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Wild Junket

How to Travel Tibet — My Tibet Travel Guide

Last Updated on January 10, 2022

A detailed Tibet travel guide with all the information on how to travel Tibet, things to do and where to stay in Tibet.

Tibet is called the ‘Roof of the World’ for good reason: With an average elevation exceeding 4,500 metres (14,800 ft), the Tibetan Plateau is sometimes the world’s highest and largest plateau, with an area of 2,500,000 square kilometres (about five times the size of France). Challenging as it may be, here’s my go at how to travel Tibet and get the maximum from this incredible part of the world.

Geography in Tibet is on a humbling scale — dramatic snow-peaked mountains loom over vast plains, zigzagging highways weave their way through high passes draped with colorful prayer flags, while glittering turquoise lakes stand in the shadow of centuries-old glaciers. Home to several of the world’s highest peaks and the famous Everest Base Camp , Tibet has the power to impress even the most hardened traveler.

For those planning a trip to the ‘Roof of the World’, I’ve compiled a detailed Tibet travel guide with information on how to get there, what type of tours to choose, and where to stay in Tibet.

Table of Contents

Why You Should Travel Tibet

How to travel tibet, when to travel tibet, how to get to tibet, how to get around tibet, where to stay in tibet, what to eat in tibet, cost of travel in tibet, safety in tibet, staying healthy in tibet, best places to travel in tibet, check out our regular tibet tours.

But amidst the stunning natural landscapes in Tibet, it’s the people of Tibet that truly moved me. Despite mass modernisation and dilution of their culture under China’s iron fist, Tibet remains a resilient land underpinned by a rich culture and deep faith. 50 years of oppression and religious control have failed to dull the Tibetans’ devotion to their faith.

Today, amidst the kitsch Chinese neon signs, retail stores and fast food chains in Lhasa , it’s still common to see hardcore pilgrims prostrating in koras circumambulating sacred spots around the country.

Magnificent monasteries rich with the aroma of butter tea, prayer halls of chanting monks, and streets lined with prayer wheels all remind us that nobody can take away what is truly Tibetan. The Chinese may have taken away a lot of things from Tibet, but they’ll never take away their identity and faith.

These days, traveling Tibet can be a controversial subject. Many people in the Western world strongly feel that visiting the oppressed nation means that you’re supporting China’s political indoctrination of Tibet. Some people I know would never visit Tibet until it is fully liberalised from the clutches from China. I absolutely understand their point of view and I strongly oppose China’s hard-headed tactics, but visiting Tibet does not mean I’m supporting the regime.

In fact, I think more people should visit so Tibet gets the attention and support from the outside world it deserves. I see travel as the best form of education — only by going there, talking to locals and seeing things from ground level do you truly learn about what’s going on, and can therefore inform others about the state that Tibet is in.

Tourism is highly restricted in Tibet and independent travel is not allowed. Foreign travelers need to prearrange a tour in order to obtain a Tibet Tourism Bureau (TTB) permit; only Chinese and Hongkong travelers are free to enter without a visa. Every company that runs Tibet tours will help you obtain a TTB when you book a tour with them.

Without a TTB permit, you won’t even be able to board a flight or train to Tibet. Besides citizens of Singapore, Brunei and Japan, all visitors require a valid Chinese visa in addition to a Tibet permit. Make sure to get your Chinese visa at least a month before your trip, as your tour operator will need it to get the TTB permit. When applying for your Chinese visa, don’t mention Tibet and don’t list your occupation as ‘journalist’.

I’m glad I chose to run my first WildJunket Tour to Tibet. It’s safe to say everyone in the group enjoyed the trip tremendously and appreciated the great job our local guide and driver did. If you are looking to travel Tibet, we offer regular departures for Tibet tours in 2021.

Tibet can be visited all year round — but the best time to visit is in spring and summer (from April to October) when Tibet’s weather is not too harsh and most areas of Tibet are accessible. This also depends largely on your Tibet itinerary as certain parts can only be visited in summer (e.g. Mount Kailash is covered in snow throughout the year except summer.)

Most Tibetan festivals take place in spring and summer too, including the month-long Saga Dawa Festival (mainly to celebrate the birth of Buddha, enlightenment, and Nirvana) which coincided with my trip, the week-long Shoton festival (Tibetan opera performance and Buddha Thangka unfolding ceremony) and Nagqu horse racing festival. Tibet travel is definitely at its best in spring and summer.

Winter is low season for travel in Tibet, as temperatures can get quite extreme at such high altitudes. I wouldn’t recommend visiting Everest Base Camp then as temperatures can drop to way below 0 degrees Celsius.

Flights to Tibet are quite expensive, and a lot of people suffer from altitude sickness when flying straight into Lhasa. You will have to fly via other cities in China or Kathmandu (the only international transit point) to get to Lhasa regardless of where you’re coming from.

Return flights to Lhasa from Singapore are around US$500 and from Beijing for US$600. I managed to score a pretty cheap flight from Lhasa to Singapore (single way) for US$180 with taxes included.

Another way of getting into Tibet is on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway . This is the highest rail travel in the world, with more than 960 km (600 miles) at an elevation of more than 4,000 m (13,123 ft) and almost half of the tracks built on permafrost. The rail journey starts in Beijing, the Chinese capital, taking a total of 40 hours to get to Lhasa.

But the landscapes only begin to impress from Xining onwards, whizzing past high-altitude lakes, vast plains and mountain passes. Train tickets are not cheap, at around US$280 for a soft sleeper and $200 for a hard sleeper (prices can change depending on season) each way.

Search for Flights to Lhasa

Foreign visitors are not allowed to take public transport in Tibet. As mentioned, you need to arrange a tour in order to enter Tibet and move around the region. Tours always include transportation that will bring you around Tibet.

However, travelers are free to explore Lhasa’s markets, squares and old town on their own. There are plenty of things to do in Lhasa , and you can easily spend a week here exploring the temples, palaces and narrow alleys. You only need to be accompanied by a tour guide when visiting tourist attractions (any monastery and temple). Taxis are easily available in Lhasa and a one-way journey anyway in the city costs only 10 yuan (US$1.50).

We traveled around on a comfortable small bus with enough capacity for 14 people. It wasn’t as big and conspicuous as the ugly big blue buses that Chinese tourists traveled on, and it was good enough to cover long distances and on the hundreds of switchbacks on the Friendship Highway.

Accommodation is included in most Tibet tours. On my Tibet tour , we stayed at comfortable 4-star hotels that offered surprisingly luxurious accommodation right in the heart of Lhasa and Shigatse.

Only one night was spent camping at Everest Base Camp , and even then we stayed in a clean, comfortable big tented camp (for 5 to 8 people in each tent). They provided cushy mattresses and clean quilts. It was rather cold at night, so thankfully the local tour operator provided sleeping bags (with a cleaning fee of US$10).

It is allowed to explore Lhasa on your own and you can easily book hotels in Lhasa online. Prices are pretty affordable — $50 can get you a comfortable three-star hotel in the historical centre.

Here are the Lhasa hotels I recommend:

St Regis Resort Lhasa — The best place to stay in Lhasa, with ultra luxurious and spacious rooms for those who want to splurge after roughing out in rural Tibet. It’s a walk away from town so you’ll need to get a taxi everywhere. Book here.

Lhasa Gang-Gyan Hotel — A comfortable 4-star hotel with high standards of accommodation and an excellent location, just a few minutes’ walk from Barkhor Square. The breakfast spread was impressive. Hotel staff don’t speak English though.

House of Shambala — A boutique hotel brimming with traditional Tibetan flair. We ate at its fantastic restaurant twice and loved it. Rooms are decorated in true authentic Tibetan fashion. Check for rates here.

Tashi Choeta Boutique Hotel — A simple three-star hotel that’s great for the budget traveler. It’s located in the historical quarters, with a charming lounge area in its central courtyard. The hotel’s interior is decorated in traditional Tibetan style, and the service is excellent. Book your hotel here.

Lhasa Gang Gyan Hotel

Inside the tented guesthouse at everest base camp.

Don’t come to Tibet expecting gourmet meals; traditional Tibetan fare is quite simple and basic. Tibetans used to subsist on tsampa (barley flour) and butter tea, but now many Chinese dishes have been introduced to their culinary diet. There’s no shortage of Chinese fare around, but if you won’t find anything beyond that outside of Lhasa.

Most teahouses serve typical dishes like yak momo (steamed dumplings with yak meat), Tibetan noodles in broth, and stir-fried vegetables with rice. Chinese dishes that are usually on the menu include chili chicken, cashew chicken, double fried pork meat, and yak meat with vegetables. They’re pretty good and authentic in my opinion, but can be oily and spicy for some western tastebuds. Only in Lhasa will you find international restaurants that serve pizzas as well as Nepali and Indian thali sets.

Best Restaurants in Tibet

House of Shambala — As I mentioned above, I ate dinner once with the group and we loved it so much that we returned to have our last dinner here. The choice of momos was impressive and the platters of pakhora and other Tibetan-Nepali snacks were excellent. The atmosphere there was great and service was good. Read the Tripadvisor reviews.

Tibetan Family Kitchen — This cosy home-style diner makes you feel like you’re eating in someone’s home. Make your way there through a narrow alleyway, up the stairs through an apartment building and you’ll find yourself in a local home. You not only get to eat home-cooked Tibetan food but you can also try your hand at cooking them. Read the Tripadvisor reviews.

Po Ba Tsang Restaurant — A modern restaurant serving Tibetan and Chinese dishes that are huge in portions and great in flavor. There’s live folklore music for entertainment and also hotpot available for those who want a true culinary experience. Read the Tripadvisor reviews here.

Traveling Tibet isn’t cheap as you need to go on a tour to travel here. It’s especially pricey if you want to spend more than a week here and explore more remote regions. For a week-long tour, expect to pay at least US$900 for all your accommodation, guide and visa.

Because of the stiff competition, tour prices you find online are usually around the same. My WildJunket Tibet Tour was reasonably priced, considering the quality of accommodation, the comfort of our transportation and the great service from our guide and driver. Daily breakfasts were included but not other meals. Our guide usually brought us to affordable places with meals costing around US$5-10 per person.

Tibet has been plagued by civil unrest and anti-government protests since the 1960s when China invaded the nation. More than 140 people are known to have set themselves on fire inside Tibet to call for the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet, for the Panchen Lama to be freed, and for human rights and freedom in Tibet go be restored. Self-immolation protests peaked in 2012 when more than 80 took place.

Although many monks and nuns have set themselves alight, most self-immolation protesters were normal Tibetans, some were as young as 15 years old. The Chinese government responded to the protests with a surge in activity by security forces, plenty of propaganda campaigns against the protesters and punishments for protester’s families and communities.

During my visit (in May 2017), it was common to find police checkpoints all over Lhasa, with the old town and the Potala Palace in particular heavily guarded by Chinese Police. Security posts were also set up all over Tibet and military presence was everywhere. We had to cross several passport checkpoints across Tibet and plenty of permits and paperwork were involved.

Besides the heavy security, there was no hint of instability or violence.

The capital city Lhasa itself stands at 3,550m above sea level, and Everest Base Camp looms at 5,088m. At such dizzying heights, it can be easy to suffer from AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) if you don’t take the time to acclimatise to the conditions.

Tibetan people on the other hand are genetically adapted to living at higher altitudes. They have more red blood cells than most of us and that helps them to live with the limited oxygen at high altitudes.

