General information about Tibet

Tibet is a sacred land and mysteries inhabited by the ever smilling people. Tibet has not only exerted magnetic spull travelers for centuries but also spies, missiories,scholars, geographers, mystics,soldiers and cranks, etc. Yet, few intrepid, serious and determined have been able to make it.

Tibet extremely remote and isolated by the most formidable Himalayan ranges,- a fascinating world of timeless splendor, unique tradition and breathking scenery awaits all travelers to the roof of the world.

Plan Nepal Tours, specialist in Tibet make so adventurous journey to the world of shangrila- " Tibet , so easy and so affordable through its various fascinating tour packages even to Mt. Kailash & Manasarovar Lake ". A holy Hindu & Buddhist pilgrimage. So why you also not make your dream come true with us.

Just join any of our following Tibet fixed departure tours conducted regularly every Saturday, Tuesday & Thursday, you will have an unforgettable time with us. Beside, special rates are available for exclusive private tours with the same itineraries and also many beautiful programmes.

Full country name : Tibet ( Xizang )
Area: 1.2 million sq km
Population : 2.7 million
Language: Cantonese, Tibetan, Mandarin
Governmen t: Government in exile
Head of State : His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso

How to Get:
By Air : Kathmandu to Lhasa From July to October there are every day flights between the Kathmandu and Lhasa . Schedule air services fly from Kathmandu to Lhasa , and back also same.This flight last a little over one hour and gives you a panoramic view of the Himalayas .

By Land : Kathmandu to Lhasa , As with the Qinghai-Tibet Highway , the China-Nepal Friendship Highway is a popular route for travelers. This route brings you close to a number of famous sights, such as Shigatse, Gyantse, and the Everest Base Camp (Tingri)

Economy :
Agriculture and Livestock are the economic pillars of Tibet , cultivating mainly sheep, goats and yaks and growing mainly barley, potato and rape. The reason also produces famous medicinal materials such as musk, pilose antler and snow lotus. Tibet leads the country in the deposits of hydropower and thermal power and ranks second in the solar energy in the world.

History:
As early as in the late Paleolithic Age, people were found here. In the seventh century, King Songtsan Gambo united Tibet and established the Tubo Kingdom . In the 13 th century, Tibet became an administrative area under the Yuan Dynasty. In the 17 th century, the 5 th Dalali Lama established the Kadam Potrang government. The Qing government accepted this local government and sent his envoy to the region. After the revolution of 1911, the Republican government established a representative office in Tibet in order to strengthen its management of the local government. After the founding of the Peoples' Republic of China in 1949, the Tibet Autnomous Region was founded on September 1, 1965.

Transport Means : Airport Shuttle Bus, Mini Bus, Tricycle, Taxi, Bicycle

Taxi charges 10 Yuan at the beginning and the meter increases by 1 Yuan per each km run. Tricylce accommodates two persons and costs 5-10 Yuan for a short ride. Bicyle rental services available in the guesthouses and hotels. It costs 2-3 Yuan per hour and 20-25 Yuan per a whole day.

People.
The Tibetan people speak the Tibetan language natively and form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China (PRC), although in anthropological terms they include more than one ethnic group. Tibetans are one of the four non-Chinese nations incorporated into the PRC, the others being the Uighur, the Manchu, and the Mongols. The SIL Ethnologic documents an additional 125,000 Tibetan language speakers living in India , 60,000 in Nepal , and 4,000 in Bhutan .

Tibetans generally observe Tibetan Buddhism and a close affiliate known as Bön.

It is generally agreed that Tibetans share a considerable genetic background with Mongols, although other main influences do exist. Some anthropologists have suggested an Indo-Scythian component, and others a Southeast Asian component; both are credible given Tibet 's geographic location.

Tibetans traditionally explain their own origins as rooted in the marriage of the bodhisattva Chenrezig and a mountain ogress. Tibetans who display compassion, moderation, intelligence, and wisdom are said to take after father, while Tibetans who are "red-faced, fond of sinful pursuits, and very stubborn" are said to take after mother.

Tibetans typically have light brown skin, black, somewhat wavy or even curly hair, moderately high cheekbones, and brown eyes, although some have very light hazel and green eyes, due to their Mongol heritage. The men typically have full mustaches but sparse beards; traditionally, they pluck out their beards with tweezers. Nomads have long braided hair, the women usually braid their hair in 108 braids.

Tibetans have a legendary reputation to be able to survive extremes of altitude and cold, abilities which were no doubt conditioned by the extreme environment of the Tibetan plateau.

