This page is currently being built
This page is currently being built because I will travel to Tibet myself this August. After the trip it will become much more concrete, with route notes, arrival details, altitude, hotels, permits, agency experience and practical first hand information.
For now, this page gives a first orientation. For foreign travellers, Tibet is not a normal independent destination like Beijing, Shanghai or Hainan. Anyone planning to travel to Lhasa or further into the Tibet Autonomous Region has to approach the trip differently.
What Tibet means here
On this page, Tibet means the Tibet Autonomous Region. That mainly includes Lhasa, Shigatse, the route toward Everest Base Camp and Kailash routes. This is not the same as the broader Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan or Yunnan.
This distinction matters in practice. Tibetan highland regions outside the Tibet Autonomous Region can also be interesting for travellers. Tibet in the narrower travel sense usually means: permit, organised tour, fixed route and a licensed agency.
Permit, agency and organised travel
Foreign travellers generally need a Tibet Travel Permit for the Tibet Autonomous Region. This permit is normally not applied for directly by the traveller, but arranged through a licensed travel agency as part of an organised tour.
Before the application, travel dates, route, entry point, hotels and programme need to be much clearer than for many other China trips. Anyone planning Lhasa, Shigatse, Everest Base Camp or Kailash should therefore speak to a specialised agency early.
Lhasa as the entry point
Lhasa is the natural starting point for many Tibet trips. The Potala Palace, the old town, monasteries, altitude and light make the city special. At the same time, Lhasa should not be treated like an ordinary Chinese city: altitude, permits and the required organisation are part of the trip.
A suitable agency link will follow only once the cooperation is clear. If a partner link is added later, it will be transparently marked on this page.