Rhys
Sep 12, 20213 min
In recent months Trendy Adventurer has received dozens of inquiries from travelers wishing to travel to Tibet. But the shifting sands of the Chinese-Tibetan travel policy have meant that in just about every case, we were unable to give anyone the green light to go to this sacred and beautiful land.
Official channels have again declared the gates to Tibet open. On behalf of clients, members, and hopeful travelers everywhere, Trendy Adventurer has braved dozens of phone calls to bring you this: the definitive guide to Foreigner Tibet Entry (Version 1.0). Use this clear and simple checklist-style guide to know what you need to travel to Tibet at this stage of the pandemic (2021.9.10).
Getting to Tibet During the Pandemic
Traveling by Plane: The number of cities with direct flights to Lhasa is quite limited. Indirect flights, besides taking an average of 5-6 hours, are also in short supply. For these reasons, tickets are expensive and hard to obtain - especially during holiday periods. You should definitely plan your travel dates well in advance - one month should be adequate in most cases.
Traveling by Train: At present (2021.9.10), Beijing, Chengdu, Xining, Chongqing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Lanzhou all have direct trains to Lhasa. However, note that these trains are all slow - none are high-speed rail. Additionally, besides Beijing and Shanghai which dispatch one Lhasa-bound train daily, all other cities are limited to one train every second day. To increase your chances of success, make bookings through Tibetan travel agents.
Beijing to Lhasa by train takes 41 hours. Guangzhou to Lhasa is longest at over 56 hours. Despite these length travel durations, these tickets are still considered difficult to obtain.
Trendy Adventurer-Recommended Tibet Transport Strategy:
First, fly to the city of Xining in Qinghai Province. From there, take the overnight train to Lhasa on a ‘sleeper’ ticket to adapt to the changes in altitude. Not only is this transport strategy fast, but the Xining to Lhasa stretch of the railroad is also the most scenically beautiful by far. Plus you can experience an overnight trip on a Chinese train.
Please Note: We recommend that you do not purchase travel tickets of any type before you have successfully applied for and received your TIBETAN TRAVEL PERMIT. Also please note that for foreigners this permit is required in order to purchase flights bound for Tibet.
Application for Tibet Travel Permit During the Pandemic
Processing Time: 10 working days after complete submission of all required documents
Processing Fees: Around 600RMB/person (agent fees vary)
Foreign passport holders are required to submit the following application documents (Chinese citizens only need to provide ID card copies):
Color copy of passport
Color copy of China visa
Color copy of one of the following: work permit, employee card, or employment invitation letter
Letter of proof to show that you have been in China for at least 28 days (provided by your company in China)
Nucleic Acid Test Number 1 - provided at the time of application for Tibet permits, taken within a day or two of submitting the application
Nucleic Acid Test Number 2 - provided at the time of entry into Tibet, taken within 7-days of arrival in Tibet
Green status Health Code (of your city of residence)
Travel Data card, also known as “Trace Code”
[Optional] Extra points if you are able to provide evidence of vaccination
That's all. If you have any questions contact us directly through the website Chat, or add Trendy Adventurer on WeChat: