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With my decade of experiences in organizing tour in Tibet. In this post about Nepal to Tibet Travel guide. I will give you all the necessary information you will need for planning your journey from Nepal to Tibet. After reading this post if you have any questions about it. Please feel free to write me an email at [email protected].
Regulations from Travelling from Nepal to Tibet
The rule for travelling from Nepal to Tibet is minutely different as compared with the rule for going to Tibet from other parts of China. The only difference is all the travellers must get the Chinese Group Visa from the Chinese Embassy in Nepal.
Besides this difference, you will also have to know the primary Tibet travel regulations for international travellers in Tibet. It is that all the tour in Tibet must be organized by a local travel agency in Tibet. All traveller must have a Tibet travel permit, A Tibet tour guide, and a private car with a driver.
You will have to contact and book a tour with a local travel agency. Only a local licensed travel agency can help make the Tibet travel permit and make other arrangements for your trip in Tibet. You can travel to Tibet as a solo traveller as long as a local tour agency organizes your trip. You do not have to join a group tour to travel to Tibet.
Trip to Tibet must be arranged in advance.
For international visitors to go to Tibet. All the journey to Tibet has to arrange in advance with a local travel agency in Lhasa. The organised tour always includes a Tibet travel permit, Tibet tour Guide, a Private car, and a driver with no exceptions.
Arranging a tour is extremely easy. You can design your itinerary. If you are visiting Tibet for the first time. Tell your travel agency; what you want to do, the place you want to visit and the number of days you have to Tibet part of the journey. Any local travel agency can help you design it for free.
It takes 14 days to a month for arranging your Tibet travel permit. Therefore it is best to contact the travel agency of your choice well in advance.
It gives them enough time to make your Tibet travel permit and send your visa invitation to Nepal.
Chinese Group Visa
The only difference in travelling from Nepal to Tibet is the Chinese Group Visa. If you are coming to Tibet from other parts of China. You can go to China with a regular Chinese tourist visa from your home. But when you are coming to Tibet from Nepal. You must get the Chinese Group Visa from the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu. Other visas will get rejected at the Chinese border.
The Chinese Group visa is a two identical page visa. When you get it, they will give you two A4 page (that’s visa) and your passport. One copy is for your arrival at the border; Lhasa Airport if taking flight and land border at Kyirong or Burang if travelling overland to Tibet. Another copy is for your departure.
Another important fact is all the members listed on the same Chinese Group Visa should enter and exit China at the same time from the same exit point together. If anyone wants to come or leave China separately, The Group visa and visa invitation have to be done separately.
Please keep this in your mind. If you already have a valid Chinese visa on your passport, The valid Chinese Visa will be cancelled upon the application of the Chinese Group Visa. You can two valid visas to China at the same time. If you don’t wish to lose your valid visa. You can come to Tibet from the other part of China either by flying directly from home or flying from Kathmandu to Chengdu. In this way, you can save your valid Chinese visa for multiple years.
How to get the Chinese Group Visa from Nepal
Your travel agency in Lhasa can help send the Visa invitation to the embassy in Nepal. But to apply for the visa, you must use a registered travel agent to help. At the embassy, they don’t issue the visa with the individual applicant.
The application of the Chinese Group Visa usually takes about three business days. So you will have to spend a few days in Nepal for it. The cost of the visa differs from country to country. You will also have to pay for the service fees to the travel agency helping with your visa.
Nuisances with Chinese Group Visa
There are a couple of nuisances associated with the Group Chinese Visa.
- Unlike other types of Chinese Visa on passport, this visa is not extendable. When you are planning your tour with your travel agency. Make sure you have communicated your travel plans after the Tibet tour like if you are planning for travelling to China after Tibet. In this way, the travel agency can write your travel plans on the visa.
- If you plan changes, you can make changes on the departing city and date. You will have to leave from the port on the date mention on the visa.
- All the group members list in the group visa has to enter and leave from the port on the date mentioned in the Group Visa. So if you choose to use a new and nonlocal travel agency, you will face this issue of adding stranger in the group leaving separately.
