Transportation In Shigatse & southern Tibet
 

Being the second largest city in Tibet, Shigatse is the transportation hub for mid-Tibet and the gateway to this vast western area. The city has a well established highway system with links to most of the important parts of Tibet.The major highways linking Shigatse include the 318 National highway, the Shigatse-Yadong Highway, the Lhasa-Ali highway and the China-Nepal Highway.

By plane:
The city has only a helicopter airport which is not open to the public, the nearest public airport is in Qushui near Lhasa. For more details please see our Lhasa air transportation section.

By Bus:
Western tourists are officially forbidden from using the bus in this area.

By car:
The easiest and most popular way to travel in the region is to hire a Landcruiser which can seat up to 6 people. Prices are approximately RMB3-3.5/km for imported jeeps, RMB3.5-4.5/km for luxurious jeeps, RMB5.5-6.5/km for a 20 seater coach and RMB7-8/km for a 40 seater coach.

THE MOST COMMON TOURIST ROUTE OUT OF LHASA:
This five day trip takes you southwest, towards Everest visible on a good day from Tingri, (at the far end of the journey from Lhasa), and consists of stops in the following towns: Shigatse - Lhatse - Tingri - Sakya - Gyantse - Nangartse.

It costs about RMB5000 and takes 3-4 days to visit Everst base camp.