Explore the Land of Snow, the Wonders of Tibet like a LOCAL with Our Small Group Tours

When you travel under a foreign passport, you will have to travel legally  according to the Tibet local authority. During your traveling in Tibet, the three main primary documents are passports, China visa (or Tibet group visa) and Tibet entry permits. Different tour destination will need further document such as military permits, foreign affairs border passing permit, alien’s travel permits. Here is the document list for Tibet traveling. Please double check before coming to our land.

1. Valid Passports (at least valid for 6 months after your departure date of Tibet)
2. Valid China visa (for entering from China);
3. Tibet group visa (for entering Tibet from Nepal, you do not need to apply China via in your country, even so it will be cancelled);
4. Tibet entry travel permits for all Tibet tours;
5. Alien’s travel permits for trip covering Everest. Tsetang (Samye monastery), Kailash and north-loop Grand Tibet, eastern Tibet such as Draksumtso lake;
6. Foreign affairs permit (policy keeps changing on this section)
7. Border defense passing allowance permit (trip between Nepal and Tibet)
8. Military permits.

And here is another list of the documents which you will have to provide by email to us when you book a tour, we need these docs to apply some of the above necessary permits.

1. Photocopies of valid passports data page for all travelers (upon booking)
2. Photocopies of valid China visa (you can send it after you get it)
3. Working certificate or student Id card copies if you do not hold “L” China visa but Z or F type of China visa.
4. Marriage certificate or relatives’ statement with signature if you hold Q category China visa.

While booking your Tibet tour, we would like you to send us the copy of your Passport and China Visa for every member of the group. The copy of passport should be the same one you will be using to get your Chinese visa. If you renew your passports, but the China via is on the expired passport, please provide both passports photo copies.

If your visa is not the “L” category, i.e., tour category china visa, you will need to provide us the additional supporting document such as student certificates, resident and Work Permit and so on.

Please provide passport copies at least 2-4 weeks before arrival date. For Tibet tour without Kailash, eastern Tibet, North-loop Grand Tibet, we can accept urgent tour booking 2 weeks before your arrival date, but if your trip covers the places mentioned here, you’d better send us your passport photo copies 4 weeks to 5 weeks in advance at least, most of our Kailash travelers provide us passport copies half year in advance. And they can provide China visa copies 1 month in advance.

If you travel to Tibet from Nepal, we will only need your valid passport copies. Yet, we will have to apply for the Chinese Group Visa from the Chinese Embassy in Nepal.

Read further: Can I apply for Tibet Travel permit or Tibet group visa by ourselves?Definitely No, you cannot apply for Tibet travel permit or Tibet group visa directly. Tibet Travel Permit is only issued by Tibet Tourism Administration in Lhasa, together with other Chinese authorities such as military office, and foreign affairs office, national security office, public security bureau, etc. Therefore, an only local registered travel agency based in Lhasa can help you apply for it. Hence it is impossible for you to apply permits by yourself, and you will have to book your Tibet tour directly or indirectly with a local travel agency in Lhasa.

We do not suggest this kind of action because all procedures need time and strict inspection. But if you have any urgent situation and have only one week to prepare for everything needed for the Tibetan trip, as a professional and well-experienced Tibet travel agency, we can help you with all the documents you need (Group Visa for entry from Kathmandu by flight, TTB Permit). But this can be only possible for city tours like visits to Lhasa (Lhasa, Namtso and Ganden etc short distance and fully open area), Lake Namtso, Lake Yamdrok, Gyantse and Shigatse. However, we cannot guarantee 100 percent although we will try our best. If it is unlucky, you do not have to pay us single dollar for this TOP urgent case.

Definitely! We will carry oxygen cylinder for emergency issues. And local hospitals are ready to deal with any emergency cases. We will take good care of every customer during the tour. The rise of altitude is not immediate and it is a gradual process. So if you feel anything wrong, you can inform your Tibetan guide instantly and we may need to adjust the Tibet tour program and wait for you to feel better and take optional easier tour program accordingly. And if anyone feels very uncomfortable, we will let him stay in the relatively low altitude places and will catch him/her later when we finish the high altitude tour.

This is a common question about Tibet travel permits and Tibet visa. Well, you need a Tibet Group Visa. However, you cannot apply this by yourself. We will send an electronic copy of visa invitation letter to our local travel agency in Kathmandu and they will apply this for you. There is no need to apply for an individual China Visa in your country if you decide to travel to Tibet from Nepal because the Chinese Embassy will cancel your China Visa when you receive your Tibet Group Visa.