Most people flying into Lhasa suffer from AMS; symptoms include light-headedness, nausea, short of breathe and headaches. Just make sure to get some Diamox (Acetazolamide) before your trip and start the medication at least one day before landing in Lhasa. Give yourself plenty of time to rest and acclimatise in Lhasa before you start exploring.

Tommy suffering from altitude sickness and getting his oxygen fix

The highlight of our trip was reaching Everest Base Camp , where the highest peak in the world loomed before us. It felt so close that it almost seemed within reach. Sleeping in a tented camp under the starry skies, I couldn’t believe I was literally at the top of the world.
Our drive to Everest Base Camp on the Friendship Highway was just as spectacular as our destination. The highway climbed up more than 2,000m in altitude via a series of sharp hairpin bends. Scenery along the way featured winding valleys, vast grasslands, meadows and windswept mountain views.
Watching monks at Sera Monastery debate was such an eye-opening experience. The debates were punctuated with vigorous gestures which made the whole ambience really lively and interesting.
It was such an honor visiting the legendary Potala Palace, an iconic landmark of Tibet and the most well-known building in the country. This was the fortresslike home of nine Dalai Lamas, but is sadly used as a museum now.
The scenic route from Shigatse to Lhasa brought us along lime-green barley fields, pristine turquoise lakes, time-warped villages and mountains studded with ochre stupas. It was a full day of driving, but the landscapes were diverse and spectacular. Some of my favourite stops were Gyatse Fort, Yamdrok Lake and Karo-La Glacier.

With this Tibet travel guide, I hope you’ll be able to plan an epic adventure and a trip of a lifetime. If you are interested in joining me on one of my Tibet tours , check out this page for detailed information.

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Nellie Huang

Nellie Huang is the founder of WildJunket. Originally from Singapore, Nellie has traveled to over 150 countries across 7 continents. She is a book author and Lonely Planet guidebook writer. As an adventure travel blogger, she has a special interest in unusual destinations and deep experiences. Follow her travels on her Facebook and Instagram .

The Comments

Astonishing.

Great writing. Thanks for introducing me to Tibet!

Did you have to trek at the Everest Base Camp ? Any tours coming up in 2018?

hi K, you don’t have to trek on the Tibet side. With most tours, you actually get the van all the way to the Everest Base Camp and then do a short hike to the lookout point. I don’t have any Tibet tour coming up in 2018 but you can email me and I’ll put you in touch with my local tour operator.

Your tour sounds interesting. Me and girlfriends are planning to go in October but we are worried of the toilet cleanliness and feeling unwell due to the high altitudes.

Btw do u have any trip planned in Oct?

hey YL, thanks for dropping by! I don’t have any trip to Tibet planned in October but I can help you book a trip if you’re interested. Be sure to bring some Diamox and you should be fine. A few people on my trip didn’t want to take Diamox and suffered quite badly from altitude sickness. It can be rough, you’ll need to be prepared. The toilet cleanliness isn’t something that can be fixed though. Tibet is a spectacular part of the world and there’s nothing quite like it. The devotion of its people, the kindness in their eyes, and the pristine beauty of its nature will make all the challenges of the trip well worth it.

Great blog! Enjoyed reading the info. A pity, there’s no planned trip to tibet in oct, i was also planning for that month. Perhaps u can share the travel operator u work with, would love to work something out.

For the access to tibet, maybe u can advice me on whether flight or train is a better choice from singapore. The train duration seems super long (40+ hrs), the flight seems expensive and difficult to get.

Thank you Mei

Cash'LaTyra Lewisdouglas

Hi, I would like to travel to Tibet with my children ages 2, 10 and 18. Would we be considered a group and how far in advance should I plan leaving from Los Angeles?

Any trip coming up in Aug 2018?

I’m afraid not, but I can book a Tibet trip for you if you like.

Hi, I am interested in going to tibet this august 2018. Can you pass me details of how to organise my trip¿ thanks in advance

Hi Esther, I can connect you with my local partner in Tibet. Just email me! :)

KALYAN GARIMELLA

I am planning for a Honeymoon trip in Tibet this mid of November (2018). I am from India. Let me know if any trips planned and do we require Visa. What’s the budget and how to plan my stay for 5days.

hi Kalyan, I’ll be happy to help you set that up. I will email you. Thanks!

Hi, can you connect me with your partner in tibet? we are going in august.

I would like to go to mount kailash tour

Hi Nellie I am planning to visit Tibet in May 2019. Besides Lhasa, I would like to go Namtso lake and Mt Everest base camp. How many days would this take? Appreciate you can share similar itineraries. Thanks!

We are interested in going to Tibet in 2019. Could you put us in touch with your tour operator? Thank you.

hi Selyn, yes sure, feel free to email me!

I’m interested in a tour to Tibet in late April 2019. Can you please provide me with any information? Thank you.

hi Kenny, please feel free to email me and I’ll connect you with my local tour operator.

Hi Nellie, can you kindly connect me with the local tour operator.

My email address is [email protected]

Bernard Wosk

Hi Nellie, I’m planning a trip to Tibet at the end of May, do you have a trip around that time? If not, can you recommend a tour operator? Thanks, Bernard

I am thinking of taking the train from Xining to Lhasa and then doing a tour from Lhasa to Everest Base Camp. There are any parts of this trip in which the train or car would be riding along the edge of a cliff? I am fine with heights unless I am at the edge so need to prepare myself.

hi Macy, I did almost the same route except that I started the train journey from Beijing. No, the train doesn’t ride along the edge of a cliff. You won’t feel the height. However, the car/bus journey towards Everest Base Camp will bring you on hairpin bends at high altitudes, so be prepared for that. Just try not to sit by the window if it’s gonna scare you. Roads there are surprisingly good (built by the Chinese) so don’t worry about safety.

Hi Nelly I plan to go in may 2019. I’m flying in to lanzhou & plan to take the train to lhasa. will join the ebc tour too if possible. can u advise and gimme contacts of the local tibet tours that can arrange for me? thanks.

hey Sam, yes sure. I’m actually writing an article about visiting the Everest Base Camp as we speak. I’ll email you. :)

Michelle Adams

Hi Thanks for your blog it was very interesting and insightful to read. I do theatre projects in the UK and recently connected with our very small Tibetan community in the UK. I am not really interested in travelling to Tibet with my partner. When is the next time you are travelling there. It would be great to be with someone who knows the country well. Thanks Michelle

hi Michelle, thanks so much for your comment! I’ve received your email as well and will reply you promptly. Cheers!

Hi,i likw to travel to Lhasa,china.Can you please let me know,how to travel from India?

You’ll need to get to Nepal first and from Kathmandu, you can travel overland to Tibet on a tour. Otherwise flying to Lhasa is the fastest way.

Hi, intends to go Lhasa and EBC in April 2019. Appreciate if there’s any tour during that period.

hi SK! I’m setting up an automated booking system for tours to Tibet right now as we speak. It should be up and running this week or the next, so please do check back then! Thank you!

siewchin yong

pian to visit Tibet 2020

I’m about to launch an automated booking system on my site where you can book trips to Tibet throughout 2020.

Riwash Chamlagain

Thanks for your blog I am glad to read this .I like tibet very much it is nice country I do theatre projects in the napel and recently connected with our very small Tibetan community in the nepal. I am not really interested in travelling to Tibet with my partner. When is the next time you are travelling there. It would be great to be with someone who knows the country well. I like tibet very much it is nice country.

Travel During the 1960s-90s: Around the World with Chan Brothers Travel

Text by Chong Wen Xiu Trina (NTU History Programme)

Pre-COVID, Singapore ranked among the most popular tourist destinations worldwide. The Singapore Tourism Board (formerly Singapore Tourist Promotion Board) had taken deliberate efforts to attract visitors to the little red dot. But from the 1980s, Singapore was just as notable for its outbound tourism, having seen more than 500,000 tourist departures in 1986. Have you ever wondered what travelling was like for Singaporeans during the 1960s-90s?

Travel, especially for leisure, did not gain much traction in the first decade of Singapore’s independence. The economic challenges of unemployment and shrinking entrepot trade meant that many Singaporeans could afford neither the time nor money to go on a holiday. Leisure tourism was thus a luxury that only a minority of Singaporeans had access to. Contrastingly, short trips to neighbouring Malaysia were popular especially during the Lunar New Year.

For the lucky ones, securing a train or air ticket to a foreign country was just the start. A successful trip required elements such as accommodation, food and transport to places of interest. Yet in the 1960s-early 1970s, sources of information that tourists could rely on were limited and disparate. Travel guidebooks by Lonely Planet and tourist maps informed Singaporean travellers about the history, customs and attractions of various destinations. These formal resources were supplemented by word of mouth from experienced travellers with useful tips to impart to their less experienced counterparts. Nonetheless, the scarcity of such resources made it a hassle to plan trips.

It was in this context of ‘information underload’ that tour agencies rose in influence. In a modest pre-war shophouse at Cecil Street stood Chan Brothers Travel, a three-staff company that initially sold air and train tickets to nearby countries. The company was founded in 1965 by Mr Chan Liang Choy who recognised the potential for growth in the travel and tourism industry as Singapore’s economy developed. Born in China’s Fujian Province in 1924, Mr Chan Liang Choy had worked for several years in Myanmar and Singapore before starting a business in his family name at age 41. The business soon began selling guided tour packages. Several years and many successful tours later, Chan Brothers Travel moved to Fook Hai Building and became a household name.

Chan Brothers Travel provided a one-stop solution for travellers who lacked the know-how and/or patience to settle their travel arrangements. The direct links the company enjoyed with airlines, hotels and overseas agents enabled it to streamline the booking process while providing its customers with reliable, affordable services. A tour booking typically started with a trip to the Chan Brothers Travel office at Fook Hai Building, where one would be handed a collection of travel brochures indicating the prices and itineraries of available packages. Albums that compiled photographs taken by Chan Brothers Travel tour leaders on previous trips were also used as a sales tool to pique the potential customer’s interest in destinations on offer. A week or two before the trip, mass pre-departure briefings would also be conducted in mini theatrettes in the Chan Brothers Travel office.

By the 1980s, Chan Brothers Travel tours not only covered Asian destinations like Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines, but also distant countries in Australia, Europe and North America. The diversity of destinations indicated Chan Brothers Travel’s success, which was related to Singaporeans’ growing appetite for travel.

Indeed, the 1980s saw a significant boom in the outbound travel market. Rising income levels coupled with the opening of Singapore Changi Airport in 1981 made travel easier and more affordable. Singaporeans redefined the value of travel: as a necessary respite from the monotony of work, a family bonding experience and even a retirement reward. But as travellers became more seasoned, their expectations and traveling styles also evolved. This led Chan Brothers Travel to expand and differentiate their product offerings.

In 1983, the company introduced the “hotel-on-wheels” concept which brought Singaporeans on tours around Europe in double decker buses fitted with sleeping berths and a kitchen. The tours resembled a camping trip since travellers were involved in the cooking and cleaning. A Free and Easy Travel department was also set up to render travel assistance to those who preferred to travel independently. Other available itineraries included romantic trips for couples, school trips and incentive trips. Evidently, travel preferences shifted over time and tour agencies like Chan Brothers Travel had to adapt to these changes in order to remain relevant and competitive.

Tour leaders put on many hats. Ms Koh, a former tour leader at Chan Brothers Travel shared that besides managing the group and explaining sites of interest, tour leaders also needed to respond effectively to unforeseen situations like injuries or flight delays. Some travellers might even request special arrangements such as flowers or a cake for their wedding anniversaries.

