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| Tibet |
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| The roof
of the world |
| Today in the age of information with
jet aircraft, highways and the net work of computers,
mysterious places are rare to be found. But, Tibet is
an exception. Refereed as Shangri La, The forbidden
Land, The Roof Of the World and by many more, the mysterious
Buddhist Kingdom remained long closed to foreigners,
exerting a strong hold on the imagination of the world.
For centuries, it has fascinated mankind. It was hardly
accessible to the outside world and has been always
a challenge to human beings. Tibet, a "forbidden
land" not only by man but also by nature, attracted
many explorers, scholars, and pilgrims and adventure
lovers, all in pursuit of "Real Shangrila".
It is not only the geographical and natural enchants
but also a long historical culture and religion that
appeal the foreigners to visit Tibet at lleast once
in a lifetime. |
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Visiting
Tibet |
| Passport |
| A traveler should bear with him a passport
with validity remaining no less than six months Make sure
that it has plenty of blank pages for visas, entry and
reentry stamps and extensions. Besides, holding other
IDs like student card or driving license will be an advantage.
Loosing passport in Tibet is very bad, as you have to
go to Beijing to get new one. |
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|
Visa/Travel Permit |
A. You require Chinese
visa/Tibet Travel Permit to travel to Tibet. You can
obtain Chinese visa from
Chinese Embassies and consulates abroad or in Nepal
but merely Chinese visa do not guarantee the entrance
to Tibet. You will need Tibet Travel Permit as well,
which is issued only to a group of minimum five participants
on an organized trip.
B. If you are able to obtain Chinese
visa in your home country
We have group departures every Saturday and Tuesday
for the travellers who have already got Chinese visa
before landing in Nepal. You can join one of the departures
of following program.
Overland Program: It is a 4-5 days
trip from Kathmandu till Lhasa. Depending on the group
size, we provide you mini bus or landcruiser for the
tranportation. The price of the trip includes only transportation
from Kathmandu till Lhasa and Tibet Travel Permit.
By Flight: The price of the trip inlcudes Kathmandu-Lhasa
flight and Tibet travel Permit.
Upon arrival in Lhasa, you can split up from the group
and stay on your own as long as the visa lasts. But
when you want to travel outside Lhasa in Tibet, again
you have to be in a group, which can be arranged through
a local agent in Lhasa.
C. Your Chinese visa will be cancelled
if you join a group of participants who do not have
Chinese visa prior to arrival in Nepal.
D. Fixed Departure Group Tours:
We announce a fixed departure group tours every Saturday
and Tuesday and in autumn on Thurday as well, depending
on the flight schedule of China south West Airlines.The
most guarnateed departure is for the program: Encounter
Tibet (7 nights/8 days-drivein/fly out). Individuals
who do not have Chinese Visa can join this kind of group
departures. We will arrange you group visa/ travel permit.
The visa/Travel permit is valid for one week. Splitting
the group and extending visa in Tibet can not be guaranteed.
You will share the transportation, guide and sightseeing
tours but you can take the choice of accommodations.
But apart from Lhasa, Gyantse and Shigatse, there are
not many options of accommodation.
E. Private Trip:
If you are in-group of 5 or more participants, we can
organize a complete private trip for any program you
select. This kind of tour is recommended to family or
people who are not accustomed to travel in-group with
strangers. We process for your Chinese visa and Tibet
Travel Permit. We arrange transportation, accommodation,
meals, guide and all sightseeing tours. The visa will
be valid only for the period of the tour you have booked.
F. Chinese Embassy reserves the right
of granting or rejecting the visa/Travel Permit.No question
regarding the rejection of visa is entertained.
G. You are recommended to travel with
an ordinary passport. Diplomatic passport holders have
been reported to be more interogated than the normal
passport holders. |
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| Booking a
Trip: |
Read the Visa/Travel Pemit section properly
and make up you mind how you want to travel to Tibet.
But check out with us because the Chinese/ Tibetan Tourism
Authority keeps changing their policy on Chinese Visa/
Tibet Travel Permit.
Select the program of your interest and the decide
the standard of service you want.
You have to provide us with your passport details by
fax or mail at least a couple of weeks prior your departure
to Tibet. Our Tibetan counterpart will process the visa
in Lhasa.
We will send you the tentative confirmation of the
tour, invoice and advice for the payment terms.
You will have to transfer the requested amount of advance
payment through bank or dredit card (Master, Visa and
American Express). Upon receipt of the payment, we will
send you the final confirmation of the tour.
Your original passport should be available in Kathmandu
at least one working day prior departure to Tibet. Chinese
Embassy Tibet Section opens only Monday, Wednesday and
Friday for a couple of hours from 10 am to 12 noon.
For instance, if you have arranged to take a trip to
Tibet on Saturday, you have to submit your passport
to us on Thursday evening. But for a comfortable processing,
it is always recommended that your passport should be
available quite some days prior to your departure. |
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| Best Season
to go to Tibet |
| You can travel to Tibet throughout the year
but mid July through to the end of September is the best
period. China South West Airlines suspends the flight
form December till the end of March. You can only travel
overland during this period. |
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| Climate: |
| The temperature varies sharply from the
south grassland to north plateau. The south is warm and
rainy. Most rain falls during May to September. It is
warm from June to August. The coldest months are from
December to February and crossing over the passes becomes
almost impossible. Below given is a table of average temperature,
rainfall and sunshine hours in Tibet. |
|
|
| Month |
Temperature |
Rainfall |
Sunshine
hours |
| Jan
|
+9
to –13 |
0.2
|
251 |
| Feb
|
+10
to –12 |
0.5 |
226 |
| Mar
|
+13
to-5 |
2 |
241 |
| April
|
+16
to -1 |
5 |
244 |
| May
|
+20
to +5 |
25 |
284 |
| Jun
|
+25
to +9 |
77 |
227 |
| Jul
|
+26
to +10 |
129 |
224 |
| Aug
|
+27
to +9 |
138 |
221 |
| Sep
|
+21
to +8 |
56 |
238 |
| Oct
|
+17
to +1 |
8 |
285 |
| Nov
|
+12
to –7 |
2 |
271 |
| Dec
|
+8
to – 13 |
0.5 |
|
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