Well this is a very common question asked by many Indian travelers, especially many questions are raised by travelers from India. However due to the Tibet Kailash permits strict restrictions, all travel agencies here in Lhasa Tibet have no rights to apply any Tibet permits for Indian nationality passports holders for Kailash travel. This business is controlled by government pilgrimage office, namely they say they may have very strict and serious tourism arrangement management and they do not allow any travel agencies to organize these tours. However as travel agency in Lhasa, Tibet, we can organize all Kailash Manasarovar tours for any none Indian passports holders. If you are overseas Indian immigrants, we can definitely organize any tours in Tibet. The solution for Indian travelers Kailash tour booking is that, these travelers should book the Kailash trip with India based tour companies. Read further about Kailash tours here.

Well it is a big concern for most worldwide travelers. People begin to ask whether this will infect their trip plan to Tibet and or other parts of China. Well it looks quite clear that the traveling in February will be seriously infected since most tourists attractions are not allowed in, and this is the right method to protect the travelers and avoid further virus transfer, thanks to the government wise decision but we wish the situation will become normal again soon after the new year. By the way Tibetan new year 2020 is to be on Feb.25 and there is no any report about Novel Coronavirus diseases cases report so far here in Lhasa. It is still too early to say whether it is suitable to travel in Tibet in 2020 and there is no information of Tibet closure on Tibet permits. But we do suggest travelers postpone their Tibet travel plan, since people do not have to book the tours so early. Permits can be applied few weeks before arrival date. check further about Tibet permits FAQs.

Traveler’s Risk Assessment

Outbreaks of novel virus infections among people are always of public health concern. The risk from these outbreaks depends on characteristics of the virus, including whether and how well it spreads between people, the severity of resulting illness, and the medical or other measures available to control the impact of the virus (for example, vaccine or treatment medications).

The Number of Coronavirus Cases (Updated 2020.1.26 12:00)

Tip: In an effort to decrease the escalation of cases, many activities that may cause crowds to gather have been be canceled including events like large New Year celebrations, popular tourist attractions, movie releases and so on. We have received notice of the closure of tourist attractions in Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, Chengdu, Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, Guilin, and Tibet etc. The reopening time of these attractions has not yet been decided. We do not recommend traveling to Tibet and other parts of China before the end of February. Check further about the China Coronavirus cases.

Why has the number of confirmed coronavirus cases risen so quickly since January 17th?

• The method of diagnosing the Coronavirus has been confirmed and now the discovery process takes less time.
• The Chinese government has implemented a strict policy that requires local governments to be transparent about the number and severity of cases.
• The Spring Festival travel rush has speeded up the spread of the virus. It is predicted that the number of cases will continue rising quickly in the following 1-2 weeks because of the large movement of people within China.

Our government has learned a lot from the SARS outbreak which we all remember. This time they have acted quickly and are co-operating with the WHO to keep the world informed about what is happening. Tibet Local Guide Travel Service team have been in the travel industry for over one decade and we have lots of experience with handling such critical situations. It is important to us that you feel comfortable and safe during your visit and we will respect any requests or decisions you make regarding your travels.

Follow this link to read further about Coronavirus: https://www.livescience.com/new-china-coronavirus-faq.html

Any customer that has booked a Tibet trip with us can cancel or reschedule it for free. If you would like to change your trip, we also offer tours to destinations such as Nepal and Bhutan.

This is a major concern among most travelers to China and Tibet. There are NCoV confirmed cases for overseas travelers who return to Thailand, Australia and USA after traveling in China. Even though right now it is very safe to travel in Tibet, but it is quite possible that Tibet will be on the waiting list of reopen after tourism temporal closure. During the national spring festival, most and major tourists attractions are closed for protecting travelers being infected by possible viruses.

With regards to the question whether Novel Coronavirus can spread between travelers or not, the answer from CCTV reports recently that this kind of disease is contagious from animal to human, but also quite possible for the spreading between human. In limited cases, according to the CDC, but the primary mode of transmission seems to be from animal to human. In terms of how one would catch the virus, the CDC says that human coronaviruses are most commonly spread between an infected person and others via:

1. —the air (from viral particles from a cough or sneeze);
2. —close personal contact (touching or shaking hands);
3. —an object or surface with viral particles on it (then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands);
4. —and rarely from fecal contamination.

The answer to this question is “Partially Yes, while Partially No”. When you are in Lhasa, you can take taxi, pedicab and bus, this is no problem. However when you travel under your foreign passports and want to go out of Lhasa, you are not allowed to do so. All foreign travelers must travel with tour licensed vehicles which are arranged by legal travel agencies, additionally when you travel out of Lhasa, a tour guide must be included in your tour package.  But please be noted that, public transport is cheap and convenient in Tibet for local people. The Lhasa buses are mostly busy and crowded and there are too many people on board. It is not always great idea to do this because when people gather together, nobody knows who gets sick  and  whether there is potential person to person virus transfer. If you have a chance to go by bus in Lhasa, you’d better wear a mask as most local people do, this is not only good for protecting your skin against the sunburn and from the sandy storms, but also good to agains the virus deseas transfer.