Recognising the significant role played by tour leaders, Chan Brothers Travel embarked on a consultancy project with the National Productivity Board (predecessor of the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board or SPRING Singapore) in 1990 to provide customised employee training. The first of its kind in the travel industry, the project was extended to all of its 150 employees, from tour leaders to front desk salespeople. In line with their business philosophy of “Always, service with a smile”, in-house training on counter sales and telephone techniques were prioritised. The reigning Miss Hong Kong, Ms Pauline Yeung, was invited to officiate Chan Brothers Travel’s 1988 in-house courtesy campaign which aimed to promote the importance of courtesy in the service industry.

Chan Brothers Travel’s heavy emphasis on its people serves as a reminder of the irreplaceable human element of engaging brick-and-mortar travel agencies. Even if online travel agencies (OTAs) can complete the same tasks that brick-and-mortar travel agencies can, they arguably cannot replicate the personalised, real-world customer experience that the latter excels in.

The start of post-pandemic travel spells exciting opportunities for tour agencies like Chan Brothers Travel which have been directly affected by global travel restrictions. For travellers who are unconfident about navigating the hodgepodge of COVID-19 guidelines, the services of brick-and-mortar tour agencies may prove immensely valuable.

About Partner

Find out more about their programmes, research, and events at http://www.soh.ntu.edu.sg/Programmes/history/Pages/Home.aspx or find them on Twitter (@NTUHistory).

This article was developed for Singapore Heritage Fest 2022

Ten dollar note used during the Japanese Occupation

One hundred dollar note used during the Japanese Occupation

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Tarek Afif Bizri

Really enjoyed the trip. Loved the effort made to show us different parts of the wall every day. The last day was so rural, it felt very special. The lake ...

Tibet (Bod to Tibetans), the “Roof of the World”, has exerted a magnetic pull over travellers for centuries. The scenery is awe-inspiring, the religious devotion overwhelming, and the Tibetan people welcoming and wonderful. Below the surface, however, it is all too apparent that Tibet’s past has been tragic, its present painful and the future bleak: today Tibet is a subjugated colony of China. While foreign visitors are perhaps more worldly than to expect a romantic Shangri-La, there is no doubt that many are shocked by the heavy military presence and authoritarian restrictions, both reinforced following pre-Olympic protests in 2007–08 and an ongoing campaign of self-immolations. The growing presence of Chinese immigrants and snap-happy tourists, construction of apartments and factories alongside traditional Tibetan rural homes and monasteries, and a programme of resettling nomads en masse to permanent new towns, are further causes of disquiet, but don’t stay away: many people, the Dalai Lama included, believe travellers should visit Tibet to learn all they can of the country.

Brief history

An uneasy relationship, around lhasa, arranging tours, books beware, to everest and the nepal border, southeast from lhasa, tibet travel permits, travellers’ tibetan, trekking tibet, tsurphu and namtso, everest base camp, the potala palace, tibetan buddhism, visiting temples, gods and goddesses.

One of the most isolated parts of the world, the massive Tibetan plateau sits at an average height of 4500m above sea level, guarded on all sides by towering mountain ranges. To the south, the Himalayas separate Tibet from India, Nepal and Bhutan; to the west lie the peaks of the Karakoram and Pakistan; while to the north the Kunlun range forms a barrier to Xinjiang. Eastwards, dividing Tibet from Sichuan and Yunnan, a further series of ranges stretches for a thousand kilometres. Some of Asia’s greatest rivers are born up on the plateau, including the Yangzi, Mekong, Yellow, Salween, Indus and Brahmaputra.

Today’s Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), while still a massive 1.2 million square kilometres, is but a shadow of the former “Greater Tibet” carved up by China in the 1950s, when the Amdo and Kham regions were absorbed into Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces. The current TAR comprisies only the former West and Central regions of Greater Tibet, and is itself divisible into four distinct geographical areas. The northern and largest portion is the almost uninhabited Chang Tang, a rocky desert at an average altitude of 4000m, where winter temperatures can fall to - 44°C. South of this is the mountainous grazing area, inhabited by wide-ranging nomads tending herds of yaks, sheep and goats. Eastern Tibet, occupying around a quarter of the TAR, is heavily forested. The relatively temperate southern valleys, sandwiched between the nomad areas and the Himalayas along the southern border, is the most hospitable and populated area, and where most visitors spend the majority of their time.

Tourist-friendly Lhasa, Shigatse and Gyantse offer the most accessible monasteries and temples – the Jokhang, Tashilunpo and Kumbum, respectively. The Potala Palace in Lhasa remains an enduring image of Tibet in the Western mind and should on no account be missed. Farther afield, the Yarlung and Chongye valleys to the southeast boast temples and ancient monuments, with a visit to the ancient walled monastery of Samye easily combined with these. The route along the “Friendship Highway” between Zhangmu on the Nepalese border and Lhasa is well established, with stops at the Mongolian-style monastery at Sakya and Everest Base Camp along the way. Further west lie the sacred peak of Mount Kailash, its nearby, and similarly holy, neighbour Lake Manasarovar, and the mysterious cave dwellings of the Guge Kingdom, burrowed into the walls of an enormous, crumbling canyon.

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Sichuan Family Adventure

Sichuan is home to a rich and vibrant culture, stunning scenery and wildlife, and delicious cuisine. Spend time with Chengdu's giant pandas, trek around Mount Qingcheng, stand in awe of the world’s largest Buddha at Leshan, and much more, all with this exciting trip, which is perfect for families!

According to legend, the earliest Tibetans came from the union of the ogress, Sinmo, and a monkey, reincarnation of the god Chenresi, on the mountain of Gangpo Ri near Tsetang. Ethnographers, however, think it more likely that Tibetans are descended from the nomadic Qiang, who roamed eastern Central Asia several thousand years ago. The first Tibetan king, Nyatri Tsenpo, who legend has it came to earth via a magical “sky-cord”, was the first of 27 kings who ruled in the pre-Buddhist era when the indigenous, shamanistic Bon religion held sway. Each of the early kings held power over a small area, the geographical isolation of Tibet making outside contact difficult. While pens, ink, silk, jewels and probably tea reached Tibet from China in the seventh century, for many centuries Tibet looked to India for religious teaching.

Arrival of Buddhism

It was in the time of King Songtsen Gampo, born in 617 AD, that expansion began. Songtsen Gampo’s twenty-year rule saw the unification of the country and the aggressive spread of his empire from northern India to China. China and Nepal each offered Songtsen Gampo a wife: in 632, he married Princess Bhrikuti (also known as Tritsun) of Nepal, and in 641 Princess Wencheng arrived from the Tang court, sent by her father, Emperor Taizong. They both brought their Buddhist faith and magnificent statues of the Buddha, which are now the centrepieces of Ramoche temple and the Jokhang in Lhasa. Songtsen Gampo himself embraced Buddhism and established temples throughout the country, although the indigenous Bon faith remained the religion of the ordinary people. Following his death in 650, his descendants strengthened the kingdom politically, and in 763 Tibetan armies even took the Chinese capital Chang’an (modern Xi’an).

In 838, having assassinated his brother, Langdarma came to the throne. A fervent supporter of the by-then marginalized Bon faith, he set about annihilating Buddhism. Temples and monasteries were destroyed, monks fled, and Tibet broke up into a number of small principalities. A century later, the arrival of Atisha (982–1054), the most famous Indian scholar of his time, sparked a Buddhist revival involving monastery construction, the translation of scriptures into Tibetan and the establishment of several of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Politically, the country was divided, with the various independent principalities having little contact with China.

Mongol period

Absorbed in domestic events, the Tibetans were largely unaware of the Muslim surge across India in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which destroyed the great Buddhist centres of teaching. Meanwhile, to the north and east, Mongol leader Genghis Khan was beginning his assault on China. In 1207, he sent envoys to Tibet demanding submission, which was given without a fight, and the territory was largely ignored until his grandson, Godan Khan, sent raiding parties to explore the country. Hearing from his troops about the spirituality of the Tibetan lamas, Godan invited the head of the Sakya order, Sakya Pandita, to his court. In exchange for peace, Sakya Pandita again offered Tibetan submission and was created regent of Tibet at the Mongolian court, effectively making the Sakya lamas rulers of the country. This lasted through the generations, with Godan’s son Kublai Khan deeply impressed by Sakya Pandita’s nephew, Phagpa.

When the Chinese Ming dynasty overcame the Mongols in the fourteenth century, Tibet began a long period of independence, which ended in 1642 with the Mongols intervening directly in support of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Lobsang Gyatso (1617–82), of the Gelugpa order. Often referred to as “the Great Fifth”, he united the country under Gelugpa rule and within fifteen years established authority from Kham to Kailash – the first time that one religious and political leader had ruled the country. He invited scholars to Tibet, expanded religious institutions and began work on the Potala Palace.

Regency period

One disadvantage of the reincarnation system of succession (in which a newborn child is identified as a new manifestation of the dead lama) is that an unstable regency period of fifteen or twenty years inevitably follows the death of a Lama while his latest incarnation grows up. For two centuries after the death of the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1682 the most influential figures in Tibet were these regents, and the representatives of China’s Manchu rulers, whose influence – despite Tibet’s official continuing status as a Chinese protectorate until 1912 – waned to the extent that Tibet became, to all intents and purposes, self-governing.

British invasion

During the nineteenth century, Tibet became increasingly isolationist, fearing Russian plans to expand their empire south and British plans to expand theirs north. But Indian and Tibetan traders continued to do business along the borders: in 1904, British patience with this one-sided arrangement ran out, and a force under Colonel Francis Younghusband was dispatched to extract favourable trading terms.

Younghusband advanced into the country, slaughtering Tibet’s poorly armed peasant soldiers – largely reliant on invulnerability charms for protection – along the way. Having cut their way through to Lhasa (where they were expecting, but failed, to find evidence of Russian influence), the British faced disappointment, one accompanying journalist writing:

If one approached within a league of Lhasa, saw the glittering domes of the Potala and turned back without entering the precincts one might still imagine an enchanted city. It was in fact an unsanitary slum. In the pitted streets pools of rainwater and piles of refuse were everywhere: the houses were mean and filthy, the stench pervasive. Pigs and ravens competed for nameless delicacies in open sewers.

The invaders forced a treaty on the Tibetans which the Dalai Lama – who had fled their advance – did not ratify, and which was rejected too by China’s representative. Britain then washed its hands of the whole affair, principally because of the public outcry against the first battle of the campaign, in which 700 Tibetans were machine-gunned as they walked away from the battlefield.

Chinese Invasion

The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso (1876–1933), realized that Tibet’s political position needed urgent clarification. But he had a difficult rule, fleeing into exile twice, and was much occupied with border fighting against the Chinese and tensions with conservatives inside the country. Following his death, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama was identified in Amdo in 1938 and was still a young man when world events began to close in on Tibet. The British left India in 1947, withdrawing their representative from Lhasa. In 1950, the Chinese government declared their intention “to liberate the oppressed and exploited Tibetans and reunite them with the great motherland”. The venture, however, probably had more to do with pre-empting growing Indian and Russian influence in the region, than with any high-minded ideals of emancipation. In October 1950, the People’s Liberation Army took the Kham region of eastern Tibet before proceeding to Lhasa the following year. Under considerable duress, Tibet signed a seventeen-point treaty in 1951, allowing for the “peaceful integration of Tibet” into China.

