Tibet Beckons: An Adventurous Journey Through Lhasa and BeyondHello!
I did a trip to Tibet a while ago and thought I‘d post about my impressions. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anything.
How to enter Tibet:
I’m a german citizen and I visited Tibet during my 30 day Visa-Free stay in China. I took the plane from Chengdu to Lhasa airport. There is a 34 hour train also but I didn’t feel confident enough to spend this long on a train. Tibet is more heavily controlled by the Chinese government, so you cannot go in without a special permit. These are not issued to regular people so you‘re going to need a guided tour. I did mine with an agency called Travel Vista (www.tibettravel.org). I booked the 8-day Tour which included Lhasa, Shigatse multiple monasteries and Mount Everest Base Camp. The physical permit was delivered to the hostel I stayed at and handed to me personally by the delivery man, the agency stayed in contact with me during that time and made sure I receive it. The tour cost me around 1500 USD, it included my flights, hotels, transportation and the tickets to all sights and monasteries.
Itinierary:
Days 1-3:
We got picked up by a driver and got transported to our hotel in Lhasa. The first day was meant to relax and get accustomed to the altitude and general low oxygen in the area. The next day our trip started, the first monastery we visited was Drepung Monastery, after that we visited Sera monastery where we got to witness monastic debates between the monks. After the first full day we had a welcoming buffet and some performances of traditional Tibetan arts. The following day we also visited Potala Palace, Lhasas inner city, where we had lunch and practiced Buddhist rituals like meditation and printing mantras on prayer flags and visited Jokhang Monastery in the heart of Lhasa.
Day 4:
After the first full two days in and around Lhasa we made our way to Shigatse. During our drive to Shigatse we got to see Tibetan landscapes and nature. We looked at the mountains from different viewpoints, visited Yamdrok Yumco lake (one of my favs), Karola Glacier and Shigatse Bally farmlands. We also visited a Tibetan household where we had lunch and arrived to Shigatse in the evening. The next day the journey to Mount Everest began.
Day 5:
It took the whole day to Everest Base Camp and on the way we stopped at many more beautiful viewpoints across the Himalayas. In the late afternoon we arrived to Everest Base Camp, had some hotpot and went to the highest monastery in the world, Rongbuk monastery right next to Everest Base Camp. We spent the night at Base Camp. There are newly constructed container hotel rooms units where you can see Everest outside the window of the room.
Day 6:
In the morning the view to Everest was the clearest, we spent some time admiring the mountain and prepared for our way back to Shigatse. On the way back we stopped at various viewpoints to also see Mount Lhotse
Day 7:
The last full day was our way back from Shigatse to Lhasa, we visited Tashilhunpo monastery and drove along the Yarlung Zangbo river back to our hotel in Lhasa. We also had another farewell dinner with performances of Tibetan dances and music.
Day 8:
Transportation back to Lhasa airport in the morning.
Impressions:
Seeing the landscapes, the monasteries, the general differences of life in Tibet and especially the Mount Everest was an amazing experience. Tibetans are crazy resourceful, it’s amazing what you can get out of a Yak. Lhasa and especially Shigatse have been surprisingly developed, Shigatse is a important economic center tho. These monasteries are remote places, very silent and reclusive, but I wouldn’t say the trip was very spiritually awaking in that sense. Very informative, I learned more about Tibet, monks and Buddhism than ever before in my life.
Difficulty/challenge:
The tour itself wasn’t really challenging, what is a little heavy however is the general altitude and the lack of oxygen. We had oxygen tubes provided for us and hotel rooms are generally provided with additional oxygen outlets. We definitely had older people with us, so it should be possible for anyone that has a regular physical condition. Since I didn’t use any additional oxygen I did feel a little dizzy most of the time and got out of breath quickly. These monasteries are pretty huge and have a lot of steps, which, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t be a problem to me (I‘m a 27 year old male) but in these altitudes I did feel exhausted pretty quickly. That being said, not once did I seriously struggle, it was all just a little bit more exhausting than usual.
Conclusion:
I was glad to do it with the agency I did it with, they managed everything and stayed in contact while doing it. Our guide was a cool Tibetan dude who had a lot of knowledge and told us interesting things. I had a nice group and nice experiences so I‘m really happy with my decision and the overall trip. Seeing Everest from the Chinese side is quite mesmerizing and a experience that I wouldn’t want to miss. Recommend for everyone that wants to see Tibet, the Himalayas, Everest, but doesn’t want a trip thats too rough.
So yea, if u have questions feel free to ask!
If u made it to the end, thanks for reading!
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Tibet Adventure: Impressions and Tips from a First-Time TripHello!
I recently did a Tibet Group trip with three of my friends, and I thought I’d share some impressions and practical information while it’s still fresh in my head.
We’re all 25-year-old Norwegians, and honestly none of us knew that much about Tibet beforehand. Like many people, I had seen Seven Years in Tibet, but beyond that I mostly just knew it looked remote and very different from anywhere I’d been before. However, the trip ended up being one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had!
How we entered Tibet
As Norwegians, we used the 30-day visa-free entry policy for China, which made things surprisingly easy. We only had to fill out an arrival card before landing in China, and apart from that entry into mainland China was completely smooth.
For Tibet itself, foreigners can’t really travel independently, so you need permits and an organized tour. We booked through Tibet Vista mainly because they handled all the practical things like permits, hotels, transport, train tickets, driver, and guide. Honestly, that removed a lot of stress from the trip.