This question on Tibet train travel gets common when the Novel Coronavirus (COVID19) situation gets better in China recently. As of March 15, 2020, there is “0” case of this COVID19 in whole Tibet, and in comparison with traveling in other parts of China, Tibet remains more attractive to Chinese travelers in 2020, however it is sure that it is crowded sometime in the trip, especially when people check in and/or check off the train, so please keep your belonging well and also ware face mask well, and try to wash your hand more frequently than usual. You’d better avoid crowded dinning cabin, and try to get more fresh air.

Answer to this question is that: Tibet social safety is among the best in China. And it is very safe for any travelers to travel in Tibet. No matter whether you are traveling solo or with a group, it is quite safe. However Tibet is with high altitude and many travelers may fill mountain sickness symptoms after arrival, and travelers should prepare a comfortable tour schedule to reduce the pain of AMS (acute Mountain Sickness).

Travelers worry a lot about AMS-Acute Mountain Sickness! This is very commonly asked by many travelers around the world. Tibet is with average high altitude above 4000 meters above sea level and you have to take precautions to help get well acclimatized.

It s quite normal that most people will face altitude sickness when ascending to a higher altitude and this is especially true when in Tibet.

Here local Tibetan guide provide you the tips to help you get well acclimatized:

1. Try to avoid catching a flu before enter into Tibet;
2. Make sure to get a good night’s sleep the night before flying to Lhasa;
3. Better drink more water;
4. Avoid strenuous activity during your first day in Tibet;
5. Do not overexert yourself after your arrival in Tibet; walk slowly, take deep breaths;
6. Take time to acclimatize;
7. Ascend to higher altitudes gradually. DO NOT ASCEND ANY HIGHER if you begin feeling ill;
8. Do not clime to Potala Palace on the 2nd day upon arrival;
9. Enquire your doctors for personal advice just for your health condition;
10. Prepare AMS medication, in accordance with a doctor’s advice.

Anyway first aid like oxygen supply should be available when one has severe symptoms and urgent transfer to hospital is the way to go. The most workable way to deal with is just fly out to a lower altitude.Then it is gone for good and ever.

Yes, as of Jan.25,2020, it is already closed and there are no any single travel permits to Tibet can be processed, for those permits which were already issued out for traveling in late January and February, all these permits will be suspended and foreign travelers must cancel the trip plan for late Jan. whole month of February and March, and it is quite possible that Tibet travel permits closure will be until end of April or till end of May. Because of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak in some parts of China such as Wuhan, for the public’s safety and health concern,  Tibet tourists scenic attractions were closed already for public.

Updated on March.23,2020, Due to the worldwide COVID19 quick spread, international flights to Beijing from countries such as Italy,Germany, France, UK, Spain, Middle East, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc can not land in Beijing but have to be diverted to other airports. These airports include Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Hohhot, Jinan, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Zhengzhou, Xi’an etc.

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 335,900 people and killed more than 14,600. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems.

Travelers from countries heavy hit by COVID19 may not land in China per scheduled itinerary. This is actually a travel ban and it will surely infect foreigners travel to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an, etc. And this is to say that foreign travelers can not enter Tibet according to any pre-managed travel itinerary. So far no Tibet permits can be applied and all foreign travelers planning to travel to Tibet need to postpone the trip to after June 2020 at least.

Updated on March.23,2020: There is a surge in imported confirmed coronavirus cases as students, others fly back to China. Due to the worldwide COVID19 quick spread, international flights to Beijing from countries such as Italy,Germany, France, UK, Spain, Middle East, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc can not land in Beijing finally but have to be diverted to other nearby airports. These airports include Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Hohhot, Jinan, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Zhengzhou, Xi’an etc.

The latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 335,900 people and killed more than 14,600 worldwide. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems.

Due to More Imported Cases, Tibet/China Protect local People and Foreign Travelers via Flights Restrictions

Travelers from countries heavy hit by COVID19 may not land in Tibet, China per scheduled itinerary. And most probably passengers may have to be quarantined for around 2 weeks in designated area. To those foreign travelers wanting to visit Tibet, this is actually a Tibet travel ban and the restrictions will surely infect foreigners arrival entry to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an, etc. So it is to say that foreign travelers can not enter Tibet according to any pre-managed travel itinerary. So far no Tibet permits can be applied and all foreign travelers planning to travel to Tibet need to postpone the trip at least after June 2020. If there is instant news from tourism authority in Lhasa, we will update it. Foreign travelers can also write to us for reliable Tibet travel suggestion for any traveling after June 2020 (info@tibetlocalguide.com).