Religion
Tibetan Buddhism has exerted extensive and profound influence on the Tibetan race. Buddhism spread into Tibet in the 7th century, and gradually infiltrates Tibet 's history, politics, economics, culture, exchanges and habits and customs to become the most extensively worshipped religion of Tibetans. Prolonged ethnic cultural exchanges also enabled Tibetan Buddhism to make its way into the Mongolian, Tu, Yugu, Luoba, Moinba, Naxi, Purmi and other ethnic minority nationalities throughout China . Buddhism has long been widely worshipped in China 's Tibet Autonomous Region, as well as Sichuan , Yunnan , Gansu and Qinghai provinces, and the Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. It has also made its way into Sikkim , Bhutan , Nepal , the Mongolian People's Republic and Buryat in the Republic of Russia .

More than 1,400 Tibetan monasteries and other religious venues were renovated and opened following the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951. Chinese government and policies for religious freedom enable 34,000 monks in various monasteries to freely study Buddhist sutras and hold various types of Buddhist activities in their respective monasteries. In addition, the broad masses of religious have set up shrines, Buddha halls and sutra recitation rooms in their homes, and undertake pilgrimages to sacred sites.

Climate:
Tibetan winters, as might be supposed, are fiercely cold. But for half the year, strong sunlight warms the thin air, making most days in Lhasa comfortably mild and, owing to protective mountains, relatively windless. Summer temperatures hover above 30'C (high-80s F) and only to drop to a searing -23'C (-10'F) in midwinter. The best time to visit is from late spring to early fall.

Clothing
Casual wear and comfortable walking shoes are essential for any Tibet tours. Warm clothes are a must as the nights and the mornings are quite chilly.

November to April: Down jacket, thermal underwear, warm trousers, warm sweaters, woolen shirts, gloves, warm hat and scarves, light leather boots in case of snow.

May to October: Rain coats, or wind breakers, jackets, sweaters, sunhat cotton or woolen shirts, comfortable shoes.

Altitude Sickness
As you have to pass through high terrain, you are likely to experience minor symptoms and discomfort of altitude sickness until your body gets adjusted to the altitude. It is advisable to drink large quantities non-alcoholic drinks to avoid dehydration. We also recommend to take a strip of Diamox tablets. A small first aid kit is essential.

Road to Tibet
The road between Tibet and Nepal is not up to the standard. It is rough, bumpy and full of bends. Particularly, during monsoon (June-August), it can be temporarily obstructed by landslides and erosion. So, a bit sporty wears and shoes are much advised facilitation the travelers to walk over the landslides (specially in the Nepal portion)

Festivals in Tibet

Tibetan New Year (February or March)
It is the greatest festival in Tibet . In ancient times when the peach tree was in blossom, it was considered as the starting of a new year. Since the systematization of the Tibetan calendar in 1027 AD., the first day of the first month became fixed as the New Year. On the New Year's day, families unite "auspicious dipper" is offered and the auspicious words "tashi delek" are greeted.

Butter Oil Lantern Festival (February or March)
It's held on the 15th of the first lunar month. Huge yak-butter sculptures are placed around Lhasa 's Barkhor circuit.

Saga Dawa Festival (May or June)
It is the holiest in Tibet , there memorable occasions coincide on this day, Buddha's birth and Buddha's enlightenment. Almost every person within Lhasa join in circumambulations round the city and spend their late afternoon on picnic at " Dzongyab Lukhang" park at the foot of Potala.

Gyantse Horse Race & Archery (May or June)
Horse race and archert are generally popular in Tibet , and Gyantse enjoys prestige of being the earliest in history by starting in 1408. Contests in early times included horse race, archery, and shooting on gallop followed by a few days' entertainment or picnicing. Presently, ball games, track and field events, folk songs and dances, barter trade are in addition to the above.

Changtang Chachen Horse Race Festival (August)
There are many horse racing festivals in Tibet , the one in Nagqu of Northern Tibet is the greatest. August is the golden season on Northern Tibet 's vast grassland. Herdsmen , on their horsebacks, in colorful dresses, carrying tents and local products, pour into Nagqu. Soon they form a city of tents. Various exciting programs are held, such as horse racing, yak racing, archery, horsemanship and commodity fair.

Shoton Festival (August)
It is one of the major festivals in Tibet , also known as the Tibetan Opera Festival. The founder of the Gelugpa (Yellow Sect of Buddhism), Tsongkhapa set the rule that Buddhists can cultivate themselves only indoor in summer, to avoid killing other creatures carelessly. Because creatures are most active in summer. This rule must be carried out till the seventh lunar month. Then Buddhists go outdoor, accept yoghurt served by local people, and have fun. Since the middle of 17th century, the Fifth Dalai Lama added opera performance to this festival. Famous Tibetan opera troupes perform in Norbulingka (Dalai Lama's summer palace).

