Tibet Travel FAQs on Altitude Sickness, Travel Permits and Best Time to Tibet

Enjoy a memorable trip to Tibet

Enjoy a memorable trip to Tibet

How to prevent altitude sickness in Tibet? How to get Tibet travel permit? And When is the best time to go Tibet? must be the top three concerns for most tourists, especially it’s your first time to visit Tibet. No worries! Here we have picked up the most frequently asked questions and offered you the most practical advice.

Altitude Sickness in Tibet Tour

1. Is it necessary to do exercise before going to Tibet?

The greatest fear of touring Tibet is the altitude sickness, so everyone will want to do exercise before going to Tibet. In fact, there is no necessary connection between altitude sickness and physical strength. However it is only related to the body’s adaptation and regulation, so there is no necessity to exercise deliberately. If you don’t feel comfortable, doing aerobic exercise a month or two ahead of time or do some jogging can give you efficient help. Please be aware that before you start the journey, you should take a rest during the week instead of doing exercise any more.

2. What are the symptoms of altitude sickness?

The altitude reaction can be slight or severe, depending on the person’s physical constitution. For the mild symptoms, it would be a headache, tinnitus, wheezing, fatigue, and insomnia, etc.After the body adapts to the high elevation, those symptoms would disappear. As for severe symptoms like vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, etc., it is best to take medication or consult a doctor for treatment so as to avoid serious consequences.

3. How to prevent altitude sickness? How to relieve the altitude reaction?

There are many medicines to prevent altitude sickness in Tibet. Just go to the pharmacy and the doctor would tell you. The most familiar is the “Rhodiola Rosea”, which has the capsule type and oral liquid type. You can also soak the prototype of Rhodiola Rosea in water to drink. Generally, these prophylactic drugs should be taken about 10 days in advance.

Sometimes even if you have already taken preventive medicine, acute mountain sickness still struck to tourists. So how to alleviate altitude sickness and reduce your pain? To alleviate high altitude sickness, you can take American ginseng, Inositol or Inosine Oral Solution, Gaoyuan’an, etc. If you had a headache, painkiller and glucose will also have a soothing effect on altitude sickness.

If acute mountain sickness happened to you, it is necessary to lie in bed to rest, reduce exercise, and have a light diet. If serious, oxygen absorption can be also adopted, but it is not the best way.

4. What should you pay attention to upon your arrival at Tibet?

When entering Tibet, you’d better not rush to visit the tourist attractions. Taking a good rest and letting the body adapt to the environment of the plateau always come first. Generally speaking, it’s not advisable to take shower on the first day to avoid catching cold. Since the air on the Tibetan Plateau is pretty dry, many visitors to Tibet would get a nosebleed easily. If happens, you can follow the doctor’s instructions to take some nasal ointment. Meanwhile, you can drink water as much as possible and eat a light diet. Just a kind reminder, putting a basin of water in the bedroom will help to increase the air humidity and reduce the risk of acute mountain sickness.

5. You’d better not go to Tibet if you had a cold.

Why can’t you go to Tibet with a cold? That is because lungs and trachea can produce inflammation, and at this time the body resistance is poor. And under the thin oxygen and dry weather condition, the cold is very easy to deteriorate into Pneumonia, Pulmonary Edema, or Bronchitis. It is not the consequences we want to see. If you have a cold, cure your cold before you start your lifetime journey to Tibet.

6. Who is not suitable for Tibet?

The environment of Tibetan plateau is very harsh, and there is a certain health requirement for the people who wanna visit Tibet. In general, it’s OK for most people to travel to Tibet. Except for some people with severe diseases as follows:

1. People with heart disease, blood disease, and cerebrovascular disease;

2.People with various respiratory diseases;

3. People with epilepsy, schizophrenia and uncontrolled diabetes;

4. People who have suffered altitude sickness, like High Altitude Cerebral Edema(HACE), High Altitude Pulmonary Edema(HAPE), High Altitude Heart Disease(HAHD), etc.

5. High-risk pregnant women;

6. People with a serious cold, fever or respiratory infection.

Tibet Travel Permit

1. Where do I need Tibet Travel Permit and Aliens’ Travel Permit?

According to the Tibet tourism laws and regulations, all the foreign tourists to Tibet should apply for Tibet travel permits. And if you wanna go some places outside Lhasa or visit some closed areas, tourists should obtain Aliens’ Travel Permit. The following areas are required to enter with the aliens’ travel permit :

Shigatse Prefecture: Zhongba County, Saga County, Tingri County, Yadong County, Gangba County, Dingjie County, GyirongCounty;

Shannan Prefecture: Cuona County, Longzi County, Luozha County, Langkazi County;

Nyingchi Prefecture: Milin County, Lang County, Zayu County, Medog County;

Ngari County: Pulan County, Zada County, Ritu County, Gar County;

Individual travel is not allowed in Tibet Autonomous Region.

