My Unforgettable Journey to EBC from Guangzhou by Tibet Train

Our journey to Tibet was a journey of a lifetime. For as long as I can remember, my dad has talked of this area that is both a social and geographical enigma; from its mountainous terrain to the Buddhism that flows through the culture. The connection between humans and nature in Tibet was truly remarkable.

Why Tibet?--A lifelong Dream to both My Dad and I

As a student of International Relations and Mandarin, I have been living out in China for the past 3 years. Tibet has always been a region of the country I have been desperate to see, but its distance and finding the right time to go had delayed my journey.

Earlier in the year, I came across Tibet Vista - through both personal recommendations from friends who had been to Tibet with them and through scanning the internet for the best tours. A few emails back and forth to my dad, a decision to take a pause on our lives for two weeks in July 2019 and suddenly we had booked our incredible adventure!

Excluding the flights, Tibet Vista helped us with everything. From securing train tickets, to sorting the whole tour to our exact desire and taking care of hotel bookings. They were extraordinarily efficient and were on call the whole time to answer and care to our needs. We opted for the ‘8 Days Lhasa to Everest Base Camp’ private tour. We selected this as it appeared to give the most comprehensive tour of Tibet given our time availability. On this we went to Lhasa - Gyantse - Shigatse - Everest Base Camp - and back to Lhasa.

Experience the 57-hour Train Journey from Guangzhou to Lhasa

We started our journey on a Saturday morning at Guangzhou train station. Tibet Vista had helped us to secure to soft-sleeper berth tickets - and a good job they had as we were about to embark on a 57 hour journey through southern, central and finally western China. What a journey it was!

We started the first leg of the journey admiring the mysterious mountains of Southern China. The next day it changed quite suddenly to the dry, arid landscape of Central-Western China as we passed through Xi’an and Gansu Province. That evening we arrived at Xinning, Qinghai Province where we swapped onto the Xinning-Lhasa train.

We were greeted on the train with Tibetan yoghurt and the train signs had the addition of Tibetan translations. Our first glimpse into the intricate nature of Tibet, its beautiful scripture matching its environment and people. A final sleep and the following afternoon we had arrived in Lhasa. The trip certainly took a while - a whole 57 hours.

However, for it we were rewarded with the most beautiful views of a changing Chinese landscape, made friends along the way and all for a lower cost than flying. - Check other popular Tibet train routes and tours to Tibet.

Life in Lhasa--the provincial capital

Lhasa was a city not quite like any other. Situated in the mountains and one of the highest cities in the world, it really was a gem hidden in the Tibetan Plateau. We arrived in Lhasa where we met our Driver and Tour Guide who were both absolutely lovely and remain good friends of ours.

We started our tour of Lhasa the following morning: watching the Pilgrims circle Potala Palace doing their morning prayers, a comprehensive tour of Potala Palace, watching local Tibetan dancing in the public park. We had an incredible lunch at one of the best restaurants in Lhasa, Tibetan family kitchen Lhasa, which had a beautiful view overlooking Jokhang Temple. - Check the classic Lhasa tours.

We went to Jokhang Temple, a stunning golden temple in the middle of old Lhasa, before wandering the old quarters and Barkhor street in the evening. Here, you can see many pilgrims prostrating in front of Jokhang Temple and is the ideal place to try local cuisine and buy trinkets.

The following day, we went to Drepung monastery, set up in the hills surrounding Lhasa and in the afternoon headed to Sera Monastery. Here was a real highlight of the trip, the 3pm Monks debate. All the Monks gather in one of the courtyards to debate Tibetan works and Buddhist philosophy. It is a fascinating insight into monastic life and a really memorable experience.

Head to the Roof of the World! - - -Everest Base Camp (EBC)

We started our journey to EBC on the road from Lhasa to Shigatse, via Gyantse. Along the way we stopped to admire the beautiful Yamdrok-tso - a huge freshwater lake in Tibet and one of the three largest sacred lakes in Tibet. Surrounding the lake are Yaks dressed in Tibetan blankets and bells making for a picturesque snapshot of quintessential countryside Tibet. We had a tasty lunch in a local Tibetan restaurant to fuel up and got back on the road.

We next stopped at Korola Glacier, a magnificent glacier with a shrine covered in prayer flags. Afterwards, we stopped at Manak Dam Lake, a huge sky blue lake that had prayer flags dancing in the wind. This was a fantastic, and cheaper, opportunity to buy some prayer flags of our own to take back to the UK as gifts for friends and family. Driving through the Barley fields surrounding the outskirts of Shigatse, we looked out and smiled at all the natural beauty we had seen in Tibet that day. Finally we arrived in Shigatse, Tibet’s second largest city. We stayed in a comfortable hotel overlooking Shigatse Dzong, a prototype of the Potala Palace, located in the centre of Shigatse.

The next morning we were up early to set off to EBC! We drove along the new zigzag road to EBC admiring the landscape as we climbed further up the mountains. Through the new eco-tourist buses, we arrived at EBC just before 6pm. We were staying in a guesthouse just next to the base camp sight - basic but comfortable. After dropping off our bags, we headed straight outside to see the magnificent Everest.

We were looking into the distance, through the clouds and could feel the wind blowing ready to open the view to the roof of the world. We were looking straight ahead, yet a tour guide told us to look up. There it was! The tip of Everest peaking through the clouds. It’s height was absolutely unbelievable.

The clouds parted and we watched the sunset over Everest Peak. Afterwards, we went to an evening tea ceremony at Rongbu Monastery - the highest monastery in the world where both nuns and monks live together. We were invited inside by the monks and nuns to their evening chanting ceremony which was an incredibly special and memorable experience. This really was one of the best days of my life!

As the old Chinese saying goes: ‘a journey of a thousand miles starts with single step’ - travel the adventure of a lifetime with a tour of Tibet!

Thinking of going?---Top Tips for Other Travellers

- My father rightly arrived in China armed with an array of snacks for our journey. We were doing a lot everyday. The food is fantastic but obviously very different so bring some energy bars, nuts and home comforts for your journey. We also found with the altitude that we had slightly lost our appetite so any calorific bars that you may substitute for a meal is a good idea.

- Luckily, neither of us were sick with Altitude Sickness. We both took Diamox (Altitude Sickness relief medication) 2 days before we entered Tibet and throughout our time spent there. We also took it really slowly, both of us were short of breath whilst walking. So we took our time and listened to our bodies. - Check the experts’ tips to avoid acute altitude sickness.

- Make sure you bring layers. We went to Tibet in July. In the daytime it was very hot, t-shirt kind of weather. But obviously the higher we got as we approached Everest Base Camp the colder it got. We bought many layers of jumpers and light jackets which were absolutely necessary up Everest along with a hat, scarf and gloves.

- The Tibet Travel Permit was all sorted for us through Tibet Vista. They had even posted it to our hotel in Guangzhou for our arrival before we boarded our train for Lhasa. Do not worry too much about this as the company sorts it - focus on obtaining your Chinese Visa.

- Perhaps most importantly…. you must try Tibetan yoghurt!