- You will have to wait some days in Nepal to get the visa. You will also have to give your passport to the visa agent for applying. For some people, it might be an issue.
- The road from Nepal to Tibet is not reliable, especially during the time of the Monsoon season in summer. We always have landslides, You have to walk a few meters to kilometres and change the car.
Getting to Tibet from Nepal
There are three ways to get to Tibet from Nepal.
- Take a flight to Lhasa
- Travel overland journey to Tibet via Kyirong border port
- Trek from Simikot to Kailash region via Burang border
Flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa
There are daily flights from Kathmandu to Lhasa, the Capital of Tibet. The flight duration is about 75 minutes. There will be one flight per day in the low season of winter, and otherwise, there are two flights a day. There is no requirement to show any proof of having an organized tour in Tibet while getting into flight at the Kathmandu.
Once when you arrive at Lhasa airport. There will be two checkpoints. At the first point, they will check for the visa and the passport. At the second checkpoint, you will meet your tour guide, and she will have your Tibet travel permit. Your tour guide will help you proceed out of the airport from here. But please remember, at the second checkpoint they will check for your Tibet travel permit and Tibet Border permit.
Once when you arrive in Lhasa, You should have both copies of your Visa and Passport in hand. Without it, you will not get entrance into Tibet. Don’t leave it at Kathmandu Airport.
After the airport, the tour will continue as per the plan you made with your travel agency in Lhasa.
Please note: Especially during the monsoon season. If it is cloudy at Lhasa Airport, the flights from Nepal will be diverted to Chengdu. In this case, you will be only able to get into Tibet until the next day.
So if you are coming to Tibet from Nepal in flight, in your itinerary, please put Potala Palace on the third day. The palace ticket has to be applied five days in advance, and there is no way a travel agency can change it at the last minutes.
Travel overland journey from Nepal to Tibet via Kyirong border port
The Kyirong border town is located 130 kilometres from Kathmandu. The town on the Nepal side is called Rasuwa. There is a daily bus service available from Kathmandu to Rasuwa. You can also arrange private transportation from Kathmandu to Rasuwa.
From the Kyirong border, you will not be able to cross without a guide with a Tibet travel permit to receive you. Hence you cant enter Tibet without an organized tour in advance.
From here you can travel anywhere in Tibet as per your tour itinerary. The most popular travel destination from this border port is to Mount Kailash, Mount Everest, Shigatse, and Lhasa.
But keep this in you mind the road to Kyirong from Kathmandu is not reliable. There is always an incident of Landslides if it rains for many days.
Trek from Nepal to Tibet Via Simikot
For more adventurous people, you can get to Tibet by trekking from Simikot. Simikot is a small town located in far western Nepal. The only way to reach Simikot is by flight. You will have to get on two flight to get to Simikot. The first flight from Kathmandu to Nepal Ganj and from Nepal Ganj to Simikot. There is no direct flight to Simikot from Kathmandu.
From Simikot, you will have to trek for five days to reach a small village of Hilsa on the Nepal side of the border. Though the trek is astonishing, you will have to arrange this part of the journey with a Travel agency in Nepal for the required permits and arrangement for the trekking.
From Hilsa you can cross over the border bridge to enter Tibet. You will meet your Tibet tour guide with the Tibet travel permit and Private vehicle. You will drive to the small town of Burang for a night before continuing your tour to Mount Kailash and Manasarovar Lake.
Because of the Distance between and arrangement on the Nepal side, this tour is going to be an expensive one.
Conclusion
In conclusion, travelling to Tibet from the Nepal side is possible and easy for every traveller. Compare with coming to Tibet for other parts of China. It only takes a Chinese Group Visa, which will only be issued in China Embassy in Nepal. But I always think it is better for all the traveller to first enter Tibet from other cities in China and then continue to Nepal.
What do you think about this post? Is it helpful in planning your tour to Tibet? Please leave a comment below.
If you are planning to come to Tibet, let me know your plans, and I can send you all the information you will need while planning for your journey.
You can read more Tibet travel guide from this link or visit our travel agency website: https://itibettravel.com