Many Norwegians desire to travel Tibet in the past. However it has been  8 long years without seeing travelers from Norway in Tibet since any Norwegian travelers set foot on Tibet in 2008. Tibet travel permits restrictions apply to this Nordic country, but it was open in the last two years. Well with the current COVID around the globe, which draws tens of thousands of travelers to travel to pandemic epicenters and more and more tourism restrictions policies happen around the whole world.

Recently flights scheduled to land in Beijing, Shanghai may not be able to land there but have to be diverted to land at other nearby airport, so travelers from Norway or other countries in Europe should plan a tour of Tibet for a later time in 2020 or 2021 when the situation gets back to normal.

For the Norwegian travelers to Tibet, once Tibet is open, they should follow the process below to get their Tibet travel permits approved.

SIMPLE Tibet Tour Booking Process for Norwegian travelers 

• Step 1 – Contact one local Tibet travel agency to offer you a private tour or Tibet group tour;
• Step 2 – Pay required deposit to secure the Tibet tour booking;
• Step 3 – Provide Norwegian Passport data page & Chinese visa page in due time
• Step 4 — Pack your bag for the tour, pay the balance upon arrival and enjoy the trip

Our foreign travelers begin to ask whether novel coronavirus outbreak will infect inbound tourism in Tibet, because their Tibet travel plan is fixed and in the upcoming spring season. Well, till now it is very safe to travel in Tibet and there is no novel coronavirus case report from Lhasa Tibet. However it becomes popular that many Chinese people begin to ware mask in public areas and people delay their travel plan and choose to stay at home in some cities, especially in Wuhan. 

Mayor of Wuhan (Central China’s Mega city): Stay away

Reducing travel in and out of city may curb disease spread, he says

The mayor of Wuhan, Hubei province, called on people not travel to and from the city in order to combat the ongoing pneumonia outbreak.

Mayor Zhou Xianwang said during an interview with CCTV on Tuesday that reducing the flow of people will also decrease the possibility of the virus spreading and lighten the pressure on disease prevention and control efforts.

Wuhan set up a prevention and control center to combat the outbreak on Monday, the city’s health authorities said.

Led by Zhou, the center heads eight task forces made up of authorities involved in emergency management, publicity, transport, market regulation, medical treatment and epidemic control and prevention, according to the Health Commission of Wuhan.

The city will strengthen measures to scan passengers for higher body temperatures at airports, train and bus stations and ports, and reduce or cancel all unnecessary large gatherings.

Patients with serious symptoms should be treated by a team of medical workers with a specific plan, and hospitals should strengthen the protection of their staff to prevent infection within hospitals.

The city will promptly and objectively release information about disease prevention and control.

TLG quoted this news from third party news Chanel and this doesn’t represent our points of view, we can not judge and evaluate the case’s situation, travelers should check from their ordinary news recourses to get further details.

Here below you can learn more about  “Wuhan Coronavirus, the Chinese pneumonia outbreak”

The 2019–20 novel coronavirus outbreak, also known as the Wuhan coronavirus, the Chinese pneumonia outbreak or the Wuhan pneumonia (simplified Chinese: 武汉肺炎; traditional Chinese: 武漢肺炎; pinyin: Wǔhàn fèiyán), is a viral outbreak that was initially identified during mid-December 2019 in the city of Wuhan in central China, as an emerging cluster of people with pneumonia with no clear cause, which was linked primarily to stallholders who worked at the Huanan Seafood Market (华南海鲜市场), which also sold live animals. Chinese scientists subsequently isolated a new strain of the coronavirus, designated as 2019-nCoV, which has been found to be at least 70% similar in genome sequence to SARS-CoV. It is not clear however, whether the 2019-nCoV is of the same severity or lethality as SARS.

On 20 January 2020, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged decisive and effective efforts to prevent and control the pneumonia epidemic caused by a novel coronavirus. As of 22 January 2020, 17 deaths have occurred, all in China, and there is evidence of human-to-human transmission. Extensive testing has revealed more than 500 confirmed cases, some of whom are healthcare workers. Confirmed cases have also been reported in Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong and the United States. Read further on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019–20_outbreak_of_novel_coronavirus_(2019-nCoV)

Here is the governmental official news website (XinHuaNet) for more reference: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-01/14/c_138703493.htm