Bathing Festival (September)
It is believed when the sacred planet Venus appears in the sky, the water in the river becomes purest and cures diseases. During its appearance for one week, usually the end of the seventh and beginning of the eighth lunar months, all the people in Tibet go into the river to wash away the grime of the previous year.

Kungbu Traditional Festival (November or December)
Long long ago, when Tibet was in danger of large scale invasion, the Kongpo people sent out an army to defend their homeland. It was in September and the soldiers worried that they might miss the New Year, highland barley wine and other good things. So people had the Tibetan New Year on 1st October ahead of time. To memorize those brave soldiers Kongpo people present three sacrifices an stay up at night from then on. And now it has become the Kongpo Festival for entertainment like Kongpo dancing, horse race, archery and shooting.

Harvest Festival (September)
The farmers in Lhasa , Gyantse and Shangnan to celebrating their bumer harvest in this time. During that time, people enjoy with horse racing games, custom fashion show, songs and dance Archery and picnic etc.

Travel information in Tibet

Passport:
A traveler should bear with him a passport with validity remaining no less than six months. Make sure that it has plenty of blank pages for visas, entry and reentry stamps and extensions. Besides, holding other ID's like student card or driving license will be an advantage. Loosing passport in Tibet is very bad, as you have to go to Beijing to get new one.

Visa-Travel Permit:
Travelers to Tibet requires to obtain special Group Visa/Permit. The visa processing is initiated only after you book a trip with a qualified travel agency. Original passport has to be submitted along with the Visa Application Letter ( Invitation Letter) of Tibetan Tourism Authority to the Chinese Embassy in Nepal . We are eligible to process your visa/permit and can fax you the Visa Application Letter ( Invitation Letter) if you wish to apply the visa abroad. Normally, Chinese embassy of Kathmandu works on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 09 30 am to 11 am. The regular visa fee is (USD45.00 for other nationality & USD60.00 for American Nationality).

Most importantly, all travelers traveling in TIBET are kindly requestd to bear in mind that TIBET being extremely remote and isolated by the most formidable Himalyan ranges, remains still one of the most captivating but least developed parts in the world . With its very short history of tourism (Just about 8 years), the facilities for tourists although being upgraded are still at basic and limited scale. So the visitors are requested not to have high expectation in terms of facilities in Tibet . However, we will always put all our efforts to make your journey as pleasant as possible.

Booking
Minimum 2 weeks in advance (for booking from outside Kathmandu) and one week (from within KATHMANDU) a firm booking with full payment along with full passport details (including full name, date and place of birth, Passport No., Date of issue & expiry, profession, home address, telephone no. etc) . we arrange CHINA/TIBET visa.

Cancellation
A cancellation charge of 50% for confirmed booking upto seven days before departure and after that no refund will be entertained. There will also be no refund on No-Show-Ups and delay in arrival

Sightseeing Destination in Tibet

Tibet Lhasa Factory
The factory lies south of the city government and west of Tibet University . The factory enjoys high reputation in producing traditional Tibetan carpets, which sell well home and abroad. Its products are all hand made. Weavers still use old-styled vertical looms to produce carpets in traditional processes. The products are usually small, with delicate, bold designs in bright colors.

Xegar
Xegar ,13800 ft is a new Chinese commune built 7 km off the highway, at the food of the ruins of Xegar Dzong . With a population of barely 3000, it is the centre of a large and remote country and also the base from where expeditions to Mt. Everest and other peaks are launched. Zhangmu, 7000 ft better known by its Tibetan name, Khasa , is a small settlement climbing to a hillside 10 km inland from the Friendship Bridge across the Bhotekosi . After closure of the China-India border from Gangtok ( Sikkim ), Zhangmu has become the major trading route between Tibet and Nepal . The hills around Zhangmu are heavily wooded with innumerable waterfalls in the summer and frozen 'icicles' during winter.

Lhasa
Lhasa , 11,850 ft) was and still is the religious, cultural and economic centre of Tibet . The famous Potala Palace, the 13 storey, 1000 rooms palace of the Dalai Lama; the monasteries of Drepung and Sera; the Summer Palace of the Dalai Lama- Norbulingka ; the Jokhang - the holiest shrine in Tibet are some of the places of interest. The circular Barkhor Street has innumerable shops and wayside peddlers, who inter-mingle with devotees, walking clockwise around the Jokhang .