Early Communist era

Initially, the Chinese offered goodwill and modernization. Tibet had made little headway into the twentieth century; there were few roads, no electricity or lay education, and glass windows, steel girders and concrete were all recent introductions. While some Tibetans viewed modernization as necessary, the opposition was stiff, with the religious hierarchy seeing changes within the country as a threat to their own power. In March 1959, underground resistance to Chinese rule flared into a public confrontation. Refugees from eastern Tibet fled to Lhasa complaining of the brutality of Chinese rule, including the sexual humiliation of monks and nuns, arbitrary executions and even crucifixions. In Lhasa, the Chinese invited the Dalai Lama to a theatrical performance at the Chinese military HQ. It was popularly perceived as a ploy to kidnap him, and huge numbers of Tibetans mounted demonstrations and surrounded the Norbulingka where the Dalai Lama was staying. On the night of March 17, the Dalai Lama and his entourage fled into exile in India where they have since been joined by tens of thousands of refugees.

Crushing of the rebellion

The uprising in Lhasa was ferociously suppressed within a couple of days, the Tibetan rebels massively out-gunned by Chinese troops. Recriminations and further consolidation of Chinese power, however, were to continue: between March 1959 and September 1960 the Chinese killed an estimated 87,000 people. All pretence of goodwill vanished, and a huge military force moved in, with a Chinese bureaucracy replacing Tibetan institutions. Temples and monasteries were destroyed, and Chinese agricultural policies proved particularly disastrous. During the years of the Great Leap Forward (1959–60), it is estimated that ten percent of Tibetans starved – harrowing accounts tell of parents mixing their own blood with hot water and tsampa to feed their children.

Cultural Revolution and aftermath

In September 1965, the U-Tsang and western areas of Tibet officially became the Xizang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, but more significant was the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), during which mass eradication of religious monuments and practices took place. In 1959, there were 2700 monasteries and temples in Tibet; by 1978, there were just eight. Liberalization followed Mao’s death in 1976, leading to a period of relative openness and peace in the early 1980s when monasteries were rebuilt, religion revived and tourism introduced. However, by the end of the decade, martial law was again in place – thanks to Hu Jintao, later China’s president – following riots in Lhasa in 1988–89. In the early 1990s, foreigners were allowed back into the region, and as the decade progressed it appeared the Chinese government was loosening their heavy-handed authoritarian approach to Tibet, and were keen to exploit Tibet’s potential for international tourism.

Olympic recriminations

All this fell apart during the build-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics: pre-Games riots and protests in Tibet, Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai focused international attention on underlying tensions in Tibet; the Chinese government, embarrassed and angry, re-sealed borders and introduced all-but martial law. Since then, thousands have been arrested and any open dissent – or even discussion – has been almost entirely stifled, arguably resulting in an ongoing campaign of self-immolation by Tibetan monks which began in 2009.

A Chinese future

The Tibetan Government in Exile, meanwhile, based at Dharamsala in northern India, represents some 130,000 refugees. Its leader, the Dalai Lama – known to the Tibetans as Gyalwa Rinpoche and regarded as the earthly incarnation of the god Chenresi – has never faltered from advocating a peaceful solution for Tibet, a stance that led to his being awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. The Chinese government, however, has consistently denounced the Dalai Lama as being responsible for dissent, branding him “a devil with the face of a human but the heart of a beast”. His increasing age and frailty, the certainty of his death and the challenge of finding a successor pose serious questions for both China and the Tibetan authorities in exile.

In the meantime, several thousand Tibetans every year make the month-long trek to India, an arduous and dangerous journey over the mountains. Pilgrims have been picked off by Chinese snipers as they crossed the Himalayas, though increasingly those who escape stay only for a few years before heading back home. For the Tibetans who remain, life in Tibet is harsh. Per capita annual income in rural areas is pitiful and the rate of adult literacy has been describe by the UN as “horrendous”. It is estimated that China subsidized the TAR between 1952 and 1998 to the tune of ¥40 billion – yet Tibetans are among the poorest people in China, with some of the lowest life expectancies. As Tibet provides the Chinese with land for their exploding population along with a wealth of natural resources, the influx of more educated and better-skilled Chinese settlers, with considerable financial resources, threatens to swamp the Tibetan population, culture and economy.

Any trip to Tibet faces obstacles. Following the centuries of self-imposed isolation which ended with Tibet being forcibly annexed by China in 1950, Tibet has become increasingly accessible, with approaches eased by plane links, paved roads and the Qinghai–Lhasa railway. Each new route has accelerated heavy, government-sponsored migration into the region, and although it is impossible to know how many Han Chinese actually live here it is likely that, at least in urban areas, they now outnumber ethnic Tibetans and have become economically dominant.

There are, of course, two sides to every story. The pre-Chinese Tibetan administration was a xenophobic religious dictatorship that tolerated slavery; when the Chinese arrived, the monied and the ruling classes escaped to India, leaving behind an uneducated working class. China has spent billions bringing modern infrastructure to the region, giving Tibetan people the chance to make a better life for themselves and, ironically, strengthen their culture. Meanwhile, the Chinese migrating into Tibet are not demons. Most are people simply trying to make a life for themselves and their families, with little understanding of the implications of their presence. As with Taiwan and Xinjiang, all Chinese are taught almost from birth that Tibet is an “inalienable part of China”, and to suggest otherwise is heresy.

As part of their Beijing Olympic bid, the Chinese government promised increased freedom for Tibetans, but a confluence of events – the unfurling of a Tibetan flag at Everest Base Camp by some American students in 2007, mass protests and rioting by Tibetans in spring 2008 – ended those dreams. Since 2008 an ongoing campaign in Tibet, Sichuan and even across the border in Nepal, has seen scores of Tibetan protesters set themselves ablaze. Extremely strict travel regulations are in place, and temporary bans on all foreign travellers from visiting the region are regularly imposed. Any visit to Tibet will be expensive, with transport and accommodation options for foreigners limited, on the whole, to the higher end of the market, though Tibetan organizations abroad ask visitors to try, wherever possible, to buy from Tibetans and to hire Tibetan guides. At all times, you should avoid putting Tibetans – and yourself – at risk by bringing up politically sensitive issues: you can go home, Tibetans have to live here. The Chinese authorities monitor internet activity here more strictly than in the rest of the Republic so, again, avoid sensitive topics and mentioning people by name in your emails.

Just outside Lhasa, the major monasteries of Sera, Drepung, Nechung and Ganden are easily accessible from the city as half-day or day-trips. Indeed, Sera and Drepung have virtually been gobbled up in the urban sprawl that now characterizes Lhasa, while the trip to Ganden or to Samye – the latter slightly further out to the southeast – is a good chance to get out into the countryside. Morning visits to any of them are likely to be in the company of parties of devout pilgrims who’ll scurry around the temples making their offerings before heading on to the next target. Follow on behind them and you’ll visit all the main buildings; don’t worry too much if you aren’t sure what you are looking at – most of the pilgrims haven’t a clue either. The monasteries are generally peaceful and atmospheric places where nobody minds you ambling at will, and sooner or later you’re bound to come across some monks who want to practise their English.

The Ganden–Samye trek

Though popular, the Ganden–Samye trek is no less serious or demanding than other treks. The route, which takes four days to complete, crosses the mountains that divide the Kyichu Valley from that of the Tsangpo and travels through high mountain passes and alpine pasture to the dry, almost desert-like countryside around Samye. The trek goes by Hebu village (three hours south of Ganden and a good place to hire yaks and guides) and involves camping out or sleeping in caves or nomad encampments, long climbs to the Jooker La and Sukhe La passes, and some deep-river wading.

Life in the great monasteries

Fifty years ago, there were still six great, functioning Gelugpa monasteries: Sera, Drepung and Ganden near Lhasa, plus Tashilunpo in Shigatse, Labrang and Kumbum. They each operated on a similar system to cope with the huge numbers of monks who were drawn to these major institutions from all over Tibet. In their heyday, Sera and Ganden had five thousand residents each and Drepung (possibly the largest monastery the world has ever known) had between eight and ten thousand.

Each monastery was divided into colleges, dratsang, which differed from each other in the type of studies undertaken. Each college was under the management of an abbot (khenpo), and a monk responsible for discipline (ge-kor). Attached to each college were a number of houses or khangsten, where the monks lived during their time at the monastery. Usually, these houses catered for students from different geographical regions, and admission to the monastery was controlled by the heads of the houses to whom aspirant monks would apply. Each college had its own assembly hall and chapels, but there was also a main assembly hall where the entire community could gather.

Not every member of the community spent their time in scholarly pursuits. Communities the size of these took huge amounts of organization, and the largest monasteries also maintained large estates worked by serfs. About half the monks might be engaged in academic study while the other half worked at administration, the supervision of the estate work and the day-to-day running of what was essentially a small town.

The most obvious feature of these monasteries today is their emptiness; hundreds of monks now rattle around in massive compounds built for thousands. Such has been the fate of religious establishments under the Chinese and the flow of lamas into exile that there are now questions about the quality of the Buddhist education available at the monasteries inside Tibet. Monks and nuns need to be vetted and receive Chinese-government approval before they can join a monastery or convent, and although there are persistent rumours of tourists being informed on by monks, it’s also apparent that both monks and nuns have been, and continue to be, at the forefront of open political opposition to the Chinese inside Tibet.

A visit to SAMYE, on the north bank of the Tsangpo River around 50km southeast of Lhasa, is a highlight of Tibet. A unique monastery and walled village rolled into one, it’s situated in wonderful scenery and, however you arrive, the journey is splendid. You can climb the sacred Hepo Ri to the east of the complex for excellent views (1hr); it was here that Padmasambhava is said to have subdued the local spirits and won them over to Buddhism.

With independent travel in Tibet currently impossible for foreign tourists, the only option is to book a guided tour – including a private vehicle, driver and guide – through an agency before you arrive. Despite the huge number of travel agencies in Chengdu, Xining, Golmud and Lhasa, all claiming to offer a unique service, most operate through CITS or FIT in Lhasa, hiring drivers and tour guides who are registered with the Lhasa authorities and work as freelancers. That you are forced to book from outside the region, preventing you from meeting the tour guide or seeing the vehicle before signing up, means it pays to be circumspect – try to get a recommendation from a fellow traveller if possible, and go through your itinerary with a fine-tooth comb working out exactly what is covered and what you will have to pay extra for. Getting a group of four or five together to fill a jeep will ensure the per-person cost is as low as it can be, though if you are on your own or in a couple, most agencies will be able to match you up with a group which has spaces that need filling.

Despite the requirement to book a tour, regulations do not stipulate that accommodation reservations are made in advance. As a result, not all tour agencies include accommodation in their prices – clarify whether accommodation is included and, if so, where. You may be able to bring down the price of your tour, or ensure you’re not bedding down in the worst place in every town, by negotiating where you stay.

The most popular tour follows the Friendship Highway up to the Nepalese border, and includes three days in Lhasa and five on the road taking in Gyantse, Shigatse and Everest Base Camp. It costs around ¥7000 per person including accommodation. However, as you have to book a driver, guide and vehicle anyway, there is no reason to simply stick to the tours offered – you can draw up your own itinerary and negotiate costs with the agency. Expect to pay around ¥1300 per day to hire a Land Cruiser. For driver and guide fees it is best to haggle prices as low as you can with the agency and tip heavily at the end of the tour to ensure the money goes where you want it to.

Established agencies

In the event of a misunderstanding, you may wish to complain to the Tour Service Inspection Office of Lhasa’s Tibet Tourism Bureau, 208 Luobulingka Lu.

