Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
We entered China via KKH from Pakistan Nivember 1998. The Pak-Chinese border closes officially on Nivember 15th, but depends on snow conditions. We got Chinese visa in Islamabad in 3 days, free of charge. There is only 7 days visa extension possible in Lhasa. It costs 100Y. Better go there when your visa is almost over (last day) or they refuse to extend. The PSB providing extensions is located on the same street as the new telecommunications building, in the street parallel to main street.
Jakub Hrncir & Alice Buchtova - Czech Republic (Jan 99)
The easiest way to enter Tibet is flying from Chengdu. The price, including taxes (and an obligatory three day tour of Lhasa) is Y1950. There are several ways to enter Tibet from Golmud, but only one is legal. Located in the Golmud Hotel is the CITS office, the only place where you can buy your legal bus ticket to Lhasa. The price, including taxes (and tour), is Y1200 for a bus seat and Y1400 for a sleeper.
Julio Penalva-Puig (Oct 98)
The PSB office in Lhasa does not issue individual travel permits. In order to get a travel permit you have to book an organised tour through one of the travel agencies. According to the PSB officials, individual travel permits are against the regulations on travel in the Tibet autonomous region. However, somehow they are readily available at the PSB office in Shigatse. They cost Y50 and you can include just about every place in Tibet. It takes the PSB one day to issue your permit.
Filip Crombez, Belgium (Jul 98)
We arrived in Kathmandu early in March intending to go to Lhasa with Chinese visas that we had obtained in Delhi. Soon after arrival we met a girl who had just tried to cross into Tibet and was told there was no way she would be allowed in. On investigating we were told that last year this was possible but the rules have been tightened this year by the Chinese authorities such that no individual travellers will be allowed in. A further complication occurred after our trip to Lhasa - we went to the PSB with our Group Visa and were astonished to find that to break it up and extend it would cost an additional US$75 (approximately) per head. Lhasa PSB's advice and that of the travel agent, was to break up from the two individuals we had teamed up with so that the three of us could go to Chengdu for a cheaper and longer extension. This was wrong - had we tried in Lhasa we may have been able to break up the visa, with the travel-agent's help.
Actually, in Chengdu, although the rates are cheaper, the PSB said the maximum they could extend a Group Visa for was 20 days (we needed a month), and in any event it would only be extended once. They were also not prepared to break up the group completely and give us all individual visas. They said that a normal individual tourist visa could be extended three times.
Conclusion: if you plan your travel to China - Nepal, you will find it much easier and cheaper this year than going Nepal - China. All the people we met in Lhasa and in Chengdu were saying how easy they had found it.
Don, John, Krisztina (Mar 98)
Arrange a permit at the PSB for ALL your possible destinations in Tibet (friendly, helpful staff, Y50 per person). The Tibetan Permit and Travel Regulations are very confusing, especially since August 1997. When we were there, the only allowed, formal way of travelling was with a group, a guide and a group permit. So the government is in control of tourists' movements, through travel agencies and the licensed guides. But there aren't enough guides.
Things are changing very quickly. Maybe the next warning is suitable for publication: I met several people who arranged their Lhasa-trip from Kathmandu. They already had a China visa. After receiving their passports back from the Kathmandu Travel Agency, their visa was just crossed out and instead they had a 'group visa'. This allowed them only to travel further in Tibet with the same group (and via that agency). In Lhasa they had to buy a new individual visa, which cost them about US$100! I bought a three month visa in Bangkok at the embassy (cheaper and faster and just what I wanted).
Paul Daniels - Holland (Dec 97)
We recommend people take the bus into Tibet as it can be incredibly painful moving to that high elevation quickly. Several people on our flight had to leave straight after their arrival due to AMS (acute mountain sickness). We were sick for a good four days ourselves.
The Barkhor CafΘ has several computers available for internet access.
Melanie Cheng & Bernard Phelps (Oct 98)
I'd like to update travellers on the current situation of staying overnight or longer at Tsurphu Monastery outside Lhasa. It used to be possible to stay overnight in Tsurphu at the guesthouse. When I was there a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to stay for a few nights but then found out that a permit is required. I was also told by people issuing the permits that quite a few people who had gone to Tsurphu with a permit and hoping to stay the night were still turned away.
Barbara Dombrowski, Australia (Jul 98)
The Tibet Air Travel Service in the Tibet Hotel does not sell tickets to Kathmandu (at least to foreigners). They referred us to the CAAC where we had to wait in line and reserve our seats. There are shuttles from the CAAC to the airport roughly every hour.
Several hotels offer bus charters to the Nepal border. This is usually a three or four day trip. Renting vehicles can be difficult if you are in a small group as there is apparently a new law stating that no less than five can rent a car.
Melanie Cheng & Bernard Phelps (Oct 98)
The bus from Golmud to Lhasa cost us Y1180 (we couldn't believe how expensive it was). Our bus took 56 hours; the longest journey that we heard of was one lasting 63 hours, the shortest, 36 hours. We had about three minor breakdowns and stopped every ten minutes or so for lunch or dinner or so someone could piss by the side of the road (which was certainly a better option than the toilets). Most of the foreigners on our bus suffered from altitude sickness and needed oxygen to make the journey more comfortable. I would certainly recommend buying some - it costs Y30 for a canister at the Golmud Hotel. Of course, any benefit is likely to be negated by the fact that the Chinese will be chain-smoking throughout the entire journey. You also need lots and lots of warm clothes. We were doing the trip in the middle of the summer, and the nights were still bitterly cold. It's also worth keeping a close eye on your valuables. We have never had any problems with crime in China, but had money stolen on this trip. The journey was actually nowhere near as bad as we had expected, and the scenery was stunning. Although it is a total rip-off, we did think that it was worth it just to see this part of Tibet. But I wouldn't do it twice.
L E Butler, UK (Aug 98)
Golmud to Lhasa by sleeping bus costs around Y1200; this includes the permit. The trip takes 36-54 hours, depending on the condition of the road. It is definitely possible to do this, unlike what some official tour agencies may say. It is the CITS, by the way, that sells these tickets to the local travel agent where you get the ticket from. Question: why don't you spend the extra Y700 to fly from Chengdu to Lhasa? It takes one hour 40 minutes, you have great views of the Himalayas (if you're lucky), and you'll be fresh when you get there. We know many people who have done the trip and they were all exhausted when they arrived. On the other hand, you do get to see a lot when you're on the bus.
Lisa and Siegfried, The Thorn Tree (Jul 98)
The five travel agencies inside the compound of the Traffic Hotel (Chengdu) all offer tours to Tibet. You can book a fully organised tour to Lhasa, or you can book the minimum package (transport to Chengdu airport, your flight ticket to Lhasa and your permit to go to Tibet). The price for the minimum was Y1400 up to 21 April. From 22 April (the start of the tourist season) the price was Y1750. A girl from the travel agency picks you up in the hotel lobby at 5am and guides you through the police checkpoints at the airport. Once you get to Lhasa you are on your own.
Filip Crombez, Belgium (Jul 98)
TIBET
