Tibet : Border Crossings Today & Tomorrow

vistet · Apr 10th, 2009, 16:18

Welcome to the forum , may all your chais be great chais.

I have seen the first photos of tourists entering from the Chinese side , definitely open. I guess it´s happening from the Ktm end as well , but despite all the buzz I haven´t seen any first hand reports yet.

The short answer is that it will be a lot of hassles , and will mean shorter time in mainland China. The group visa that you will get is valid for travel Ktm-Lhasa-Ktm. You can get out of Tibet/TAR in to mainland China , no problem , but you can NOT renew/extend/transmogrify it in any way in China. There is a limited workaround if you can get your agent to set up a fictitous longer itinerary - but the max time this will buy you is 28 days from the moment you cross the Friendship Bridge to the day you leave China.

You can not , must not get a regular tourist Chinese visa in Ktm if you enter Tibet from Nepal : it will be scrapped at the border . You can only enter on the group visa that the agency will arrange.

Yonder · Apr 22nd, 2009, 19:23

sorry to hijack the question, but i'm planning on doing a similar thing: nepal - tibet - china - laos. So am I right in thinking that this will be possible so long as I leave China within 28 days? I was confused about whether you can go from Lhasa to mainland China without an organise group tour, considering you need to be part of one to get in in the first place.

Nunki · May 1st, 2009, 20:28

hi there,Im planning a trip from Tibet to India - Sikkim. Does anybody know if there is any of the border crossings open for foreigners at the moment?Thanks a lot. nunki

vistet · May 2nd, 2009, 04:00

By a curious coincidence the Nathu La border between Sikkim re-"opened" today. The quote marks are there because this still is mostly a symbolic gesture : from the Indian side this new freedom has bimited to a small group of Sikkimese traders , which can move fifteen kilometers in to Tibet , similar construction from the Chinese side.

Looking away from grand statements (like the five year old promise of a bus line between Gangtok and Tibet that Wikipedia quotes ) the unchanged reality on the ground is that there are no open land borders between China & India since the war in -62.

sameersiddique · Sep 27th, 2009, 17:44

hey...i plan to drive frm india to mteverset base camp...im sure of getting to katmandu and frm there to tibet nepal border...thts where im not sure of wht docs and other papers ill need to get to cross into tibet with my car and get to basecamp...can u help

Quote:

Originally Posted by vistet

Welcome to the forum , may all your chais be great chais.

I have seen the first photos of tourists entering from the Chinese side , definitely open. I guess it´s happening from the Ktm end as well , but despite all the buzz I haven´t seen any first hand reports yet.

The short answer is that it will be a lot of hassles , and will mean shorter time in mainland China. The group visa that you will get is valid for travel Ktm-Lhasa-Ktm. You can get out of Tibet/TAR in to mainland China , no problem , but you can NOT renew/extend/transmogrify it in any way in China. There is a limited workaround if you can get your agent to set up a fictitous longer itinerary - but the max time this will buy you is 28 days from the moment you cross the Friendship Bridge to the day you leave China.

You can not , must not get a regular tourist Chinese visa in Ktm if you enter Tibet from Nepal : it will be scrapped at the border . You can only enter on the group visa that the agency will arrange.

sameersiddique · Sep 27th, 2009, 17:46

hey...i plan to drive frm india to mteverset base camp...im sure of getting to katmandu and frm there to tibet nepal border...thts where im not sure of wht docs and other papers ill need to get to cross into tibet with my car and get to basecamp...can u help

sdsudarsan · Oct 9th, 2009, 02:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by kolobar

May I correct you: there are no yatris from Ladakh to Kailash but from Kumaon: Darchula along Kali Ganga valley over Lipu Lekh pass.
Also border in Kumaon is "open" for trading chinese goods ((but not for tourists of course).

Technically, one can obtain special permit to cross Lipu Lekh Pass even as an individual. But getting the Chinese visa after crossing to their side at Taklakot is a bit of gamble.

vistet · Oct 9th, 2009, 02:37

I´d be happy to be proven wrong , but to my knowledge there have been no tourists crossing the India-China land borders since ´62.

There have been many cyclist groups on the Friendship Highway, but at present they have to be accompanied by a guide in a car.

All groups who go Ktm-Lhasa change vehicles and drivers at the border. The Kathmandu-Lhasa bus line was the exception , it made less than ten runs before it died in ´05.

sdsudarsan · Oct 9th, 2009, 02:45

Hi Vistet,

Crossing from Nepal as part of tourism group has been a routine affair.

