9 Important Restrictions on Tibet Travel You Should Know

According to the laws and regulations of Tibet Tourism Bureau, foreign travelers are not allowed to travel independently in Tibet. You have to use travel services offered by a qualified China travel agency, at least a tour guide. It depends on you to book hotels from your travel agency or not. When you are visiting the monasteries, museums and other attractions, you must be accompanied by a tour guide.

You can join a fix-departure group tour, or let your agency offer a tailor-made private tour according to your interest. When you are in the town, such as Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse, Nyingchi, you are free to walk around after the activities arranged by your agency.

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To travel in Tibet, foreign travelers not only have to have a valid passport and Chinese visa, but also need the Tibet Entry Permit which is widely known as Tibet Travel Permit. It is issued by Tibet Tourism Bureau in Lhasa. This document permits you to travel in Tibet, including Mount Everest, also permits you to take a train or flight to Tibet. When you go to take your train or flight to Tibet, the Tibet Travel Permit will be checked. Without the permit, you will be rejected to board the train and flight. Travelers can’t apply for the permit on their own. You have to let a China Travel Agency to apply for the permit on behalf of you. It usually needs about 15~20 days to obtain the permit.

How to Obtain the Tibet Entry Permit

1. Contact us to work out and confirm an itinerary in Tibet;

2. Send us the scanned copies of your passport, and provide an available address in China (hotel or local agency) to receive your permit;

3. We apply for the Tibet Travel Permit from Tibet Tourism Bureau in Lhasa;

4. Once the permit is issued, we will send the original permit to you by post.

> Learn more detail about Tibet Travel Permit Application

Tibet Entry Permit only guarantees a Tibet tour in Lhasa city and suburb areas. If you want to extend your trip to other prefectures in Tibet, such as Shigatse, Shannan, Ngari, Mount Everest, you have to obtain several other necessary permits.

Alien Travel Permits - this permit is issued by Tibetan Local Public Security Bureau. It is required for foreign tourists to travel beyond Lhasa to other prefectures, like Shigatse, Tsetang, Nyingchi, Ngari, etc. It can be applied after your arrival at Tibet.

Border Pass - when you travel to destinations near the border area, such as Mount Everest, Mount Kailash, you have to apply for the Border Pass. It is also needed for transfer between Nepal and Tibet.

Military Permit - it is applied by foreign tourists who want to visit the military sensitive areas, such as Ngari and Nyingchi prefectures or overland from/to Yunnan, Qinghai, etc.

Currently only China's other regions and Nepal have transport accesses into Tibet. There is only an international flight to Tibet – Kathmandu Lhasa Flight. In the tourist peak seasons, there are usually two daily flights to Lhasa from Kathmandu each day. Travelers can also travel overland to Tibet from Nepal when the borders are open again (currently the borders are still under reconstruction).

Most travelers like to travel from China's other regions to Tibet, which ensures more options of transportation. There are many cities operating daily flights to Lhasa, Nyingchi and Shigatse in Tibet, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, Xian, etc. Chengdu has the most frequent flight schedules. Travelers can also take trains to Tibet from Chengdu, Chongqing, Beijing, Xian, Lanzhou, Shanghai, etc.

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If you want to travel from Nepal to Tibet, you should apply for a Group Visa at the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu. Please note you can’t apply for this visa at your home country. As a special Chinese Visa, the Group Visa is valid for China's other regions visit as well. After you finishing your Tibet tour, you can use the same Group Visa to extend your trip into other destinations of China. But you have to specify your itinerary clearly in your application form. It usually costs only about 3 working days to get the Group Visa. Top urgent applications usually cost more fees.

To travel from Nepal to Tibet, whichever by flight or overlanding, travelers also have to obtain the Border Pass. Your travel agency will apply for and obtain it in Tibet, then send you a photocopy which is also available to check in at the border or airport.

> 8 Days Kathmandu to Lhasa with Mount Everest Adventure by Flight

Visiting high-altitude places may cause high altitude sickness (AMS). High altitude always means an attitude of over 2438 meters (about 8,000 feet). The average altitude of Lhasa is 3,650 meters and the altitude is higher in Shigatse, Namtso, Everest and Kailash. Usually, most people can acclimatize their body to high altitude gradually if they start their journey from Lhasa. However, getting heavy cold, severe anemia, high blood pressure, heart disease and some breathing diseases including pneumonia, tuberculosis, tracheitis, and bronchitis don’t allow you to high-altitude area, or you will easily get high altitude sickness and your health will take risk. So you are suggested to take a physical examination and consult your doctor to make sure you can travel to Tibet.

Travelers are not suggested to plan your Tibet trip in late February and March when Tibet travel agencies will suspend business because of major holidays and attraction maintenance. There are several holidays in this period of time. The most important one is the Tibetan New Year, or Tibet Losar. During this period, Tibet travel permits cannot be obtained. When the April comes, we will start to apply the permits and operate Tibet tours again.

Regular travelers are forbidden to travel to the Everest area beyond Rongbuk Monastery (togethere with Everest Base Camp), but it is enough to admire the unparallelled stunning view of Mount Everest's north face. To take an adventure to Everest Base Camp, one has to obtain three permits – Tibet Entry Permit, Border Pass and Alien Travel Permit.

If you are a professional mountaineer, and want to summit Mount Everest, you have to apply for mountaineering permits from General Administration of Sport of China Mountaineering Association.

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