Planning a Trip

Permit Purgatory

As well as the current problem of actually getting a train ticket to Lhasa, there has always been the inconvenience of getting the relevant permits to visit the TAR. Permit restrictions, a subject long shrouded in mystery, appeared to be relaxing and, in recent years, independent foreign travelers found themselves able to visit the TAR as individuals rather than part of a mandatory group (which most visitors then abandoned as soon as they reached Lhasa). But restrictions have always been subject to change at short notice, and an incident at Everest Base in April 2007 has led to vigorous enforcement of laws that were once loosely applied. The "incident" involved a group of Americans unfurling a "Free Tibet" flag, singing the banned Tibetan national anthem, and burning a Chinese flag. The perpetrators were quickly removed and held for a couple of days before being expelled to Nepal. This action did nothing to help Tibetans in Tibet and increased restrictions for all Tibetans involved in tourism and foreign travelers alike.

Many agencies in Beijing, ShanghaI, and Xi'an now once again require travelers to travel in groups of five in order to secure a permit. These group tours include a permit, transport (by plane or train) and transfers, hotel accommodations, and a city tour in Lhasa and cost from ¥1,500 ($195/£98) for the train. However, the Everest incident may be merely an excuse for the agents to make more money, as you can still find some agents (such as Tibetan Connections) who offer permits and plane tickets without a tour.

In order to buy a plane or train ticket you must be in possession of a valid Tibet Travel Permit (TTP), which costs anything from ¥300 to ¥1,500 ($39-$104/£20-£52) depending upon the agent, duration, and where you apply. Permits are valid for between 6 days and 1 month depending upon where you get them and how much you pay; check before you buy. There are official Tibet Tourist Bureaus (TTBs) in Beijing (tel. 010/844-77899), Golmud (tel. 0979/848-3532), Guangzhou (tel. 020/3874-2948, Hong Kong (tel. 00852/283-83391), Shanghai (tel. 021/622-88845), Xi'an (tel. 029/781-5987), and Xining (tel. 0971/845-9840); processing usually takes a couple of days. Once you have your TTP, you are free to buy a Lhasa ticket.

The next hurdle to overcome, and the one that has certainly been affected by the recent Everest incident, is traveling outside of Lhasa. While the surrounding monasteries of Sera, Drepung, and Ganden are all visitable on a TTP, for travel beyond Lhasa an Alien Travel Permit (ATP) and a guide are now required. Foreigners aren't allowed to travel on public transport anywhere outside of Lhasa, and to this end, bus details have been omitted from this edition. The situation becomes yet more complex if you wish to travel to sensitive regions such as Kailash, for which a Military Permit (¥100/$13/£6.50) is required.

Of course, all of these permits require time and money to process, but given that you have no option but to travel with a guide in a group, they are all arranged fairly easily. As always there are stories of those who slip through the net; on this research trip, I met a Serbian who reached Lhasa by train from Golmud without a TTP, and I managed to get to Shigatse without an ATP. However, the exceptions are far fewer than those who get turned back (and fined). As always, there is hope that the regulations will relax again, but this seems highly unlikely before the 2008 Olympics.

Getting There

Aside from the problems of securing a travel permit getting to Lhasa is now far more straightforward since the opening of the railway, and there are flights from various major cities throughout China. Those arriving by air from Kathmandu can obtain a standard 1-month tourist (L) visa and a TTB permit only by joining a group tour through a travel agency. Two good choices are Royal Mt. Trekking, P.O. Box 10798, Durbar Marg, Kathmandu (tel. 977-1/421-5364; fax 977-1/421-5372; www.royal-mt-trek.com); and Green Hill Tours and Treks, P.O. Box 5072, Kathmandu (tel. 977-1/442-2467; fax 977-1/441-9985; www.greenhill-tours.com). Gongkar Airport is 97km (60 miles) southeast of Lhasa. Buses (1 1/2 hr.; ¥25/$3.25/£1.65) connect the airport with the CAAC ticket office in Lhasa at Niangre Lu 1 (tel. 0891/683-3446). The buses depart the office for the airport about 3 hours before flights. Check when purchasing your ticket, or call tel. 0891/682-6282.