From Lipu Lekh Pass, in any case either you trek or use pony. For that matter, there is no road on the Indian side anyway...

vistet · Oct 9th, 2009, 02:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdsudarsan

Hi Vistet,

Crossing from Nepal as part of tourism group has been a routine affair.

Yes , of course , I think that´s been covered extensively already in this thread. I went over in ´05 , on a days notice to my travel agent. The Friendship Highway is a lot more prone to political closures though , was out a loooong time after March 2008 , and is out at this moment over the 60th PRC anniversary . It may open tomorrow , let´s see.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdsudarsan

From Lipu Lekh Pass, in any case either you trek or use pony.

Still mildly baffled : when did this happen last ?

sdsudarsan · Oct 9th, 2009, 03:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by vistet

Still mildly baffled : when did this happen last ?

Well, it is not advertised, for good reasons I guess.
Once you get the relevant permit from the DM (Pithorogah, I guess), alongwith approved porter/ponywala (preferably those who have Tibet entry approval), you could go past Kalapani immigration post. Immigration needs to stamp the passport there. After that your fate is in the hands of Chinese authorities. Depending on your luck and your porter's ability to get you through the chinese bureaucracy, your trip would flip or flop. In any case it would be an interesting trek to say the least.

Apr 10th, 2009, 16:18	#16
vistet Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Umeå , Sweden Posts: 2,261	Welcome to the forum , may all your chais be great chais. I have seen the first photos of tourists entering from the Chinese side , definitely open. I guess it´s happening from the Ktm end as well , but despite all the buzz I haven´t seen any first hand reports yet. The short answer is that it will be a lot of hassles , and will mean shorter time in mainland China. The group visa that you will get is valid for travel Ktm-Lhasa-Ktm. You can get out of Tibet/TAR in to mainland China , no problem , but you can NOT renew/extend/transmogrify it in any way in China. There is a limited workaround if you can get your agent to set up a fictitous longer itinerary - but the max time this will buy you is 28 days from the moment you cross the Friendship Bridge to the day you leave China. You can not , must not get a regular tourist Chinese visa in Ktm if you enter Tibet from Nepal : it will be scrapped at the border . You can only enter on the group visa that the agency will arrange. __________________ high road to ..

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Apr 22nd, 2009, 19:23	#17
Yonder Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: London/York Posts: 18	sorry to hijack the question, but i'm planning on doing a similar thing: nepal - tibet - china - laos. So am I right in thinking that this will be possible so long as I leave China within 28 days? I was confused about whether you can go from Lhasa to mainland China without an organise group tour, considering you need to be part of one to get in in the first place.

May 1st, 2009, 20:28	#18
Nunki Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: travelling Posts: 5	hi there,Im planning a trip from Tibet to India - Sikkim. Does anybody know if there is any of the border crossings open for foreigners at the moment?Thanks a lot. nunki

May 2nd, 2009, 04:00	#19
vistet Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Umeå , Sweden Posts: 2,261	By a curious coincidence the Nathu La border between Sikkim re-"opened" today. The quote marks are there because this still is mostly a symbolic gesture : from the Indian side this new freedom has bimited to a small group of Sikkimese traders , which can move fifteen kilometers in to Tibet , similar construction from the Chinese side. Looking away from grand statements (like the five year old promise of a bus line between Gangtok and Tibet that Wikipedia quotes ) the unchanged reality on the ground is that there are no open land borders between China & India since the war in -62.

Sep 27th, 2009, 17:46	#21
sameersiddique sam Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: bangalore Posts: 2	hey...i plan to drive frm india to mteverset base camp...im sure of getting to katmandu and frm there to tibet nepal border...thts where im not sure of wht docs and other papers ill need to get to cross into tibet with my car and get to basecamp...can u help

Oct 9th, 2009, 02:37	#23
vistet Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Umeå , Sweden Posts: 2,261	I´d be happy to be proven wrong , but to my knowledge there have been no tourists crossing the India-China land borders since ´62. There have been many cyclist groups on the Friendship Highway, but at present they have to be accompanied by a guide in a car. All groups who go Ktm-Lhasa change vehicles and drivers at the border. The Kathmandu-Lhasa bus line was the exception , it made less than ten runs before it died in ´05.

Oct 9th, 2009, 02:45	#24
sdsudarsan Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Jambu dweep Posts: 165	Hi Vistet, Crossing from Nepal as part of tourism group has been a routine affair. From Lipu Lekh Pass, in any case either you trek or use pony. For that matter, there is no road on the Indian side anyway...