2. How to get Tibet permits?

Individual application for Tibet Permits won’t be accepted by the Tibet Tourism Bureau. All the permits for traveling Tibet should be obtained through a legal local Tibet tour operator. To make your trip to Tibet more smoothly and comfortable, Tibet Vista, a pioneer of Tibet tourism for global tourists since 1984, will offer you a one-stop service. All you need to do is send us the photocopy of your passport, Chinese Visa and other necessary documents. And then we’ll take care of the rest! Please contact our Tibet travel guru for the details of Tibet permit application.

Best Time to Visit Tibet

1. When is the best time to go to Tibet?

In the whole year, April to October are the best seasons in Tibet, warm and comfortable. However, this is also the peak season for tourism in Tibet. The cost of flights, hotels and entrance fees are also more than usual.As a result, your travel expenditure will be much higher.

The time from November to February is also a good chance to have a try.Although it is winter in Tibet, the sunshine is still warm and brilliant at daytime. Meanwhile, you would encounter less tourists and experience the authentic Tibetan customs.

2. What’s the weather like in Tibet summer? What should we wear in summer Tibet?

Compared with other tourist cities in mainland China, the summer in Tibet is pleasantly cool. During the daytime, the temperature is generally around twenty-five degrees and it drops to ten degrees at night. That’s to say, you would experience the large temperature difference between day and night in Tibet. It’s best to wear long trousers and long sleeves during the day to avoid harsh sunburn. Just adding a coat is enough for the night.

July and August are the rainy months in Tibet. Usually, it’s sunny in the daytime and rains at night.Anyway, it’s better to carry the rain gear in the bag, just in case. In particular, the high-altitude scenic areas of Tibet are pretty cold even in summer.So it is necessary to bring heavy clothes to keep warm if you plan to visit Everest Base CampMt.Kailash, Namtso Lake and so on.

3. Can I visit Tibet in winter? Will it be very cold?

Winter in Tibet is very charming and beautiful with warm sunshine spreading over the snow-capped mountains. The temperature of Tibet winter is between minus 10 and 10 degrees Celsius, which is much higher than most northern cities in China. Especially in the day, a thick coat is enough for you to visit Lhasa and surrounding areas. However, the temperature would fall down to minus 10 degreesCelsius in Ngari and Nagchu Prefecture.

4. Can I travel to Mount Everest and Namtso Lake in winter?

If the weather is good and roads are not blocked by the heavy snow, you can pay a visit to Namtso Lake and Mount Everest Base Camp. But you’d better not stay overnight there for it’s too cold at night and the hotels and restaurants nearby would be closed. And you can go to warmer places like Nyingchi, Shannan and Shigatse instead.

5. Where to go in Tibet winter?

While it’s a little bit cold to visit Tibet in winter, you can save bucks of money for great discounts in flights, hotels, accommodations, attraction entrance ticket fees, etc. With less tourists to Tibet, you would encounter more sincere pilgrims to experience the authentic Tibetan culture and customs.

In winter, most people are keen to hang around Lhasa City. You can enjoy the sunbath at Potala Palace Square, observe pilgrims prostrating in front of Jokhang Temple, follow Bakhor Kora with sincere devotees, take a sip of Tibetan sweet tea at a local teahouse, etc.

Don’t forget the famous hotsprings in Tibet, such as Yangbajing Hot Spring, Riduo Hot Spring, Dezhong Hot Spring and so on. Soaking in the medical hotspring with the silver snow falling down is a great enjoyment of life.

Another good news for tourists to Tibet in 2018 is that top Tibetan attractions will be completely free of charge until the end of April. Read more about Tibetan attraction entrance ticket free policy.

So if you’re ready to an Adventure Tour to Tibet

1.) enjoy the mind-blowing Himalayas

2.) trek to the foot of Mt. Everest, the world’s summit

3.) explore mysterious Tibetan Buddhism

4.) appreciate the beauty of holy Tibetan lakes

5.) experience divine kora around holy Mt. Kailash

6.) witness exotic Tibetan culture

7.) taste Tibetan, Nepali, Indian cuisine

8.) look for a paradise of photography

9.) have safari on the roof of the world

Then Let’s Get Started with Our Local Tour Experts

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