What Do You Expect to Dine for Your Tibet Tour?

As Tibet tour season has kicked off last month, we have been receiving inquiry emails about what food they can get in Tibet. Some even wonder if they need to bring food themselves for most of the Tibet trip. OK, to find the answer, let’s just check what food and drink our guests have enjoyed in their Tibet trips.

For most of our Tibet small group tours, no matter which transportation you take, you will first get to Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region. As you may not know, Lhasa has a lot to offer, foodwise.

Upon your arrival at the airport or train station, our guide and driver will give you a Tibetan style of welcoming ceremony. Then we’ll head for your hotel. After everything is settled down, our friendly local guide will take you to some local restaurant to have authentic Tibetan food as a welcome dinner.

A welcome dinner for our guests in a Tibetan style restaurant

Another choice of having welcome dinner while enjoying some ethnic show

We wouldn’t suggest drinking alcohol on the first few days though, especially on the day of your arrival, as it will possibly aggregate the altitude sickness. And, to make your first day as safe and healthy as possible, we carefully choose restaurants of different styles that hygiene is guaranteed.

During the first few days in Tibet, you would spend several days exploring Lhasa, seeing attractions nearby, like the three major monasteries – Sera, Drepung and Ganden monasteries, acclimatizing to the high altitude at the same time, and trying the various food as much as possible.

Our guests having Tibetan momos and yak beef noodles on the rooftop of a restaurant

Food in restaurant ranges from local Tibetan style, to Nepali and Indian food as well as western food. Nepal and India are religiously correlated and there are now many Nepalese and Indian living in Lhasa, running their own restaurants.

Also, more and more westerners fall in love with this holy land and settled down here, providing authentic western food – you can even get thin-based pizza and Italian-imported pasta! We have got to know the restaurants well and up-to-date since we have tours in Tibet every month. And, as a Tibet tour operator since 1984, we know what our international guests like to try and can make relevant suggestions.

Ordering dishes in Dunya Restaurant, which offers oregano-flavoured pizza and Italian pasta

Except for food in the restaurant, street food will also be a highlight of your ‘food trip’ in Lhasa. One of the top choice to indulge with street food is the night market in Lhasa. The two most famous one is the Barkhor Night Market and the Tianhai Night Market, where you can enjoy a variety of snacks, fruits, barbecue, etc.

A father showing his daughter how to eat Tibetan noodles

OK, you’ve got someone having their birthday while travelling Tibet? Order a Tibetan-made cake in Lhasa and celebrate the birthday on the roof of the world!

This kid was having his tenth birthday when doing the Tibet tour with us.

When you feel alright about altitude sickness and your doctor’s advice allows you to, don’t wait to have some Lhasa beer or some chaang (highland barley wine) in a local bar. But try not to drink too much alcohol at this altitude anyway.

There is a ‘bar street’ in Lhasa which has various types of bars

If you have a day just to hang around, nothing would be more satisfying than to have a picnic in the green outer space. Actually, it’s the custom for local Tibetans to go to the grassland, bring their own food to share and have a picnic when spring comes, which is traditionally know as ‘guolinka’. So, join the locals and have fun!

Our guests enjoying watermelon during Tibetan picnic time

If you want to have a bite of home-made Tibetan food, we can also arrange a visit to some Tibetan families. While in restaurants food is mainly cooked on natural gas stoves and may be adjusted to tourists taste, in Tibetan families people use charcoal and firewood stuff to cook more often. Thus the taste differs.

Local Tibetan family serving our guests with homemade Tibetan sweet tea

After seeing all those foods our guests have had in their Tibet trips, which are just a few of all the food available in Tibet, I reckon you have a rough understanding of what food is like in Tibet. If you have any special food requirements, just tell us and we’ll sort it out for you.

So if you’re ready to a Lifetime Tour to Tibet, our dedicated and professional teams are expecting you in Tibet! Please feel free to reach us, sharing your great ideas. We would like to offer the most useful Tibet tour advice, For Free!