Despite Tibet’s pervasiveness in popular imagination, few people are able to locate the area on a map. What exactly is Tibet? And where is it? No, it isn’t an embarrassing question. It’s the first thing you need to know to plan trip to Tibet.
‘Tibet་བོད’ is a cultural region whose physical location roughly corresponds with that of the Tibetan Plateau. Beyond the People’s Republic of China, Tibetan speaking peoples can be found across the Himalayas in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Today, the bulk of Tibetan cultural areas are part of the PRC. In addition to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), there are 10 Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures located in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan. Focus on planing an outstanding trips to Tibet.
Owing to the plateau’s immense diversity, coming up with a compact definition of Tibetan culture is a complicated issue. The Tibetan Plateau is home to countless ethnic groups, more than 100 languages, and more than 220 Tibetan dialects.
The Brief Base of History to help your trip to Tibet.
In English, the name, ‘Tibet’ derives from the ancient Chinese and Arabic names given to an empire founded by a powerful lineage of kings whose kingdom stretched, at its height, as far west as Pakistan and as far south as Nepal and whose bloodline reigned uninterrupted for over 1000 years. Many of our present day understandings and images of Tibet date back to Tibet’s imperial period; a time when the Tibetan Empire (7th-10th century AD) was, in fact, not the isolated kingdom of our imagination, but a dynamic, cultural melting pot. The seeds of language, writing, and religion planted during this time have continued to blossom for centuries, producing a people connected through, above all else, a unique Buddhist culture.
Read our article about travelling in Tibetan areas outside of the TAR.
Emerging from humble origins as local tribe leaders in Lhasa’s Yarlung Valley, the Tibetan Kings gradually came to conquer and control much of the geographic feature we know today as ‘the Tibetan Plateau’ (the largest and highest geographical feature on the planet). In the process, they traded and skills, conquered and absorbed surrounding cultures, and adopted cultural knowledge from other powerful empires.
Today, we often refer to ‘Tibet’ as the geo-cultural area conquered during the Golden Age of the Tibetan Empire, yet in the final years of the 10th century, internal struggles and religious persecution brought an end to one of Eurasia’s most impressive cultural kingdoms. In the years that followed, Buddhism experienced a massive revival, becoming the defining and distinguishing characteristic of ‘Tibetan Culture’. We will help you plan trips to Tibet with low cost.
China’s Administrative Division of Tibet and Tibetan Areas
- Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR / Xizang)
Originally called U-tsang དབུས་གཅང་ (meant central Tibet), included parts of Kham areas Chamdo and Nagqu.
- Kham ཁམས་ Tibetan areas outside of Tibet autonomous region (TAR):
- Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province
- Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan
- Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan
- Amdo ཨ་མདོ་ Tibetan areas outside of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR):
Check our Qinghai tour and explore things to do Qinghai province.
- Gannan Autonomous Tibetan Prefecture in Gansu Province
- Haibei Autonomous Tibetan Prefecture in Qinghai Province
- Huangnan Autonomous Tibetan Prefecture in Qinghai Province
- Hainan Autonomous Tibetan Prefecture in Qinghai Province
- Golog Autonomous Tibetan Prefecture in Qinghai Province
- Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province
- Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan
Plan an amazing trip to Amdo by choosing local Amdo travel expert.
Topic to the point: How to Plan a trip to Tibet, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)
In the website, we have destinations in the TAR are Lhasa and beyond, Mount Everest and Mountain Kaialsh, to cover the most famous places as it is. To reach this destination, you are required to packaged tour reservation from a local travel agency in Lhasa. A Tibet travel permit is same value as a Tibet visa to get in.
When to go: The starting time is from Mid April to Mid September. However, June to Mid-August is the best time to go. Winter vacations will also be great experience for some purpose for some travellers but, March is a month of closure to all.
How to get to Tibet: There are two ports of arrive. One is from mainland China and the other is from Nepal. A packaged tour reservation is mandatory as Tibet doesn’t allow independent tours. We have a complete travel guide before you go.
- From Mainland China: You can apply for Tibet travel permit with a travel agency in Lhasa once you obtained, read China visa. that you may be one of the 6 nationalities that China has declared a 15 day visa free entry in 2024.
- By train to Lhasa: You can take a train to Lhasa from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu and Xining. Most bigger cities are available with train stop to Lhasa. Check Tibet train schedule and ticket booking service.
- By Flight: Fly from Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Lanzhou, Chengdu and Xining.
- From Kathmandu, Nepal: You can apply Tibet group visa. An invitation will be sent to Chinese embassy on your tour reservation by the travel agency in Lhasa.
- By overland: From Kyirong port and Semi-kot, Tibet and Nepal borders.
- By Flight: It just takes 1 hour 50 minutes from Kathmandu to Lhasa.
Note: You have to show original or copy of your Tibet travel permit to board on a flight or train.
Destination