For tickets, fill out a form obtained from the information desk to the left, join a line to book your flight, swap your passport for an invoice (which you pay at the counter to the right), and finally pick up the ticket from the front of the original line. There are daily flights to Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, and Zhongdian. Flights from Chengdu connect to most destinations in China. There are Guangzhou flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and international flights to Kathmandu on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

The brand-new rail station is 10km (6 miles) southwest of town, reached by an equally new stretch of road. Taxis should charge ¥15 ($1.95/£1), but will try for double that. There are also public buses for ¥2 (25¢/15p) that connect with Tibet University on Jiangsu Lu. At the station you'll find ticket offices, left luggage, and shopping opportunities aplenty if you like paying over the odds for tack. All trains leave in the morning. There are direct trains for Beijing (T28; 8:30am; 47 hr.), Chengdu (T23; 9:05am; 48 hr.), Chongqing (T224; 10:30am; 49 hr.), Shanghai (T166; 10am; 24 hr.), Guangzhou (T266; 10am; 57 hr.), and Xi'an (T221/T224; 10:42am; 36 hr.), all of which pass through Golmud (13 hr.), Xining (24 hr.), and Lanzhou (30 hr.). There's also a specific train for Golmud, Xining, and Lanzhou (K918; 11:20am).

The bus station (tel. 0891/682-4469) is at the south end of town, although it has become somewhat obsolete to foreign travelers with the opening of the train and the current restrictions on independent travel in the TAR. You might be able to sneak onto a Shigatse-bound bus (4 hr.; ¥50/$6.50/£3.25; every half-hour from 8:30am), but getting onto other buses is currently out of the question.

Railway on the Roof of the World -- China (and the world's) highest and most ambitious railway link opened to great fanfare on July 1, 2006. The rail line took 6 years to build and passes through some of the harshest, most inhospitable and beautiful landscapes on the planet. Most of the 1,142km (709-mile) track lies at an altitude above 4,000m (13,123 ft.), and the highest pass is a staggering 5,072m (16,636 ft.). The line also claims another record: the highest rail tunnel in the world at 4,905m (16,088 ft.). Oxygen is pumped into all carriages and additional supplies are available for those who are really suffering. Aside from these special features, the trains are much like any other you'll travel on in China, albeit more modern. The proposed Tangula Train, a five-star rail experience operated by the Kempinski group, is expected to start operating in 2008.

While such altitude may seem like a scary prospect, taking the train actually offers the opportunity to acclimatize more easily than flying directly to Lhasa (3,700m/12,136 ft.). Critics are quick to point out the environmental and social impact of the rail line, which passes through pristine habitats and is currently bringing at least 3,000 Han visitors to Lhasa every day (during the summer). Indeed, Tibetan culture in Lhasa is being further diluted day by day, and the TAR's minerals are efficiently being converted into cash, all of which makes visiting the Tibetan world outside of the TAR a more appealing proposition. However, most Han visitors limit themselves to taking the train up to Lhasa and flying out a few days later, leaving the rest of the TAR relatively unaffected (although the rail line is due to reach Shigatse by 2009 and ultimately is planned to stretch all the way to Nepal). If you ask most Tibetans how they feel about the rail line, the answers usually include something about the increased wealth brought by tourists, and the ease of travel that it affords, meaning students can return home for the holidays and businessmen can bolster profits by saving on airfares. Also, in spite of all the hoo-ha about the environment, the railway is infinitely preferable to the emissions caused by aircraft. Whatever you think of the rail line, it's here to stay and the trip is one of the most incredible journeys China has to offer.

Getting Around

Taxis within town are ¥10 ($1.30/65p) for any destination. Minibuses charging ¥2 (25¢/15p) and buses (with conductors) charging ¥1 (15¢/5p) are plentiful.

Tours and Guides

If you arrive in Lhasa without a tour arranged, and you wish to visit anywhere else in the TAR, you will need an Aliens' Travel Permit, a tour guide, and a vehicle. These can only be obtained by joining a tour through Foreign Individual Traveler (FIT) branches in the Snowland Hotel at Zang Yiyuan Lu 4 (tel. 0891/634-9239; fax 0891/634-3854) and in the Banak Shol Hotel at Beijing Zhong Lu 8 (tel./fax 0891/634-4397). The latter currently enjoys the better reputation. Restrictions are very tight at the moment, but also tend to increase around certain dates, particularly the Monlam Festival (sometime mid-Jan to mid-Feb), the Saka Dawa Festival (sometime mid-May to mid-June), and the Dalai Lama's birthday on July 6. If you're planning an extensive trip and have limited time you should organize your tour through other agencies well before you arrive. Of the Lhasa-based tour operators, Shigatse Travels, located inside the Yak Hotel (tel. 0891/633-0489; fax 0891/633-0482; www.shigatsetravels.com), is highly recommended. For off-the-beaten-track trips Tibet Wind Horse Adventure (tel. 0891/683-3009; www.windhorsetibet.com) offers a range of options, but specializes in white-water rafting tours. Longer tours are best arranged a few months in advance but they also operate half-day ($75) and day ($95) tours, which can be put together at shorter notice. Their main office is at Lingkor Road 26 but they have a branch on Zang Yiyuan Lu.