Budget Tibet Tour
Khampa Caravan
Tibet Culture Tour

tibetculturetour.com

Tibetan Expeditions
Tibet Nakqu International Travel Service

If you’re interested in doing some background reading on Tibet, it’s best to begin at home before you leave, as much that would be considered essential reading by Western audiences is simply not allowed or available in China – this includes almost all guide books, with their bourgeois imperialist references to Tibetan independence.

But beware: searches of luggage do take place – particularly at the Nepal–Tibet border at Zhangmu – where any literature deemed unpatriotic to China, anything remotely resembling a Tibetan flag and anything containing images of the Dalai Lama (though, with all pictures of him banned, it’s worth pondering how the guards looking for the pictures know what he looks like) will be confiscated.

Roads run southwest of Lhasa to Mount Everest and the Nepal border, past some of the region’s most historically significant monasteries: Gyantse, site of a shameful episode in Britain’s colonial past; Shigatse, spiritiual seat of the Panchen Lamas; and spectacular Sakya, home to one of the foremost orders of Tibetan Buddhism. Then comes Everest itself, though – given the surprising urbanity of the base camp “village” here – the mountain’s rugged splendor is perhaps best appreciated from afar.

Approaching Everest

Approaching Everest along the Friendship Highway from Lhatse, allow about four hours in a good jeep to get up over the Lhakpa La Pass (5220m) to NEW TINGRI (新定日, xīndìngrì; also known as Shekar). Almost entirely constructed from concrete blocks, it’s not the nicest place, but it holds the ticket office for entry to the Mount Everest area and represents the last chance to stock up on provisions before the mountain.

There’s a checkpoint on the highway about 5km further on where some visitors have reported guards being particularly assiduous in confiscating printed material specifically about Tibet (books on China that include Tibet seem to be fine). Just 7km west of this checkpoint, the small turning to Rongbuk Monastery and on up to Mount Everest Base Camp is on the south side of the road.

The Friendship Highway

From Shigatse, the Friendship Highway is surfaced all the way to Zhangmu on the Nepalese border. The only public buses in this direction are the Shigatse to Sakya, Lhatse and Tingri services. From the broad plain around Shigatse, the road gradually climbs to the pass of Tsuo La (4500m) before the steep descent to the Sakya Bridge and the turn-off to Sakya village. If you have time, a detour off the Friendship Highway to Sakya is worthwhile; the valleys are picturesque, the villages retain the rhythm of their rural life and Sakya Monastery is a dramatic sight. Further south, the side-trip to Mount Everest Base Camp is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

On the eastern banks of the Nyang Chu at the base of a natural amphitheatre of rocky ridges, GYANTSE is an attractive, relaxed town, offering the splendid sights of the Gyantse Kumbum (pronounced goom- boom) – famous among scholars of Tibetan art throughout the world – and the old Gyantse Dzong. Despite the rapidly expanding Chinese section of town, it has retained a pleasant, laidback air. It lies 263km from Lhasa on the old southern road and 90km southeast of Shigatse.

The old southern road

The road west from Lhasa divides at the Chusul Bridge and most vehicles follow the paved Friendship Highway along the course of the Yarlung Tsangpo to Shigatse. However, there is an alternative route, the longer but extremely picturesque old southern road that heads southwest to the shores of Yamdrok Tso, before turning west to Gyantse and then northwest to Shigatse – it is this route that most tour groups follow. Expect around six or seven hours’ driving time from Lhasa to Gyantse in a good jeep, but day-trips to Yamdrok Tso from Lhasa are feasible.

The Panchen Lama controversy

The life of Choekyi Gyaltsen, the Tenth Panchen Lama (1938–89), was a tragic one. Identified without approval from Lhasa by the Nationalist authorities in 1949, he fell into Communist hands and was for years China’s highest-profile Tibetan collaborator. In 1959, however, his role changed when he openly referred to the Dalai Lama as the true ruler of Tibet. Ordered to denounce the Dalai Lama, Gyaltsen refused and was barred from speaking in public until 1964, when, to an audience of ten thousand people, he again proclaimed support for the exiled leader. He spent the following fourteen years in jail. Released in 1978, Gyaltsen never again criticized the Chinese in public, arguing for the protection of Tibetan culture at all costs, even if it meant abandoning independence. Some saw him as a sellout; others still worship him as a hero. He died in 1989, officially from a heart attack, though rumours of poisoning persist.

The search for a successor was always likely to be fraught, with the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government both claiming authority to choose the next incarnation. The search was initially led according to tradition by checking on reports of “unusual” children, and in January 1995 the Dalai Lama identified the Eleventh Panchen Lama but – concerned for the child’s safety – delayed a public announcement. The Chinese authorities, meanwhile, decreed selection should take place by drawing of lots from a golden urn.

In May, the Dalai Lama publicly identified his choice, and within days the boy and his family had disappeared. Fifty Communist Party officials moved into Tashilunpo to root out monks loyal to the Dalai Lama and his choice of Panchen Lama. In July, riot police quelled an open revolt by the monks, but by the end of 1995 dissent was suppressed enough for the drawing of lots to take place. The lucky winner, Gyaincain Norbu, was enthroned at Tashilunpo and taken to Beijing for publicity appearances, where he has since stayed to complete his studies. Two decades later, the fate of the Dalai Lama’s choice and his family remains unknown, though Beijing claims they are free and voluntarily opting to remain anonymous.

As for Gyaincain Norbu, despite Beijing’s best efforts, his returns home are lacklustre affairs, and it is overwhelmingly his predecessor, the rotund Choekyi Gyaltsen, who you’ll see smiling beatifically down from Tibetan living-room walls.

The small but rapidly growing village of SAKYA (萨迦, sàjiā), set in the midst of an attractive plain, straddles the small Trum River and is highly significant as the centre of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. The main reason to visit is to see the remaining monastery, a unique, Mongol-style construction dramatically visible from far away. The village around is now a burgeoning Chinese community, full of ugly concrete, and can be crowded with coach parties in peak season, but while it’s not a place to linger, the monastery makes this a more than worthwhile side-trip from the Friendship Highway.

Sakya’s Northern Monastery

Originally, there were two monasteries at Sakya: the imposing, Mongol-style structure of the Southern Monastery that visitors come to see today, and a Northern Monastery across the river, which was a more typical complex containing 108 chapels. The Northern Monastery was founded in 1073 by Kong Chogyal Pho, a member of the Khon family, whose son, Kunga Nyingpo, did much to establish Sakya as an important religious centre. He married and had four sons; three became monks, but the fourth remained a layman and continued the family line. The Sakya order has remained something of a family affair, and, while the monks take vows of celibacy, their lay brothers ensure the leadership remains with their kin. One of the early leaders was a grandson of Kunga Nyingpo, known as Sakya Pandita. He began the most illustrious era of the order in the thirteenth century when he journeyed to the court of the Mongol emperor, Godan Khan, and established the Sakya lamas as religious advisers to subsequent emperors and effective rulers of Tibet. This state of affairs lasted until the overthrow of the Mongols in 1354.

The Northern Monastery was completely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and has been largely replaced by housing. Prior to the Chinese occupation, there were around five hundred monks in the two monasteries; there are now about a hundred.

Traditionally the home of the Panchen Lamas – religious and political rivals to the Dalai Lamas – Tibet’s second city, SHIGATSE (日喀则, rìkāzé), is used by travellers as an overnight stop on the way to or from Lhasa. One day is long enough to see the two main sights, Tashilunpo Monastery and Shigatse Dzong, but if you’re not pressed for time it’s worth spending at least an extra night here simply to do everything at a more leisurely pace, take in the market, wander the attractive, tree-lined streets and absorb the buzz provided by the huge numbers of Tibetan pilgrims and foreign visitors. Although most of the city is modern, you’ll find the traditional Tibetan houses concentrated in the old town west of the market, where you can explore the narrow alleyways running between high, whitewashed walls.

Situated in a wide, mountain-fringed valley at 3700m on the north bank of the Kyichu River, LHASA (拉萨, lāsà; Ground of the Gods) is a sprawling modern city with a population of around 200,000. An important settlement for well over a thousand years, it was not until the seventeenth century, with the installation of the Fifth Dalai Lama as ruler by Mongolian emperor Gushri Khan, that Lhasa became the seat of government. It continues now as the capital of the TAR, but with its wide boulevards, shopping centres, and the concrete-and-glass high rises spreading south and west along the valley, China has well and truly left its architectural stamp upon the city. Despite the passing of sixty years, Lhasa is still palpably under imposed rule; the armed soldiers may have taken a lower profile, with much of the security work now falling to large numbers of police and plain-clothes officers on street corners and rooftops, but the air of occupation remains.

There are enough sights in and around Lhasa to keep visitors occupied for at least a week (even if most tours cram them into a couple of days): the Potala Palace, Jokhang and the Barkhor district are not to be missed, and at least one trip to an outlying monastery is a must. It’s also worth taking time to see some of the smaller, less showy temples and simply to absorb the atmosphere of the “Forbidden City”, which large numbers of explorers died in vain efforts to reach just over a hundred years ago.

The Jokhang

The Jokhang – sometimes called Tshuglakhang (Cathedral), and the holiest temple in the Tibetan Buddhist world – can be unprepossessing from afar, but get closer and you’ll be swept up by the anticipation of the pilgrims and the almost palpable air of veneration. It stands 1km east of the Potala Palace, in the centre of the only remaining Tibetan enclave in the city, the Barkhor area, a maze of cobbled alleyways between Beijing Dong Lu and Jinzhu Dong Lu. Inside, you’re in for one of the most unforgettable experiences in Tibet. Devout pilgrims turn left to move clockwise and enter each chapel in turn to pray and make offerings, though they don’t hang around; stand still to admire anything and you’ll be trampled in the rush. As with all temples in Tibet, it’s often difficult to know exactly what you are looking at. Some of the statues are original, others were damaged during the Cultural Revolution and have been restored either slightly or extensively, and others are replicas; in any event, all are held in deep reverence by the pilgrims. The best time to visit is in the morning, when most pilgrims do the rounds.

Suppressing demons

King Songtsen Gampo built the Jokhang in the seventh century to house the dowry brought by his Nepalese bride, Princess Bhrikuti, including the statue known as the Akshobhya Buddha. This later changed places with the Jowo Sakyamuni statue from Princess Wencheng’s dowry, which was initially installed in Ramoche temple, and which is now regarded as Tibet’s most sacred object. The site of the temple was decided by Princess Wencheng after consulting astrological charts, and confirmed by the king following a vision while meditating. However, construction was fraught with problems. Another vision revealed to the king and his queens that beneath the land of Tibet lay a huge, sleeping demoness with her head in the east, feet to the west and heart beneath Lhasa. Only by building monasteries at suitable points to pin her to the earth could construction of the Jokhang succeed. The king embarked on a scheme to construct twelve demon-suppressing temples: four around Lhasa, which included Trandruk, to pin her at hips and shoulders; a set of four farther away, to pin elbows and knees; and four even more distant, to pin her hands and feet. When these were finished, construction of the Jokhang began.

The region around Tsetang, southeast of Lhasa and just south of the Tsangpo River, is steeped in ancient history. Legend has it that the first Tibetans originated on the slopes of Gongpo Ri to the east of Tsetang, and that the Yarlung Valley (where the country’s earliest Buddhist scriptures magically appeared) was where the first king of Tibet descended from the heavens on a sky-cord, to father the original royal dynasty – many members of which are buried in the nearby Chongye Valley.

In order to enter Tibet – in fact, even to buy a plane or train ticket to Lhasa – foreign travellers must have a Tibet Travel Permit. Issued by the TAR authorities, this lists a full travel itinerary and provides evidence of having booked a car, driver and guide for every day you are in the region. Available through registered travel agencies only, the permit should be included as part of your travel package by whichever agency you book with. Though the permit officially carries no cost, agencies arranging permits will charge a significant handling fee for the service, covering the huge amount of paperwork and “other costs” involved.

