a massive 1.22 million square kilometers, the plateau is surrounded by the highest mountain ranges, the Himalayas to the south, the Karakoram to the west and the Kunlun to the north. Serial smaller mountains block it off in the east with internal provinces of China. With an average height of 4,000 meters above sea level, Tibet owns a group of giant mountains, Mt. Everest, and 4 mountains higher than 8,000 meters and 38 higher than 7,000 meters, becomes the dreamland for mountaineers and adventures. The vast land is also the cradle of great rivers like the Yangtze, Yellow River, Nu River (Salween), Lancang River (Mekong), Yarlong Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), Indus and Ganges. Tibet also offers awe-inspiring scenery of holy lakes and valleys.

Lhasa and Shigatse are the well trodden areas which offer the most accessible religious monuments and tourist facilities. As the most important cities of Tibet, Lhasa and Shigatse feature most of the religious monuments, the Potala, the Jokhang, Tashilunpo, and Kumbum, as well as natural wonders like Mt. Everest and Yamdrok Yumtso. West Tibet, Ngari, is a vast barren plateau and Roof of The World. As the place where the sacred lake (Lake Manasarova) joins the sacred mountain (Mt. Kailash), Ngari is a holy pilgrimage destination of Tibetans, Hindus as well as trekkers. The ancient Shang Shung Kingdom and Guge Kingdom also exert a pull. Southwest Tibet has been a popular destination for mountaineers. More than 40 snow clad peaks are open to mountain climbing enthusiasts. South Tibet offers snow capped mountains, intact forest, running waters and mild climate. The largest canyon in the world, Yarlong Tsangpo Canyon raises rare species and remains unknown to the public.

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 travellers 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 : The Chinese Government prohibits individual traveller to visit Tibet. The Chinese embassy will only issue visas to travellers on group tours i.e. if there is a single tourist or a tourist group of less then 05 pax then they will have to join a group in order to get a visa. In addition to the visa, it is necessary to obtain an aliens' travel permit for travel in Tibet. Please carry 04 passport size photographs + smaller US dollars denominations for faster completion of visa formalities.

Customs regulations : Art objects and antiques in Tibet fall under special restrictions forbidding their export. Anything made before 1959 is considered an antique. Rugs may be bought and exported, so may the small religious objects that are sold in open markets, providing only one or two are taken as souvenirs. Customs officials have been known to confiscate jewellery or other objects if they consider that a tourist has purchased 'too much'.

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 western 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.

Money : Banks in Tibet/China are closed on Saturdays & Sundays. So, you are kindly requested to carry about USD 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. Travellers cheques & credit cards are very difficult to be cashed outside the banks especially outside Lhasa. The unit of currency is Yuan . USD 1 = 8 Yuans.