India - Nepal - Tibet

Wazen

Aloha everyone

Traveling to Tibet has always been a far fetched dream...
There seems to be a lack of information about Tibet, here on IM.

Although this is IndiaMike,
I was hoping someone could share with us a little about crossing the boarder from India to Nepal, and then onto Tibet..

Some research explained Tibet Visa's are issued in Kathmandu,
but only for group tours with hired guide/driver.

I was wondering if any IMers have travled the India-Nepal-Tibet route,
and what kind of advice or experiences they wish to share.

All comments and feedback is appreciated

Aloha,
Wazen

vistet

I went Ktm-Lhasa-Ktm in Nov. At that time they were enforcing the group policy strictly, after a brief total shutdown around the anniversary of the "liberation". The minimium size of the group will change according to the political sensiblities of Beijing, I´ve heard one-person groups mentioned. Even with the depressing bits (like seeing Drepung monastery jammed between a concrete factory and the mountain) it was a great experience. Finding a Tibetan almanac and travel to the great pilgrimmage sites at the same time as the Tibetans is a good idea.
There are some pic´s in my blog, I´ll make a post here when I´ve updated it.

Wazen

Cool Vistet, thanks for the advice, and pictures

You didnt have many problems entering the country at all? How big did your group have to be? I will be there between march and april, not long after your arival..

vistet

I think the minimum size was four, we were six passengers in the jeep. No hassles getting permits etc. : I walked in at the travel agent on thursday, handed over my passport , left Saurday morning.

When we came to Kodari in the afternoon (fivish) the border had closed for the day : we got to cross the border bridge, shack up in Zhangmu, and do customs & immigration after nine o´clock in the morning. Customs only interest seemed to be what books & magazines we were carrying.

Once over the border, you are dealing with a new company, car etc. We were a bit anxious about these relays, but they worked out fine. Next time I´ll be more insistent about getting a more detailed spec on what kind of car, acomm etc. , but apart from an attempt to dowgrade our rooms in Lhatse on the return trip there werent any major problems (apart from the group visa snafu )

I had no problems leaving the group when I wanted, we were actually given a lot of time on our own to start with. A good guide , I saw some of them in action, can really add a lot. Unfortunately , ours wasn´t one of them , he had gaping holes in Tibetan history , having never heard of the impostor for the Fifth Dalai Lama or Gendun Choepel , to name a few examples. This may sound nerdish, but the other travellers also soon got tired of rehashing again and again when the Potala was built, the first Buddhist kings etc.

Even a bad guide will of course give access to a lot you wouldnt see otherwise, at least that´s how I felt, just get a good guidebook ( I like Mapping the Tibetan World for background) and be prepared to strike out on your own when it gets repetitive.

citybell

Heard that 2 persons could also be a group. Pls remember that Chinese authorities change the rules often depending on the political situation.

There are agents in Kathmandu who would do all the paper work for you and get you the group visa. But remember that if you are already having any valid chinese visa , it will be cancelled and group visa would be given.

Wazen

Aloha
Thanks for the great information!

Man that sucks about them leaving your Visa at the Chai shop!
One thing I have learned about this entire trip through India, etc..,
is definately to expect things like that to happen out of the blue.

You also said how they were mostly interested in the content of the books, instead of the luggage.. It must have been quite a reality check for you.

Was it usually easy to communicate in english, throghout your trip in Tibet?

vistet

Well yes , it´s literally a relity check , being controlled yourself and not just reading about others being controlled. Some travellers paint a vagulely rosy picture of Nepal, because repression is only directed against the Nepalis.

English skills are nowhere near what we experience in northern India. In Tingri , all the restaurant signs seemed to have been manufactured by potheads : "The Dzibead Hides the Meal" " The Happy N2O Restaurant" (N20 is "laughing gas" , if that makes it any clearer) etc.

When staying in Lhasa, make sure you have a card with the name of your guesthouse in Tibetan and Chinese.I sometimes used the screen on my digital camera for this. Some of the foreign used expressions are quite unknown to Tibetans, like Jokhang instead of the Tibetan Tsuglhakhang. The Chinese cab drivers often appeared at loss with many names , even when shown in Tibetan and chinese - time to whip out the map.

Knowing some minimal Tibetan is a great for making contact , like saying Kyi Chu instead of Lhasa river. My guide book was very popular with Tibetans, because it had chapter titles in Tibetan and a basic word list.
Myself I´ve come to the point where I now sometimes can explain that i don`t speak Tibetan a little too well, so that they don´t believe me and continue in tibetan. Ah well, sometimes I come out of it knowing a lttle more.

nippon

Hi there
Well the things might be change in a week if not so then one person can also take the group visa. But now a days if you are planning to travel to tibet via neapl the rule is as follows as i was told through the operator of Nepal. December,january,february up to march there is no flight from kathmandu to lahasa or lahasa to kathmandu it means the travellers have to take transportation trip up to lahasa or round trip. It means now a days there are two options either 7 night 8 days tour up to lhasa or round trip kathmandu lhasa kathmandu travellers have to book and the vias will be in a group.


Cheers
Nihon

vistet

There were no flights in November either.

himalayas_beckon

do they allow u to take ur bike from nepal in tibet? say if i drive into nepal from india and is it then possible to drive into tibet too ??

Wazen

HB, Thats a good question!
Riding a bike from Kathmandu to Lhasa sounds cool.

Nippon,
Thanks for the tip! Do you know how much a 8 night group tour usually costs?

nippon

If you are thinking to take tibet tour from nepal now a days the cost will be US$500.00 including visa for 7 night 8 days and uS$600.00 for round trip by land approx. But if u r american the add US$14.00 more.

cheers
Nippon

Wazen

Do travel agencies in Kathmandu usually include hotel,
or is it $600 for a visa/transportation/guide only?

I appreciate you sharing your knowledge
Aloha

Putty

Hi Wazen,

For guided tour of Tibet, check out a company based in Kathmandu (right next to Kathmandu Guest House in Thamel) - www.greenhilltours.com.np.

I did a tour with them in April 2001 - 8 day overland Kathmandu to Lhasa, flying back to Ktm. They are a really friendly company and the trip was fantastic! Cost was approximately $US585.00.

The link to the tour that I did is here: http://www.greenhilltours.com.np/fix...turetibet.html

Cheers,
Putty

__________________
"If you can read my mind, then why must I speak?" - Bob Dylan

Wazen

Cool thanks for the information!

I bought the Lonely Planet Nepal and Tibet recently.
They claim its possible to treck across the boarder, and hitchhike, because there is a ton of cool stuff along the way.

What was also cool was this 2005 edition of LP Tibet stated that its possible to organize trasportation from KTM to Lhassa, then go off on your own and do your own solo trecks!

What did you think about the 8 days journey?
I hope the LP says its easy to treck across from KTM to Lhassa alone, I gota re-check the book..

The LP makes it seem so easy, and they have a 1 month solo trecking plan too! I am thinking about getting across the boarder with a group, using a shared land cruiser, then after 5 days seperating from the group and trecking alone for a month. They claim $20 a day going alone is reasonable.