Be aware that until the permit is issued, which often occurs only a day or two before your tour will be due to start, you will not be able to independently book flights or trains into the region. The agency you have booked your tour through, safe in the knowledge of your full itinerary and in possession of a fair-sized deposit, is likely be willing to make reservations on your behalf, or you can wait to book travel yourself at the last minute; either way, don’t expect discounted tickets. While it may be tempting to try to sidestep the regulations, all foreign travellers coming from inside China will have their permits checked at point of purchase, on departure, and on arrival; hotels will not let foreigners stay unless accompanied at check-in by an official tour guide with a valid permit, and they are required to be shown again when visiting the Potala Palace and other tourist sights. Add the regular checkpoints along roads outside Lhasa and it would take a serious, concerted effort, and a massive slice of luck, for a permitless traveller to get very far.

Once in Tibet, further permits are needed for specific areas. Travel along the Friendship Highway to Everest, and to Mount Kailash, requires permits that are most often secured from the Public Security Bureau in Shigatse, costing around ¥150. Getting these permits is the responsibility of your tour guide and costs will have been included in the overall agency fee, so its not something you should have to worry about. That said, it’s best to politely double check that they are being taken care of. Anyone caught without permits or overstaying their alloted time faces fines and deportation from the region. The agency that applies for the permit on your behalf may also face stiff penalties, so your guides will also be anxious for you to stick to the leaving dates set out on the permit. Bear in mind that regulations have shifted fairly regularly in the past, so it’s best to check up on the latest requirements before booking.

Although most tour guides are now conversant in several languages, including English, most Tibetans speak only their native tongue, with a smattering of Mandarin. A few words of Tibetan from a foreigner will always be greeted enthusiastically, and the further off the beaten track you get, the more useful they’ll be.

Tibetan belongs to the small Tibeto-Burmese group of languages and has no similarity at all to Mandarin. Tibetan script was developed in the seventh century and has thirty consonants and five vowels, which are placed either beside, above or below other letters when written down. There are obvious inaccuracies when trying to render this into the Roman alphabet, and the situation is further complicated by the many dialects across the region; the Lhasa dialect is used in the vocabulary here. Word order is back-to-front relative to English, and verbs are placed at the ends of sentences – “this noodle soup is delicious” becomes “tukpa dee shimbo doo”, literally “noodle soup this delicious is”. The only sound you are likely to have trouble with is “ng” at the beginning of words – it is pronounced as in “sang”.

For the experienced hiker, Tibet offers plenty of enticing trekking routes – though you will currently need to negotiate for a guide and a travel agency to endorse your travel permit and accompany you for the entire duration of the trek. The popular Ganden–Samye trek has the advantages that both the start and finish points are relatively accessible from Lhasa and that it takes only three to four days. Also worth considering are treks to the cave hermitage of Drak Yerpa from Lhasa (allow a full day and be prepared to camp), and the five-day trek from Tingri to Everest Base Camp via Rongbuk. More challenging options include: the sixteen-day mammoth trek to the Kangshung face of Everest, exploring the valleys east of the mountain (the trip to second base camp and beyond on the mountain itself should only be tackled by experienced climbers); the 24-day circumnavigation of Namtso Lake, including the arduous exploration of the Shang Valley to the southwest; and the great thirty-day circuit from Lhatse to Lake Dangra up on the Chang Tang plateau.

Spring (April–June) and autumn (Sept–Nov) are the best seasons in which to trek, though cold-weather threats such as hypothermia and frostbite should be taken seriously even in these months. While trekking is possible at any time in the valleys, high altitudes become virtually impossible in the winter; anyone contemplating trekking at this time should be sure to check information about the terrain and likely conditions. During the wettest months (June–Sept), rivers are in flood, and crossing them can be difficult, even impossible. Once you start trekking, you get off the beaten track extremely quickly, and there is no infrastructure to support trekkers and no rescue service; you therefore need to be fit, acclimatized, self-reliant and prepared to do some research before you go. There are two essential books: Tibet Handbook: a Pilgrimage Guide by Victor Chan (Moon), and Trekking in Tibet by Gary McCue (Cordee), which is especially good for shorter day-treks that anyone can do without all the gear.

One of the most rewarding and popular trips in Tibet is to Namtso Lake, around 230km northwest of Lhasa, taking in Tsurphu Monastery on the way. This can be done on a two-night/three-day jaunt from Lhasa by jeep.

Black Hat Lamaism

Founded in the twelfth century by Dusun Khenyapa, the Karmapa order is a branch of the Kagyupa tradition, where members are known as the Black Hats after the Second Karmapa was presented with one by Kublai Khan. Most powerful during the fifteenth century, when they were close to the ruling families of the time, they were eventually eclipsed in 1642 when the Fifth Dalai Lama and the “Yellow Hat” Gelugpa order, aided by the Mongol army, gained the ascendancy. The Karmapa were the first order to institute the system of reincarnated lamas, tulkus, a tradition later adopted by the Gelugpa school.

Set at 4700m and frozen over from November to May, Namtso (Sky Lake) is 70km long and 30km wide, the second-largest saltwater lake in China (only Qinghai Lake is bigger). The scenery comes straight from a dream image of Tibet, with snowcapped mountains towering behind the massive lake and yaks grazing on the plains around nomadic herders’ tents.

Western Tibet

Travellers spend huge amounts of time and money plotting and planning trips to Western Tibet, with its key sights of Mount Kailash, Lake Manasarovar and the remains of the tenth-century Guge kingdom. However, this is no guarantee of reaching any of these destinations – regulations change frequently and weather can be a factor. Access to Mount Kailash generally isn’t a problem – you just need to find a tour agency running the trip. Cost is likely to be the largest obstacle as tours to Kailash take at least two weeks.

Mount Kailash

Top of most Western Tibet itineraries is Mount Kailash (6714m, Gang Rinpoche to the Tibetans), the sacred mountain at the centre of the universe for Buddhists, Hindus and Jains. The 58km tour around the mountain takes around two and a half days (though Tibetans usually do it in one); you might consider hiring a porter and/or yak (from about ¥120/day each) as it’s a tough walk and you need to carry all your gear and at least some food. On the first day you should reach Drirapuk Monastery; on the second day you climb over the Dolma La Pass (5636m) to Zutrulpuk Monastery; and the third day you arrive back in Darchen.

Routes through Western Tibet

The southern route, a well-surfaced highway running parallel to the Himalayas all the way to Western Tibet’s main town, ALI (also known as Shiquanhe), passes through Saga, and on to Darchen, and makes for a stunningly picturesque journey. From Lhasa to Mount Kailash is around 1400km.

The alternative northern route via Tsochen, Gertse and Gakyi is longer: it’s over 1700km to Ali, and then another 300km or so southeast to Mount Kailash. It is also less scenic, but less liable to be affected by snow or flooding. Some tours plan to go on one route and return on the other – expect around a week’s-travelling time on either.

Zanda and the Guge Kingdom

These days just another arid army town, ZANDA (also known as Tholing; 托林, tuōlín) was once capital of the Guge Kingdom. Today only Tholing Monastery, some chortens, and ruins just outside town remain, but it is still the best place to base yourself to visit the Guge sites.

Everest Base Camp (5150m) is 4km due south from Rongbuk Monastery. There’s a bus, but the walk alongside the river through the boulder-strewn landscape and past a small monastery on the cliff is glorious and the route fairly flat. Base camp is often a bit of a surprise, especially during the climbing seasons (March–May, Sept & Oct), when you’ll find a colourful and untidy tent city festooned with Calor gas bottles and satellite dishes. At other times of year it’s almost completely deserted, save for a perpetual detachment of Chinese troops keeping an eye out for potential “trouble”.

Don’t be surprised if you suffer with the altitude here – breathlessness and headaches are the norm. However well you were acclimatized in Lhasa, base camp is around 1500m higher, so be sensible and don’t contemplate a trip here immediately after arrival up on the Tibetan plateau.

Perched 130m above Lhasa atop Marpo Ri (Red Mountain), and named after India’s Riwo Potala – holy mountain of the god Chenresi – the Potala Palace (布达拉宫, bùdálāgōng ) is dazzling inside and out, an enduring landmark of the city. As you revel in the views from the roof, gaze at the glittering array of gold and jewels and wend your way from chapel to chapel, you’ll rub shoulders with excited, awestruck pilgrims from all over ethnic Tibet, making offerings at each of the altars. But be aware that, beyond the areas approved for tourists and pilgrims, the Potala is a shadow of its former self: most of the rooms are off limits, part of a UNESCO World Heritage grant was spent on a CCTV system and the caretaker monks are not allowed to wear their robes.

Though close enough to town to reach on foot, don’t tackle the Potala on your first day at altitude – the palace is a long climb, and even the Tibetans huff and puff on the way up; you’ll enjoy it more once you’ve acclimatized. Morning is certainly the best time to visit, when the place bustles with pilgrims. Photography is banned inside, and neither, bizarrely, are you supposed to take pictures of the fabulous views from the roof. Snapping away in the palace’s courtyards is tolerated, however.

Tibetan Buddhism is divided into several schools that have different philosophical emphases rather than fundamental differences. The Nyingma , the Old Order, traces its origins back to Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, who brought Buddhism to Tibet. The Kagyupa , Sakya and Kadampa all developed during the eleventh-century revival of Buddhism, while the now-dominant Gelugpa (Virtuous School) was founded by Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) and numbers the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama among its adherents. Virtually all monasteries and temples are aligned to one or other of the schools, but, apart from an abundance of statues of revered lamas of that particular school, you’ll spot little difference between the temples. Tibetan people are pretty eclectic and will worship in temples that they feel are particularly sacred and seek blessings from lamas they feel are endowed with special powers, regardless of which school they belong to.

There is little ceremony attached to visiting temples , which are generally welcoming places. Most are open in the mornings (9am–noon), when pilgrims do the rounds, and again after lunch (around 2pm or 3pm, until 5pm). Smaller places may well be locked, but ask for the caretaker and the chances are you’ll be let in. There is no need to remove your shoes, but you should always circulate in a clockwise direction, and shouldn’t eat, drink or smoke inside. Ask before taking photographs, which isn’t always allowed, and if it is, you may be charged for the privilege. Entrance fees collected from tourists are often claimed by local authorities, so if you want to give to the institution itself, leave an offering on an altar or pay the photography charge.

The range of offerings Tibetans make to their gods is enormous: juniper smoke sent skyward in incense burners, prayer flags erected on rooftops and mountains, tiny papers printed with religious images ( lungda ) and cast to the wind on bridges and passes, white scarves ( katag ) presented to statues and lamas, butter to keep lamps burning on altars, repetitious mantras invoking the gods and the spinning of prayer wheels that have printed prayers rolled up inside are all part of religious observance. The idea of each is to gain merit in this life and hence affect karma. If you want to take part, watch what other people do and copy them; nobody is at all precious about religion in Tibet. Giving alms to beggars is another way of gaining merit, and most large Tibetan temples have a horde of beggars who survive on charity from pilgrims. Whether or not you give money is up to you, but if you do it’s wise to give a few small denomination notes or so, the same amount as Tibetans.

