The permit system#
Tibet Travel Permit (TTB permit). Required to board a flight or train to Lhasa. Applied for on your behalf by a Tibetan agency, which needs scans of your passport and your Chinese visa or visa-free entry documentation. Processing takes roughly 15–20 days, so begin at least a month out. The original or an accepted copy must be presented at check-in.
Aliens' Travel Permit. Needed for areas outside Lhasa prefecture — Shigatse, Everest Base Camp, Mount Kailash, Nam Tso in some seasons. Arranged by your guide once you are in Tibet.
Military Permit. For border and restricted regions such as Ngari (western Tibet) and parts of eastern Tibet.
The rules in practice: you must have a guide with you at sights and on the road, and a licensed driver for anything outside Lhasa. In the city itself you can walk around independently. Group size requirements have varied over the years; a solo traveller can normally join a small group tour to keep costs reasonable.
Journalists and diplomats apply through separate channels and are frequently refused; note that the permit application asks your occupation.
Altitude#
This is the most likely thing to go wrong on a Tibet trip, and it has nothing to do with fitness.
Lhasa sits at 3,656 m. Everest Base Camp on the Tibetan side is at 5,200 m. Passes on the road to Shigatse exceed 5,000 m.
- Arrive by train if you can. The Qinghai–Tibet Railway from Xining takes about 21 hours, climbs gradually, and the carriages are oxygen-enriched. It is both the gentlest acclimatisation and one of the great rail journeys in the world.
- If you fly, spend the first 48 hours in Lhasa doing almost nothing. No Potala Palace on day one — it involves a long climb.
- Symptoms: headache, nausea, breathlessness, disturbed sleep. Normal in mild form.
- Emergencies: worsening confusion, loss of coordination, or a persistent cough with frothy sputum indicate HACE or HAPE. Descend immediately and get medical help. These are fatal if ignored.
- Acetazolamide (Diamox) as prophylaxis — discuss with a doctor beforehand.
- No alcohol for the first two days. Drink far more water than feels necessary.
- Insurance must explicitly cover activities above 3,000 m and medical evacuation. Most standard policies do not.
Lhasa#
Potala Palace (¥200 in high season). The winter residence of the Dalai Lamas from the 17th century, 13 storeys and over 1,000 rooms rising 300 m above the valley floor. Entry is by strictly timed slot booked by your agency a day in advance, visits are limited to one hour inside, and photography is prohibited in the chapels. The climb from the entrance to the palace proper is substantial at this altitude.
Jokhang Temple — founded in the 7th century and the holiest temple in Tibetan Buddhism. Pilgrims prostrate themselves at the entrance continuously. Go early, when the pilgrim traffic rather than the tourist traffic dominates.
Barkhor Street — the pilgrimage circuit (kora) around the Jokhang. Walk it clockwise with everyone else. This is the most atmospheric hour in Tibet.
Sera and Drepung Monasteries — both large, both active. Sera's afternoon debating sessions in the courtyard, where monks argue points of doctrine with stylised clapping, run most days and are remarkable.
Norbulingka — the summer palace, with gardens.
Beyond Lhasa#
Yamdrok Lake — a turquoise lake at 4,441 m on the road to Gyantse, over the Kamba La pass. A standard day or half-day excursion.
Gyantse — the Pelkor Chode monastery and the Kumbum, a 15th-century stepped stupa containing 77 chapels of murals. The best-preserved Tibetan art in the region.
Shigatse — Tashilhunpo Monastery, seat of the Panchen Lamas.
Everest Base Camp (north side) — reached by road from Shigatse via the Gawula pass. A tent camp at 5,200 m with a direct view of the north face. Access rules and the exact permitted camp location have changed several times; your agency will know the current position.
Mount Kailash — the sacred mountain of four religions, in far western Ngari. The 52 km kora around it takes three days at altitudes above 5,000 m and is a serious undertaking requiring a long overland trip.
Nam Tso — a sacred lake at 4,718 m, four hours from Lhasa, often closed in winter.
Costs and logistics#
A guided Tibet trip is not cheap. A typical 8-day Lhasa plus Everest Base Camp tour runs ¥8,000–15,000 per person in a small group, including permits, guide, driver, accommodation and entry fees but excluding the flight or train to Lhasa. Lhasa-only tours of 4–5 days start around ¥4,000.
Getting there:
- Train from Xining (21 h), Beijing (40 h), Chengdu, Shanghai or Guangzhou. Book well ahead; the oxygen-supplied carriages are popular.
- Flights from Chengdu (2.5 h), Xining, Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming and Kathmandu.
- Chengdu is the usual staging point and where many agencies are based.
Season: May to October. Summer is the wettest but also the greenest and warmest. Autumn brings the clearest views of the Himalaya. Winter in Lhasa is sunny, cold and nearly empty — legitimate if your itinerary stays low. March is routinely closed to foreign visitors around politically sensitive anniversaries.
Travelling respectfully#
- Walk clockwise around temples, stupas and mani stone piles.
- Do not photograph people, especially pilgrims and monks, without asking.
- Do not photograph inside chapels where it is prohibited — the rule is enforced.
- Do not discuss the Dalai Lama or Tibetan politics with local people. It creates real risk for them, not for you, and your guide is required to report on the tour.
- Remove hats and sunglasses inside temples; do not point your feet at an altar or a person.
- Some monasteries request no photography of monks in debate.
Frequently asked questions#
Can foreigners travel to Tibet independently?#
No. Foreign nationals must have a Tibet Travel Permit obtained through a registered Tibetan travel agency, and must be accompanied by a licensed guide on an arranged itinerary. Independent travel through the Tibet Autonomous Region is not permitted.
How do I get a Tibet Travel Permit?#
Through a licensed Tibetan travel agency, which applies on your behalf using scans of your passport and Chinese visa or entry documentation. Processing takes about 15–20 days, so start at least a month before you travel. You cannot apply for it yourself.
How bad is altitude sickness in Lhasa?#
Lhasa is at 3,656 m, which is high enough that most visitors feel headache, breathlessness and poor sleep for the first day or two. Arriving by train from Xining allows gradual acclimatisation; if you fly, plan to do almost nothing for 48 hours and avoid alcohol.
How much does a Tibet tour cost?#
Roughly ¥4,000 for a 4–5 day Lhasa-only small-group tour and ¥8,000–15,000 for an 8-day itinerary including Everest Base Camp, covering permits, guide, driver, hotels and entry fees but not the flight or train to Lhasa.
Is the train to Lhasa worth it?#
Yes, for two reasons: it is one of the great rail journeys in the world, crossing the Tibetan plateau at over 5,000 m in oxygen-enriched carriages, and the gradual ascent dramatically reduces altitude sickness compared with flying in.
Can I visit Everest Base Camp from Tibet?#
Yes, the north base camp at 5,200 m is reached by road from Shigatse and is included in many 8-day itineraries. It requires an Aliens' Travel Permit arranged by your guide, and access arrangements have changed several times in recent years.