Travelling through China to Nepal (what about Tibet and visa?)
Oct 27th 2010, 10:27 am
#1
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Joined: Aug 2010
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Travelling through China to Nepal (what about Tibet and visa?)
We are planning to travel through China to Nepal, but of course we will have to go through Tibet, I can't find any information about applying for a Visa for Tibet, other than on the China Embassy website
(5) Applicants planning to tour Tibet should contact the Tourism Administration of the Tibet Autonomous Region (Tel: 0086-891-6834313; Fax: 0086-891-6834632) and provide visa notification issued by it.
Anyone able to assist?
(5) Applicants planning to tour Tibet should contact the Tourism Administration of the Tibet Autonomous Region (Tel: 0086-891-6834313; Fax: 0086-891-6834632) and provide visa notification issued by it.
Anyone able to assist?
Nov 23rd 2010, 5:21 pm
#2
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Re: Travelling through China to Nepal (what about Tibet and visa?)
We are planning to travel through China to Nepal, but of course we will have to go through Tibet, I can't find any information about applying for a Visa for Tibet, other than on the China Embassy website
(5) Applicants planning to tour Tibet should contact the Tourism Administration of the Tibet Autonomous Region (Tel: 0086-891-6834313; Fax: 0086-891-6834632) and provide visa notification issued by it.
Anyone able to assist?
(5) Applicants planning to tour Tibet should contact the Tourism Administration of the Tibet Autonomous Region (Tel: 0086-891-6834313; Fax: 0086-891-6834632) and provide visa notification issued by it.
Anyone able to assist?
Nov 24th 2010, 10:42 am
#3
Sidecar Falcon
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,504
Re: Travelling through China to Nepal (what about Tibet and visa?)
Originally Posted by Wikitravel
Tourism to Tibet is strictly controlled by the Chinese government, and restrictions were further ratcheted up after the riots before the 2008 Olympics. As of 2009, the previous "backpacker" tours, which included the permit and a couple of nights stay in Lhasa is no longer an option and all travelers must stay with an organized trip the entire time they are in Tibet.
All foreign visitors to Tibet need one or more permits. The basic one is the Tibet Tourism Bureau (TTB) permit, which can be issued to you by Chinese travel agencies that handle trips to Tibet, or (if overseas and arriving via Nepal) by the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu on proof of purchasing a package tour (there is no way around this). If you buy an expensive package tour, the TTB permit will only cost you US$6, but if you just want train/plane tickets (which, as of 2009, no longer seems to be possible), the travel agency will inflate their cut accordingly and you'll need to fork out up to US$50-70. For land crossings (including the train), you'll get a physical permit that will be checked; for plane tickets, the permit may just be an annotation on your ticket record.
Some parts of Tibet also require an Aliens' Travel Permit (ATP), which is issued by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in major Tibetan cities like Lhasa, Xigatse and Ali. The list of regions that require ATPs changes constantly, so enquire locally. Lhasa's PSB has a poor reputation, while Xigatse and Ali are said to issue permits without any unnecessary difficulties. If your papers are in order, the permit can be issued in several hours for Y100.
Finally, some remote areas also require a military permit. These are only available in Lhasa, where processing takes several days, and are only granted for an appropriate reason.
See also Overland to Tibet and Tibetan journeys.
All foreign visitors to Tibet need one or more permits. The basic one is the Tibet Tourism Bureau (TTB) permit, which can be issued to you by Chinese travel agencies that handle trips to Tibet, or (if overseas and arriving via Nepal) by the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu on proof of purchasing a package tour (there is no way around this). If you buy an expensive package tour, the TTB permit will only cost you US$6, but if you just want train/plane tickets (which, as of 2009, no longer seems to be possible), the travel agency will inflate their cut accordingly and you'll need to fork out up to US$50-70. For land crossings (including the train), you'll get a physical permit that will be checked; for plane tickets, the permit may just be an annotation on your ticket record.
Some parts of Tibet also require an Aliens' Travel Permit (ATP), which is issued by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in major Tibetan cities like Lhasa, Xigatse and Ali. The list of regions that require ATPs changes constantly, so enquire locally. Lhasa's PSB has a poor reputation, while Xigatse and Ali are said to issue permits without any unnecessary difficulties. If your papers are in order, the permit can be issued in several hours for Y100.
Finally, some remote areas also require a military permit. These are only available in Lhasa, where processing takes several days, and are only granted for an appropriate reason.
See also Overland to Tibet and Tibetan journeys.