Tibetan Buddhism has an overwhelming number of gods and goddesses , and each deity in turn has different manifestations or forms. For example, there are 21 forms of the favourite goddess Tara, and even the most straightforward image has both a Sanskrit and Tibetan name. Here are some of the most common you will encounter:

(Tsepame) and Vijaya (Namgyelma), often placed with White Tara to form the Three Gods of Longevity.

Avalokiteshvara

(Chenresi in Tibetan, Guanyin in Chinese temples), patron god of Tibet, with many forms, most noticeably with eleven faces and a thousand arms.

(Jampa), the Buddha of the Future.

(Jampelyang), the God of Wisdom.

Padmasambhava,

with eight manifestations, most apparent as Guru Rinpoche. You may see him with his consorts, Yeshe Tsogyel and Mandarava.

Buddha of the Present.

(Dolma), Goddess of Compassion. Green Tara is associated with protection and White Tara with long life.

Festival dates are calculated using the Tibetan lunar calendar and as a result correspond to different dates on the Western calendar each year. There is a list of festival dates in the Western calendar at kalachakranet.org/ta_tibetan_calendar.html .

February/March

Driving out of evil spirits. Twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the last day of the year.

Losar, Tibetan New Year. First day of the first lunar month.

Monlam, Great Prayer Festival, Lhasa. Eighth day of the first lunar month.

Butter Lamp Festival, on the final day of Monlam. Fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Birth of Buddha. Seventh day of the fourth lunar month.

Saga Dawa (Buddha’s Enlightenment). Fifteenth day of the fourth lunar month.

Gyantse Horse Festival. Fifteenth day of the fourth lunar month.

Tashilunpo Festival, Shigatse. Fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month.

July/August

Buddha’s First Sermon. Fourth day of the sixth lunar month.

Drepung Festival. Thirtieth day of the sixth lunar month.

August/September

Shotun (Yoghurt Festival), Lhasa. First to the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

Bathing Festival, Lhasa. Twenty-seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

Damxhung Horse Festival. Thirtieth day of the seventh lunar month.

September/October

Harvest Festival. First to the seventh day of the eighth lunar month.

Lhabab (Buddha’s descent from heaven). Twenty-second day of the ninth lunar month.

November/December

Palden Lhamo Festival, Lhasa. Fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month.

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12 Days Heavenly Road to Tibet + Mount Everest - Chan Brothers

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CHAN BROTHERS TRAVEL PTE LTD

China Office 150 South Bridge Road

#01-09 Fook Hai Building Singapore 058727

T (65) 6212 9686 F (65) 6538 7448

W www.chanbrothers.com

E chinato[email protected]

D8 SHIGATSE-DINGRI (Breakfast/Lunch/Diner) (Overnight in Dingri Local 3* Hotel)

In the morning, you'll visit the residence of Panchen Lama- Tashilunpo Monastery. After isiting this magnificent

monastery, you’ll drive to Dingri - the closest town to Mt. Everest.

D9 DINGRI – BASE CAMP-DINGRI (Breakfast/Lunch/Diner) (Overnight in Dingri Local 2* Hotel)

Go to Base Camp, get up close to Mt. Everest. Visit Rongpuk - world's highest monastery. Overnight in Tingri.

D10 DINGRI – SHIGATSE – LHASA (Breakfast/Lunch/Diner) (Overnight in Lhasa Local 4* Hotel)

In the morning, you'll go back to Lhasa along the Yarlong Tseangpo River, enjoy the great landscape en route.

D11 LHASA – SHANGHAI(or CHENGDU or KUNMING) (B/L/D) (Overnight in Shanghai Local 4* Hotel)

After breakfast , you will transfer to airport for your flight to Shanghai, after arrival process to ChengHuang Temple

shopping area. Free at own leisure. (*If flight to Chengdu or Kunming or Shanghai, head to local walking street for

your own leisure.)

D12 SHANGHAI(or CHENGDU or KUNMING)– SINGAPORE (Breakfast)

After breakfast, you will transfer to airport for your flight back to Singapore.

Remarks

Additional tour RMB400/person: Tibetan Song & dance Performance; Lhasa Foot Massage

Final itinerary by local tour operator will be deemed accurate.

Sequence and timings of itinerary are subject to change without prior notice.

Those with high blood pressure and heart ailments are advised not to join the tour. Diplomatic officials and journalists will require

special arrangements.

If the flight or rail schedule is interrupted, the itinerary will be reversed. You will take a flight to Lhasa first, then board the Lhasa train

for Xining and lastly take the flight from Xining back to Singapore.

There are 5 shopping stopovers.

In the event of discrepancy between the English and Chinese itineraries, please refer to the latter for accuracy.

Printed in 3Aug 2010

2008 Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Platinum Award 2006 Outstanding Branding Effort by National

Association of Travel Agents Singapore 2005 SPBA Heritage Brand Award • Asia’s Top 300 Brands

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CHAN BROTHERS TRAVEL PTE LTD China Office 150 South Bridge Road #01-09 Fook Hai Building Singapore 058727 T (65) 6212 9686 F (65) 6538 7448 W www.chanbrothers.com E chinato[email protected] D8 SHIGATSE-DINGRI (Breakfast/Lunch/Diner) (Overnight in Dingri Local 3* Hotel) In the morning, you'll visit the residence of Panchen Lama- Tashilunpo Monastery. After isiting this magnificent monastery, you’ll drive to Dingri - the closest town to Mt. Everest. D9 DINGRI – BASE CAMP-DINGRI (Breakfast/Lunch/Diner) (Overnight in Dingri Local 2* Hotel) Go to Base Camp, get up close to Mt. Everest. Visit Rongpuk - world's highest monastery. Overnight in Tingri. D10 DINGRI – SHIGATSE – LHASA (Breakfast/Lunch/Diner) (Overnight in Lhasa Local 4* Hotel) In the morning, you'll go back to Lhasa along the Yarlong Tseangpo River, enjoy the great landscape en route. D11 LHASA – SHANGHAI(or CHENGDU or KUNMING) (B/L/D) (Overnight in Shanghai Local 4* Hotel) After breakfast , you will transfer to airport for your flight to Shanghai, after arrival process to ChengHuang Temple shopping area. Free at own leisure. (*If flight to Chengdu or Kunming or Shanghai, head to local walking street for your own leisure.) D12 SHANGHAI(or CHENGDU or KUNMING)– SINGAPORE (Breakfast) After breakfast, you will transfer to airport for your flight back to Singapore. Remarks Additional tour RMB400/person: Tibetan Song & dance Performance; Lhasa Foot Massage Final itinerary by local tour operator will be deemed accurate. Sequence and timings of itinerary are subject to change without prior notice. Those with high blood pressure and heart ailments are advised not to join the tour. Diplomatic officials and journalists will require special arrangements. If the flight or rail schedule is interrupted, the itinerary will be reversed. You will take a flight to Lhasa first, then board the Lhasa train for Xining and lastly take the flight from Xining back to Singapore. There are 5 shopping stopovers. In the event of discrepancy between the English and Chinese itineraries, please refer to the latter for accuracy. Printed in 3Aug 2010 2008 Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Platinum Award 2006 Outstanding Branding Effort by National Association of Travel Agents Singapore 2005 SPBA Heritage Brand Award • Asia’s Top 300 Brands 2004 Singapore's Top 100 Brands & Number 1 Online Travel Agency 2000 Enterprise Award, Singapore Business Awards

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China, Tibet, Shigatse Prefecture, Gyantse County, Gyantse, View of Gyantse Dzong

Getty Images/AWL Images RM

The historical province of Tsang (གཙང) is either the first or last place that most travelers experience in Tibet, and the setting for two of Asia's great mountain drives: to far western Tibet and across the Himalaya to Nepal. The great overland trip across Tibet – from Lhasa along the Friendship Hwy to the Nepali border via Gyantse, Shigatse and Mt Everest Base Camp – goes straight through Tsang, linking most of Tibet's highlights on one irresistible route. Along the way is a scattering of atmospheric Tibetan monasteries and historic towns, an adventurous detour to the base of Mt Everest and multitudes of snowy peaks and moonlike landscapes to behold. Dozens of smaller monasteries just off the highway offer plenty of scope to get off the beaten track and experience an older Tibet.

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Must-see attractions.

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Commissioned by a local prince in 1427 and sitting beside Palcho Monastery, Gyantse Kumbum is the town’s foremost attraction. This 32m-high chörten, with…

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Everest Base Camp (5150m) was first used by the 1924 British Everest expedition. Tourists are no longer allowed to visit the climbing expedition base camp…

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One of the few monasteries in Tibet to weather the stormy seas of the Cultural Revolution, Tashilhunpo remains relatively unscathed. It is a pleasure to…

Sakya Monastery

The immense, grey, thick-walled southern monastery is one of Tibet’s most impressive constructed sights, and one of the largest monasteries – home to…

Phuntsoling Monastery

If you’re travelling down the Friendship Hwy and want to get a taste of what off the beaten track looks like, consider a few hours’ scenic diversion along…

Pakpa Monastery

Pride of place in Kyirong's central square is this 1000-year-old, four-tiered Nepali-style pagoda temple, allegedly built by Songtsen Gampo. The main…

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The high red-walled compound in the far north of Gyantse houses Palcho Monastery, founded in 1418. The main assembly hall is of greatest interest, but…

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The 12th-century Kagyud hermitage of Drakkar, or Chakar, is famous as the site where 11th-century Tibetan yogi and poet Milarepa spent nine years…

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Hard Rock Cafe , another pitstop on the tour, probably needs no introduction. The famous American-owned brand combines the best of rock-and-roll, music memorabilia and American-style diner fare. If there is one F&B entertainment venue that represents America’s enduring mix of music memorabilia, hospitality experience and rock relics, it’s Hard Rock Cafe.

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Booked a 15 days group tour package to Europe for my family of 4 in a NATAS fair with Chan Brothers. Selected this agency thinking that it is a big name in Singapore and should be reasonablely good, turned out to be a big disappoinment and there were many unhappy incidents during the trip; the following was the most serious one.

When we returned from the cruise an hour later, a few of us found that several of our shoppiong bags had gone missing from the coach! The tour leader said that he was at the coach and did not notice anything. A tour participant, however told us that he spotted the tour leader vomitting at the side of the coach, believed to be after drinking while waiting for the group to return from the cruise and the front door of the coach was opened at that time!

Tons of excuses from Chan Brothers with the classic 'you left the bags on the coach at your own risks', and 'our tour leader has informed you not to leave the bags unattended', etc. Fact is that no such reminder was made and the coach was loaded with bags, all on the seats during the incident. The strange thing that many of us asked was why was an optional evening tour organised at the end of a day of heavy shopping?

After several months of follw up with Chan Brothers, they finally agreed to give a $150 'discount' to each of the participants with lost items; the amount was no where close to the value of the items lost. We indicated to Chan Brothers that this amount was unacceptable as a compensation. Chan Brothers refused to answer any subsequent emails on the matter.

Have any one encountered similar incidents with Chan Brothers and managed to receive a satisfcatory compensattion or resolution? Thanks!

There were many more less severe incidents duirng the 15 day trip, will share more later.

I'm terribly sorry to hear of your troubles. It certainly leaves a horrible impression of your holidays.

Have you contacted your local consumer authorities?

Also, you may wish to post this on your local Singapore forums, as they are local based operators there. You may receive futher feedback by doing so.

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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Chan Brothers Travel Family & Friends Sale 150 South Bridge Road Fook Hai Building Level 1 & 7 Chan Brothers Travel Powerhouse www.ChanBrothers.com/sale

Don't wait!

If you like both traveling and food, and are still thinking of where to go on holiday with your family and friends, why not join me for the 7D Western Australia & Margaret River Gourmet Escape Self-drive Convoy departing Nov 18?

