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Tibet Autonomous Region
Basic Information:
Area: 1,211,000 sq. km
Capital: Lhasa
Population: Approximately 2.74 million
Language: Tibetan and Mandarin
Religion:
Tibet is a high desert plateau consisting of sparse grasslands and gravely plains. It lies to the north of Nepal. Altitude sickness is the effect of the thin air at great heights. Travelers to Tibet may suffer some discomfort like breathlessness and headaches before becoming acclimatized. Many hotels keep bottled oxygen for emergencies. Lhasa direct flights connect from Kathmandu and it takes 1.10 minutes to reach at Gonggar airport. The trans - Himalayan overland journey retraces the old mule caravan route (962 km three to six days). Season start from mainly April thru October because this time flight is regular operated by China Southwest Airlines very Saturday and Tuesday so overland tour is possible in March as well, Layered clothing is recommended as day and night time temperatures vary greatly. Down jackets are required from October to March (it snows).
Tibet The rainy season is June to September. The midnight temperature is 8 degrees Celsius in the south and 0 degrees in the north. Adventure are trekking, mountaineering and mountain biking tour and special Mt. Kailash tours. Accommodation is provided in modern hotels and restaurants in Lhasa, Shigaste, Gyantse and Tsetang and basic facilities at other places. and mystery. A land of ancient Buddhist culture, awesome landscapes, artistic monasteries and centuries old caravan trails, Tibet is a destination out of the ordinary. Famed as the roof the world, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China on a plateau at an average elevation of 4000 m. It is bounded by the Kulun Mountains to the north and the Himalayas to the south. Tibet covers an area 1.2 sq km, and has a population of 2.3 million.
Tibet's capital Lhasa (elevation 3350m) is a cultural city with a history going back 1300 years. The magnificent Potala Palace, former seat of the Dalai Lamas, presides over the city. Built in 1645 at the top of a hill, the palace contains 1000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200.000 religious statues. The old city revolves around the Jhokang temple and the quaint Barkhor market that surrounds it. The Jhorkhang built in the 17th century is the holiest Buddhist shrine in Tibet. Its mural paintings, finely worked golden roofs and other artworks are something to see. At a little distance from the old city core, Lhasa is also a modern capital of concrete high rises, fancy department stores and wide boulevards. Norbulingka consists of wooded greenery and three palaces once used by the Dalai lamas as a summer retreat. The Drepung Monastery lies about 10 km from the city. Built in1416 it is the largest in Tibet. The Sera Monastery about 5 km to the north is another impotent center of Buddhist learning.
Tibet has fascinated mankind for centuries. This land beyond the mighty Himalayas, on the highest plateau of the world, was inaccessible to the outside world and has always been a challenge to all mortal beings. This "land of mysteries", forbidden not only by man but also by nature, appealed to many explorers, scholars, pilgrims and adventurers in the past, looking for a real 'Shangri-la'.
Locked away in its Himalayan fortress, Tibet has long exercised a 'Shangri-la' type hold on the imagination of the West. A 'Land of Snows', the 'Rooftop of the World' is mysterious in a way that few other places are. Tibet's strategic importance, straddling the Himalaya between China and the Indian subcontinent, made it irresistible to China, which invaded in 1950. But Tibetans have never had it easy. Theirs is an unforgiving environment, and human habitation has always been a precarious proposition. Even so, the deliberate cultural strangling inflicted by the Chinese government since 1950 rates as the harshest burden Tibet's native inhabitants have been forced to endure. Following virtual closure after the Chinese annexation of the Buddhist kingdom, Tibet was opened to foreign tourism in 1984. It was closed to all but tour groups in 1987 after an uprising by Tibetans in Lhasa, and reopened in 1992. Travel in Tibet comes with some ludicrous permit requirements. The present Chinese policy on individual tourism in Tibet seems to be one of extorting as much cash as possible from foreigners, but not so much as to scare them off completely.
Special Information: How to Get a Visa Overseas visitors to Tibet shall process entry formalities upon showing confirmation letters issued by the Tibetan government. Passports and Visas: The foreign tourist is granted the entry visa only when he or she holds a valid passport and a letter of visa notification for tour groups issued by a Chinese embassy in a foreign country and confirmed by the Tibetan Tourist Administration.
Entry Confirmation Letter: Overseas tour groups, those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan included, are allowed to enter Tibet only with a confirmation letter from Tibet Autonomous Region's Tourism Administration. The administration has representative offices in Beijing, Chengdu, Golmud, Shanghai, Xining, Xi'an, Hong Kong, Kathmandu, Japan and the United States to handle group tours.
Major Attractions in Tibet Autonomous Region
| potala palace | jokhang monastery | tashilhunpo monastery | ruins of guge |
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