The most popular trip in the TAR is the 5- to 6-day tour from Lhasa to Zhangmu on the Nepali border. This trip should cost between ¥4,500 and ¥6,000 ($585-$780/£293-£390), which includes a Land Cruiser that will comfortably seat four, a guide, and Alien Travel Permits (ATP) for all passengers; meals and accommodations are extra. If you're looking to share a ride with other passengers, check out the bulletin-board postings at Snowlands, the Pentoc, and the Kerry Hotel. Be sure to draw up a contract with the driver stating where you will visit and how long the trip will last; make a deposit and try to negotiate withholding the balance (ideally 25%) until your tour is completed -- some travelers have been left stranded. Also be sure to check out the vehicle before you embark on your trip -- you may even want to take the car and driver on a test drive on the streets of Lhasa to see how the car performs before agreeing to embark into the wilderness. Once you do arrive at your destination, and if you're happy with the service, tip your driver ¥50 to ¥100 ($6.50-$13/£3.25-£6.50) per person. Gifts of music cassettes are also highly appreciated.

Those planning mountaineering expeditions must obtain permits from the Tibetan Mountaineering Association (tel. 0891/633-3720), housed in a building immediately north of the Himalaya Hotel. Whatever difficulties you face, you won't be the first traveler in Tibet to have his or her way blocked by the authorities.

Fast Facts

Banks, Foreign Exchange and ATMs -- The main branch of the Bank of China, west of the Potala Palace at Linkuo Xi Lu 28, accepts traveler's checks and credit cards at counters 6 to 10. There are several international ATMs. Hours are weekdays from 9am to 1pm and 3:30 to 6pm; weekends 10am to 4:30pm. There are several other branches of the bank throughout town, including one on the northeast side of town, at Najin Lu 188 and another just west of the Banak Shol Hotel on Beijing Dong Lu. Hours are the same for all branches.

Consulates -- North of the Norbulinka Palace, the Nepalese Consulate-General at Luobulinka Bei Lu 13 (tel. 0891/682-2881; fax 0891/683-6890) is open from 10am to noon on weekdays. Visas are processed in 2 days, cost ¥255 ($33/£17), and are valid for 6 months. Non-Chinese nationals can arrange 60-day visas at the border (Zhangmu) for $30. You can get a transit visa for $5 if you're staying in Nepal for less than 48 hours. Consular officials joke that this may be the only example of preferential treatment for foreigners in the TAR.

Internet Access -- The 24-hour Jinma Wangba offers broadband Internet access for ¥3 (40¢/20p) per hour. The Summit Cafe has branches in the courtyard of the Shangbala Hotel on Zang Yiyuan Lu and another opposite Niuwei on Linkuo Bei Lu and offers comfortable broadband and wireless access for ¥8 ($1.05/50p) per hour. Many hotels and guesthouses also offer Internet access; the Snowlands Guesthouse (tel. 0891/633-7323) has several computer terminals that cost ¥5 (65¢/35p) per hour. Dial-up is tel. 165.

Post Office -- The main post office is at Beijing Dong Lu 33. Summer hours are from 9am to 8pm; winter hours are from 9:30am to 6:30pm. The counter to the far left designated INTERNATIONAL POST BUSINESS is efficient; it's open from 9am to noon and 3:30 to 5:30pm.

Visa Extensions -- You can't miss the imposing PSB on Linkuo Bei Lu (tel. 0891/632-4528). In spite of a recent change of address, attitudes remain the same and visa officers spit out the term "individual traveler" as through it's a disfiguring and contagious affliction. They offer extensions of up to 5 days, usually processed in half a day. Hours are weekdays from 9am to 12:30pm and 3:30 to 6:30pm. Longer extensions are possible if you have an onward air ticket or have already arranged a tour.