Special rates this weekend!

Visit Chan Brothers Travel Family & Friends Sale this Fri-Sun where you can book the packages with special rates! Chan Brothers Travel Family & Friends Sale This Friday – Sunday (17 – 19 October) 150 South Bridge Road Fook Hai Building Level 1 & 7 Chan Brothers Travel Powerhouse www.ChanBrothers.com/sale

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Which celebrity chefs would turn up for the Gourmet Escape this year?

Don't miss this opportunity of a lifestyle to try some of the very best from famous international chefs. Join @danielfooddiary for the Margaret River Gourmet Escape! I am very excited, I hope you will be too. For special rates, call Chan Brothers Travel now at +65 6212 9684 or book at:

Chan Brothers Towards 50 Holiday Fiesta 28 September (Sunday) 10am – 8pm Suntec Singapore Level 4 Hall 405 (Free Admission!) www.chanbrothers.com/sale What’s included in the package are return tickets on Singapore Airlines, all accommodation, the Margaret River Gourmet Escape Gourmet Village Premium Ticket, a 6-day Hertz car rental (1.8 litre) with NeverLost GPS with maximum vehicle insurance and more.

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Chan Brothers Travel: My Star Guide

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Always wanted to travel with Mediacorp’s celebs? Chan Brothers Travel lets you do that, plus you’ll get to participate in the production of a TV programme. Book with Chan Brothers Travel (Booth A1) at Travel Revolution 2016 — The Event or visit chanbrothers.com.

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Travel During the 1960s-90s: Around the World with Chan Brothers Travel

By chong wen xiu trina (ntu history programme).

Since 1965, Chan Brothers Travel has been delivering guided tour packages and other travel services to travellers from Singapore. Tracing its history allows us to understand how brick-and-mortar tour agencies had shaped the experiences of Singaporean travellers and responded to changing travel trends during the 1960s-90s.

Travel-During-the-1960s-90s-Around-the-World-with-Chan-Brothers-Travel

Brochures promoting Free & Easy trips for independent travellers, 1990s, Courtesy of Chan Brothers Travel

The first Chan Brothers Travel office at 78 Cecil Street, 1965 Courtesy of Chan Brothers Travel

Customers of Chan Brothers Travel would be attended to by tour salespersons, 1986 Courtesy of Chan Brothers Travel

Brochures were used to promote tour packages, 1987 Courtesy of Chan Brothers Travel

Cover of a brochure promoting Chan Brothers Travel’s ‘Hotel-on-Wheels’ holidays, 1983 Courtesy of Chan Brothers Travel

Cover of a brochure promoting romantic holidays to France, New Zealand and Australia, 1990s Courtesy of Chan Brothers Travel

Inside of a brochure promoting romantic holidays to France, New Zealand and Australia, 1990s Courtesy of Chan Brothers Travel

Ms Pauline Yeung at the launching ceremony of Chan Brothers Travel’s Miss/Mr Courtesy Campaign, 1988 Courtesy of Chan Brothers Travel

(from left to right) Mr Anthony Chan (Chan Brothers Group Managing Director), Ms Pauline Yeung and Mr Philip Chen at the launching ceremony of Chan Brothers Travel’s in-house courtesy campaign, 1988 Courtesy of Chan Brothers Travel

Chan Brothers Travel’s heavy emphasis on its people serves as reminder of the irreplaceable human element of engaging brick-and-mortar travel agencies. Even if online travel agencies (OTAs) can complete the same tasks that brick-and-mortar travel agencies can, they arguably cannot replicate the personalised, real-world customer experience that the latter excels in.

Chong Wen Xiu Trina (NTU History Programme)

The NTU History Programme strives to be a leading centre for researching and teaching interdisciplinary, Asian, and world/transnational history, while pushing innovative and immersive approaches to learning about and exploring Singapore's past and heritage. It welcomes students, scholars, and interested members of the public to join us in these endeavours! Find out more about our programmes, research, and events at http://www.soh.ntu.edu.sg/Programmes/history/Pages/Home.aspx or find us on Twitter (@NTUHistory)!

Kampong Kapor Methodist Church Open House: 130 Years Serving the Community

4 May • 09:00am •

Kampong Kapor Methodist Church (KKMC) is located in Singapore’s Little India district. Founded in 1894, we are one of the first Peranakan churches and the fourth Methodist church to be established in Singapore. We welcome you to enter into the serenity of our sanctuary to admire the architecture, stained-glass window and pipe organ recitals.

37 Emerald Hill Site Tours

18 - 19, 25 - 26 May • 10:00am •

18 - 19, 25 - 26 May • 02:00pm •

Come along for the first ever public site tours of 37 Emerald Hill, former home of Singapore Chinese Girls’ School, the first locally founded secular school for girls by our Straits-born community and conserved through a ground-up community effort.

40 Years of Total Defence with the Navy

4 - 5 May • 12:30pm •

Discover our Navy in this special 40th anniversary of Total Defence programme with guided tours at the Changi Naval Base and Navy Museum. Learn about our navy traditions with sailors past and present on this very special tour!

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12 Days Heavenly Road to Tibet + Mount Everest
12 Days Heavenly Road to Tibet + Mount Everest - Chan Brothers EN English Deutsch Français Español Português Italiano Român Nederlands Latina Dansk Svenska Norsk Magyar Bahasa Indonesia Türkçe Suomi Latvian Lithuanian český русский български العربية Unknown
12 Days Tibet Lhasa + Mt Everest With Qinghai ...
12 Days Tibet Lhasa + Mt Everest With Qinghai ... - Chan Brothers
How to Travel Tibet
How to Travel Tibet. But amidst the stunning natural landscapes in Tibet, it's the people of Tibet that truly moved me. Despite mass modernisation and dilution of their culture under China's iron fist, Tibet remains a resilient land underpinned by a rich culture and deep faith. 50 years of oppression and religious control have failed to dull the Tibetans' devotion to their faith.
Travel During the 1960s-90s: Around the World with Chan Brothers Travel
TL;DR. Since 1965, Chan Brothers Travel has been delivering guided tour packages and other travel services to travellers from Singapore. Tracing its history allows us to understand how brick-and-mortar tour agencies had shaped the experiences of Singaporean travellers and responded to changing travel trends during the 1960s-90s.
Tibet Travel Guide
Tibet Travel Permits. In order to enter Tibet - in fact, even to buy a plane or train ticket to Lhasa - foreign travellers must have a Tibet Travel Permit. Issued by the TAR authorities, this lists a full travel itinerary and provides evidence of having booked a car, driver and guide for every day you are in the region.
Just the e-ticket: The Chan brothers' approach to digitalising travel
May 21, 2021. |. GlobalTix founders brothers Chan Chee Kong (left) and Chan Chee Chong said that Covid-19 accelerated merchants' decisions to digitalise. Since Covid-19, it's become a lot more common for attractions to feature digital innovations such as contactless payment methods, QR codes for capacity management and the use of facial ...
CHAN BROTHERS TRAVEL PTE
12 Days Heavenly Road to Tibet + Mount Everest - Chan Brothers. EN. English Deutsch Français Español Português Italiano Român Nederlands Latina Dansk Svenska Norsk Magyar Bahasa Indonesia Türkçe Suomi Latvian Lithuanian česk ...
Tsang travel
Tsang. The historical province of Tsang (གཙང) is either the first or last place that most travelers experience in Tibet, and the setting for two of Asia's great mountain drives: to far western Tibet and across the Himalaya to Nepal. The great overland trip across Tibet - from Lhasa along the Friendship Hwy to the Nepali border via ...
Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd
Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd | 3,742 followers on LinkedIn. Great holidays are measured through the finest details and at Chan Brothers Travel, we know what makes our travellers tick. Being at the forefront in the business of creating delightful tour experiences for over 50 years is what makes us experts at what we do and keeps our customers returning time and again.
You Can Now Have A Fuss-Free Overseas Holiday & Feast Your Way Around
Joyangbangjik Cafe. For a more hands-on experience, learn to whip up your own seafood pancake in a culinary lesson. Visit the nostalgic Joyangbangjik Cafe on Ganghwa Island for a touch of history. Fun fact: the building it's housed in was a former textile factory built in 1933; it was renovated in 2018 and reborn as a large unique café gallery and art museum — perfect for a cuppa and the ...
Latest CHAN BROTHERS TRAVEL
World. Opinion. Life. Business. Videos. Podcasts. CHAN BROTHERS TRAVEL News - Find latest News & top stories about CHAN BROTHERS TRAVEL. Get more information about CHAN BROTHERS TRAVEL at ...
Chan Brothers Travel
18 likes, 0 comments - chanbrotherstravel on January 31, 2024: "Unveil the magic of Tibet's pear blossom season ! Let the breathtaking backdrop of Namjagbarw..." Chan Brothers Travel | Travel Agency on Instagram: "Unveil the magic of Tibet's pear blossom season 🌸!
What Chan Brothers is doing to assure travellers ...
Travellers who present an itinerary and quote from elsewhere to Chan Brothers will be offered an additional S$50 off. Those who manage to find a lower-priced tour elsewhere of the same quality, inclusions and departure date, will be matched triple the difference in price by Chan Brothers. For example, if Chan Brothers offers a S$5,000 package ...
Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd Tour Packages
Get exciting deals on booking travel and holiday packages with Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd. Plan your holiday trip with Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd in Singapore.
Unbelieveable experience with Chan Brothers
Unbelieveable experience with Chan Brothers. 10 years ago. Booked a 15 days group tour package to Europe for my family of 4 in a NATAS fair with Chan Brothers. Selected this agency thinking that it is a big name in Singapore and should be reasonablely good, turned out to be a big disappoinment and there were many unhappy incidents during the ...
Chan Brothers Travel
Visit Chan Brothers Travel Family & Friends Sale this Fri-Sun where you can book the packages with special rates! Chan Brothers Travel Family & Friends Sale This Friday - Sunday (17 - 19 October) 150 South Bridge Road Fook Hai Building Level 1 & 7 Chan Brothers Travel Powerhouse
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Ahead of its 60th anniversary next year, Chan Brothers Group has achieved a significant milestone with the expansion of franchise outlets in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Chengdu, China. Chan's World Leisurelink in Kuala Lumpur saw a growth of 3 to 50 employees in 18 months. With added facilities at Fraser Business Park, the aim is to offer high ...
Chan Brothers Travel
The region's leading travel icon ️🛳🚅🚌Package tours | Free & easy+ | Cruises | Private tours #chanbrotherstravelStay curious with updates & promos: 150 South Bridge Road, Fook Hai Building, Singapore 058727. linkin.bio/chanbrotherstravel. 18K Followers, 116 Following, 2,501 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Chan Brothers ...
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Chan Brothers Travel lets you do that, plus you'll get to participate in the production of a TV programme. Book with Chan Brothers Travel (Booth A1) at Travel Revolution 2016 — The Event or ...
Travel During the 1960s-90s: Around the World with Chan Brothers Travel
Since 1965, Chan Brothers Travel has been delivering guided tour packages and other travel services to travellers from Singapore. Tracing its history allows us to understand how brick-and-mortar tour agencies had shaped the experiences of Singaporean travellers and responded to changing travel trends during the 1960s-90s.
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Thankfully, these fully planned itineraries from Chan Brothers Travel take care of everything for you - simply sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Here are some tours to check out: 1. My Travel Photographer Series - jacaranda blossoms & Sydney Seaplanes. You'll be slapping yourself if you leave your camera at home on a tour.

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