Visiting Tibet
TIBET TRAVEL PERMIT
To visit Tibet you will need a valid passport, a Chinese visa and a Tibet Travel Permit (TTP). Before you can apply for a Tibet Travel Permit you must first book a tour through an approved Tibet tour operator and pay a deposit.
- Once you have confirmed your tour with Tibet Plateau we will be able to apply for your permit. You are required to email us scanned copies of your passport and Chinese visa for every member of the group. If your Chinese visa is not an "L" visa, then you must also provide additional documents such as student certificates, work permits, residence permits and so on.
- We recommend that you obtain your Chinese visa from the Chinese consulate in your home country before you depart. We also strongly suggest that you do not mention your trip to Tibet on your visa application form. You can use you return flight ticket and hotel reservations in other cities in China to apply for your visa.
- Please note that you will not be able to board either a flight or train to Tibet without a Tibet Travel Permit. You may even have difficulty booking a flight into Tibet without a copy of your TTP. Normally, we are able to apply for the TTP 10-15 days before the trip's starting date. If you are going to fly in to Tibet, you will need the original permit to board the flight, so you will need provide us with details of your hotel or residence address in China. We will send the original permit to your hotel by EMS, ready for you to collect on arrival.
- It usually takes 5 to 10 working days for your Tibet travel permit to be issued. If your tour includes travel to restricted areas such as Mt Kailash or further eastern Tibet, you will need an additional permit from the Tibet Military department, which will take another 5 to 7 days.
ENTERING TIBET FROM NEPAL
There are two main ways to get to Tibet from Nepal, either through a direct flight or overland drive from Kathmandu to Tibet. If you plan to enter Tibet from Nepal, you must get a Tibet Group visa from the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu despite whether or not you already have a Chinese visa. The group visa is an A4 sheet of paper. Usually, the visa is valid only for the length of the trip you have booked.
You can only apply for the Tibet group visa on Monday, Wednesday and Friday only. Local Nepalese agencies normally change a service fee of USD $20-50 per person.