There are two major Gateways for an international visitor to get to Tibet. One is by coming to Tibet from Nepal and coming to Tibet from other parts of China. In these two situations, the Tibet Travel Permit situation and Chinese Visa situation are completely different. Please read this post well before making your plan to travel to Tibet.
The following details are from my decades of experience in organizing tours for International Visitors. The tourism Rules and regulation could change, and if it does, I will update this post as soon as possible if you are planning your trip to Tibet. You can contact me at woaber@nomadictibet.com for regular updates and Tibet travel consultation. I don't charge the consultation fees.
Following are Two gateways to get to Tibet
Getting to Tibet from other parts of China
Getting to Tibet from China is more convenient and easier as compared to coming to Tibet from Nepal. You will have more options on transportation mode; Flights, trains and Overland Drive to Lhasa. It's hence more convenient and economical for the budget travellers.
But here you will have to keep in mind a few things, which is very important.
Chinese Visa
Suppose you are coming to Tibet from the Other parts of China. You will have to get a Chinese Visa from the Chinese Embassy in our country. Sometimes it might prove to be hard to get a Chinese Visa. The Embassy would require your hotel booking and flights details to issue your Chinese Visa. In this case, any travel agent in Lhasa can send you a visa invitation from the Tibet tourism administration.
For a group with the Visa invitation from Tibet, They will issue you a group Visa on two paper. It contains the name list of Travelers in the Group. All the group members have to enter and leave China at the same time from the same location. If you plan to leave or enter differently, a Visa invitation has to be separated. The immigration officer will take one copy at the entrance and the others upon your depart from China. Please be extremely careful about your paper Visa while in Tibet or China.
For Individual Travelers Chinese Visa will be issued in your passport. Yet We can send visa invitation from Tibet.
Generally, Chinese Visa from Tourist is L category Visa. So if your Visa is not in the L category, You will have to submit a supporting document from your host in China. This supporting document must state your propose of visit, your name, and passport number. If you visit your Chinese spouse, you will have to submit their ID card and your marriage certificate.
For all the travellers visiting Tibet from other parts of China. You will have to submit your valid passport and Chinese Visa for a Tibet travel permit. All the travel agency in Lhasa can start making your permit only with your passport. But will need your Visa to complete the permit process.
Your Passport must be the Passport on which you will apply for the Chinese Visa. If you already have your Visa on your old passport, you will have to submit both passports. Remember you will also have to bring the passport to China.
Generally, It will have about 15 to 20 days from the Permit to be completed. With New online permit application system, it will take a shorter time to complete your permit. Yet some window period is always great to complete at the right time.
Permit situation for Flights to Lhasa
Suppose you are coming to Tibet on a flight from other cities in China. You will need the original Tibet travel permit in hand to board the flight to Tibet. We can send it to your Hotel in China or deliver it to the airport while transiting your flight. It is best to transit your Lhasa flight in Chengdu as it is more convenient for all the travel agency in Lhasa to send and arrange some on to deliver the permit at the airport.
Permit situation for Train to Lhasa
Suppose you are coming to train to Tibet. You will need a copy of the Permit at the train station. Travel agencies can send the scanned copy to your email. But please make sure your email works in China; Gmail doesn't work in China. Give your alternative emails address to your travel agency to send you a copy. Yet if you are taking the train from Chongqing to Lhasa, you will need the original Tibet travel permit in your hand at the Chongqing train station hance permit has to be sent to your hotel.
Permit situation for Overland Drive to Lhasa
f you are coming to Tibet by driving overland from other provinces of China. You will have to have a Tibet tour guide and the original permit on hand while entering Tibet. Besides these two, you will need to make lots of other documents in China for your vehicle and your driving license in China. We will make a post about it in the future.
Transportation
You can travel to Tibet from other parts of China on the flight, train and overland drive to Tibet. Comparing to travelling from Nepal, Traveling from China presents you with more transportation mode.
Flights:
There are flights to Lhasa from all the major big hubs in China. In a day, there are about 26 flights to Lhasa from other cities in Lhasa. Of all, Chengdu has the most flight to Lhasa at about 14+ flights a day. Many flights to Lhasa are transiting at the Chengdu airport. Remember, you will need an original Tibet travel permit in hand to board the flight to Tibet.