One small travel tip though: check the regulations for electronics and power banks before flying into China. Two out of four of us had our power banks confiscated because they didn’t have the correct labeling on them. Not a huge disaster obviously, but annoying during a long trip.
The train to Lhasa
One of the best decisions we made was taking the train from Shanghai to Lhasa instead of flying directly.
The train ride itself became part of the experience. Watching the landscape slowly change from huge Chinese cities to the Tibetan plateau was unreal. At one point the train passes the world’s highest railway station at more than 5000 meters above sea level, and you definitely notice the altitude already there.
Even trying to sleep on the train felt different because of the thinner air. Nothing dramatic, but your body clearly notices it. In a weird way I think arriving by train helped us adjust slightly before reaching Lhasa.
Lhasa and the altitude
When we arrived in Lhasa, a driver picked us up and took us to the hotel. The first day is basically just for resting and adjusting to the altitude, which is smart.
The altitude is probably the biggest thing people underestimate about Tibet. Lhasa itself sits at around 3650 meters, and even walking up stairs suddenly feels tiring. We are healthy young guys and still noticed it immediately.
One thing that helped us a lot was taking Diamox during the trip. Obviously, everyone should speak with their doctor first, but for us I genuinely think it reduced symptoms quite a bit.
We also tried to be disciplined during the trip. We mostly avoided late nights and alcohol because we didn’t want problems with altitude sickness.
As this was a group tour, we were 12 people total on the tour, and I was surprised by how well everyone got along. The atmosphere became very relaxed after just a couple of days, and I honestly think having a good group improved the entire experience. Most of us were the same age and every one of us enjoyed travelling a lot, making the conversations easy.
Our guide and the practical side
Our guide, Pemba, became a huge part of why the trip was so memorable. His English was great, and he somehow balanced being informative without making things feel too “touristy”. During long drives he explained Tibetan history, Buddhism, local traditions, and random funny stories that kept everyone entertained. I had all of my questions answered, for example when I wondered about how they chose the next Dalai Lama.
One thing I really appreciated was how seriously both Pemba and the driver took the altitude situation. They constantly checked how everyone was feeling, made regular stops during long drives, and made sure we always had access to water and tea in the car. That sounds like a small thing, but honestly, it’s very nice not having to think about finding safe drinking water every morning before spending hours on mountain roads.
Another thing that surprised me was how comfortable the trip actually was. I expected something much rougher because it’s Tibet, but the hotels were genuinely good (and way better than expected) throughout the trip. Every room even had oxygen systems where you could adjust the “felt altitude” inside the room if needed. Compared to European hotel prices, you get way more for the money in China.
The culture and daily life
The first days around Lhasa were fascinating. We visited Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street, and Potala Palace. Watching the monks debate philosophy at Sera Monastery was especially interesting because it didn’t feel staged for tourists at all. It genuinely felt like we were witnessing everyday life.
One thing that surprised us a lot was how deeply religion is integrated into everything in Tibet. Around temples there were constantly people praying, spinning prayer wheels, and making offerings. Something I had never seen before was the amount of butter used in temples. Many places had huge bowls filled with melted or hardened yak butter donated by worshippers. The smell was honestly impossible to forget after a few days.
Food-wise, we were also pleasantly surprised. The food throughout the trip was really good. You end up drinking a lot of Tibetan milk tea, and yak yogurt quickly became part of breakfast every single morning for us.
One thing none of us expected was how much attention we would get from locals. Being four young Norwegians apparently stood out quite a lot, especially during winter when there are fewer tourists around. We got stopped constantly by people asking to take photos with us. Families and older people, sometimes it happened several times within a few minutes.
At first, we thought it was random, but eventually we realized many people simply had not seen Scandinavians before. By the end of the trip, we joked that we were probably in hundreds of Tibetan family photo albums.
Everest Base Camp
The road trip toward Everest Base Camp was probably the most visually insane part of the journey. The landscapes in western Tibet look almost fake at times with frozen lakes, glaciers, endless plains, and huge snow-covered mountains everywhere.
One thing worth mentioning is that reaching Everest Base Camp from the Tibetan side is much more comfortable than I expected. For the final stretch, everyone transfers to an electric shuttle bus because private vehicles are not allowed all the way up. At base camp itself there’s also a large, heated building where you can warm up and buy food.
We were also incredibly lucky with the weather. The day before we arrived, another group apparently couldn’t properly access the area because of snowfall. During our drive there, Pemba warned us several times that conditions might change quickly. But somehow the weather completely turned around.
That evening we got a very clear sunset over Mount Everest. Honestly, it’s difficult to describe how surreal it feels standing there seeing it with your own eyes. Nobody in our group talked very much during that moment because we were all just trying to process it.
Final thoughts
One thing that surprised us a lot during the trip was actually how connected Tibet felt. Before going, I imagined parts of the journey would basically be offline, especially near Everest, but that never happened. We bought eSIMs with integrated VPN included (to use European apps), and they worked incredibly well throughout the trip.
Looking back now, Tibet was much more comfortable and accessible than I expected beforehand, while still feeling completely different from anywhere else I’ve traveled. The altitude is real, and you feel more tired than usual because sleep quality at high altitude isn’t amazing, even if you personally feel okay during the trip.
Still, I would absolutely recommend going if you’re interested in Tibetan culture, huge mountain landscapes, and seeing a completely different side of the world.
If anyone has questions about the practical side of traveling to Tibet, altitude, the train, Everest Base Camp, or anything else, feel free to ask!
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