Trains:
You can choose to take a train ride to Lhasa from anywhere in China. The train ride from Xining to Lhasa gives you a great opportunity to see the beautiful landscape of northern Tibet's wilderness. Many websites state it is a great opportunity to acclimatize while travelling by Train. But it is false information, the train to Tibet is pressurized, and it doesn't give your body any chance to acclimatize before arriving in Lhasa. Remember, you will have to make a copy of the Permit before going to the train station to get your train ticket.
Overland Drive to China:
Suppose you are going to drive your own car to Lhasa. You will need to have the original Permit and a tour guide at the Tibet Autonomous Region entrance. For an unregistered car in China, you will have to do the car registration in China. Hence your travel agency in Lhasa can help you do it. You will also have to get a Chinese Driving license, which you will usually have to make after you arrive in China. You can also choose to hire a car from Lhasa to get them at the Tibet Autonomous Region's border.
Getting to Tibet from Nepal
Getting to Tibet from Nepal is less convenient and confusing than coming to Tibet from other parts of China. You will have fewer options on the mode of transportation; Flights and Overland Drive to Lhasa. It's hence less convenient and more expensive. Yet many visitors plan both sides of the Himalaya on the same holiday.
But here you will have to keep in mind a few things, which is very important.
Chinese Group Visa
Suppose you are coming to Tibet from Nepal. All the visitor must get the Chinese Group Visa for the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu. The embassy will not issue the Visa to the individual applicant. It has to be applied by a registered agent in Nepal. So our travel agency will send your Visa invitation to our associate in Nepal. The application for a Chinese Visa will take about three business days. Therefore you will have to spend those days in Nepal. Chinese Embassy will cancel all the preexisting valid Chinese Visa upon issuing the group visa.
The Chinese Group Visa that you will receive is the two identical A4 paper visa. One copy is for your arrival in China. Hence Lhasa airport or the border port in Kyirong and another is for your departure. So while at Kathmandu, please do not leave it there. While travelling in Tibet, be extra cautious about the second copy of the paper visa you will need for departure.
Travel Permit
For all the travellers visiting Tibet from Nepal. You will have to submit only your valid passport for the Tibet travel permit. All the travel agency in Lhasa can make your permit only with your passport. We will not require your Visa for the permit. Your Permit will be available with the tour guide at the arrival of either the airport or the land border port in Kyirong.
Permit situation for Flights to Lhasa
Suppose you are coming to Tibet on a flight from Kathmandu. There are two checkpoints at the airport. At the first checkpoint, the China custom officer will be checking your Visa and Passport, and on the second, you will meet your tour guide to check the permit. Your tour guide will have the permit in his hand.
Permit situation for Overland Drive from Nepal
Suppose you are coming to Tibet by driving overland from Nepal. You will meet your tour guide at the border. She will have your permit with her, and she will assist your check into Tibet, China.
Transportation
You can travel to Tibet from Nepal on the flight or overland drive to Tibet. Comparing to travelling from other parts of China, Traveling from Nepal presents you with less transportation mode.
Flights:
There are daily flights to Lhasa from Kathmandu. Mostly during the monsoon season in summer, many flights get de-routed to Chengdu before landing in Lhasa. In these scenarios, you will have to take a flight from Chengdu to Lhasa the next day. It is best to leave the Potala Palace visit on the third day of the tour for this reason. Remember, you will need both copies of your group visa upon arrival in China.
The overland route from Nepal:
Suppose you are going to take the overland route to Tibet. You can take a car from Kathmandu to Kyirong, and at the Kyirong, your tour car will be waiting for you. You will have to arrange the Nepal side of the travel on your own self.
Conclusion
It is effortless to travel to Tibet, given that you have the right information and the right Travel agency. I own a travel agency in Lhasa called i-Tibet travel and tours. If you would like to contact us for your travel plans, we can help you arrange everything necessary for your visa to Tibet.
You can read more Tibet travel guide from this link or visit our travel agency website: https://itibettravel.com.
Lastly, if you have any question about your travel plan to Tibet, let us know at woaber@nomadictibet.com.