Barkhor Street
Located in the center of old Lhasa , Barkhor Street is the oldest street in Lhasa , as well as the most representative. Being a circular street, Barkhor is the road that pilgrims either walk or crawl around the Jokhang Temple since its construction in the seventh century. With more than 6,000 people living here, Barkhor Street is about 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) long. Traditional Tibetan houses and narrow lanes in and around the street whisper the stories of old Lhasa .

Barkhor Street is also a marketplace in which visitors can buy many beautiful souvenirs. Religious objects such as prayer flags, prayer wheels, thangkas (a kind of paintings on silk, cloth, and so on), sutras, prayer beads, etc. as well as jewelry, Tibetan knives, food, costume, and so on are easily found in this ancient street. Restaurants including Huiren Bar, Barkhor Cafe, Makye Ame Restaurant serve high quality local and western foods which will satisfy every visitor.

Ganden Monsatery
Ganden Monastery is 47 kilometers (29 miles) from Lhasa and is situated on Wangbur Mountain at an altitude of 3,800 meters (12,467 ft). As one of the 'Three Great Monasteries' of the Gelugpa Sect, Ganden Monastery is one of the largest and earliest monasteries in Tibet . Originally constructed in 1409 by the founder of the Gelugpa Sect, Tsong Khapa , is held in high esteem among the Gelugpa Sect. Tsong Kapa became the head of the Ganden Monastery (known as Ganden Tripa in Tibetan) until his death in 1419. In its heyday, Ganden Monastery covered an area of some 150,000 sq meters (about 37 acres) and mainly comprised of the Coqen Hall, Tri Thok Khang , Serdhung , Zhacangs , Khangtsens and Myicuns .

Xigatse
Xigatse lies 274 km to the west of Lhasa . It is Tibet 's second largest city and has a 500-year old history. The highway runs alongside the YARLUNG TSANGPO ( Brahmaputra ) river passing through narrow gorges and broad river valleys. The TASHILHUNPO Manastery , build in 1447, houses a 26-meter high statue of MAITREYA (the Buddha to come). Other buildings contain images of SAKYAMUNI (the Buddha of our times) and embalmed bodies of lamas.

Mt. Kailash and Lake Manasarovar
Mt. kailash and Lake Manasarovar in western Tibet are intensely sacred pilgrimage sites for the Hindu, Buddhist, Janis and Bon faithful-besides presenting an entrancing natural sight. Kailash is 1257 km over a mountain highway from Lhasa .

Tashilhunpo Manastery

Gyantse
Gyantse is located 260 km to the southwest of Lhasa . This trading town was a major stop on the legendary India-Tibet caravan route. Gyantse's centerpiece is the KUMBUM Stupa which is 32 m. high and contains 77 rooms and 100000 images of the Buddha. PELKOR CHODE Monastery and Gyantse Fort (built atop a massive rock) are other major sights here.

Phalkor Monastery
Palkhor Monastery is a kind of typical Tibetan Buddhism monastery architecture combined stupa and temple, with temples in the stupa , stupas in the temple. The stupas and temples stay harmoniously and bring out the best in each other. Its architecture fully represents a typical style of monasteries from thirteenth century to fifteenth century in Later Tibetan area, which is also the unique monasteries with both the temple and stupa being kept well today. So it is reputed as a monument of architecture period. The Palkhor Monastery (meaning lucky and happy monastery) has a Chinese name Baiju Monastery.

Yamadroke Lake- The Sacred Lake
Yamadroke Lake is one of the biggest and beautiful lakes in Tibet . We pass by this lake with about 2 hours drive along its bank. Yamadroke means torquise in Tibetan language. In fact, the lake looks exactly as beautiful as torquise blue during the good weather days. This freshwater lake, unlike other Tibetan lakes, is sweet and non-saline, extending for 624 sq. km., in the shape of two pincers of a large scorpion. You can have a short stop on its bank and enjoy photography here.

Sera Monastery
Sera, one of the three largest monasteries of Gelugpa , sits at the foothills of Tatipu . It is as prestigious as Drepung and Ganden , which both have longer histories. Sera, in Tibetan, means "Wild Rose Garden" since opulent wild rose woods once grew around it. A legend says that Tsong Khapa and his two disciples traveled in the area, spreading their religion. One day, they heard a horse whinnying underground when they were taking a walk in the rose woods. They dug up a statue of Hynagriva (a horse-headed demon-god) and Tsong Khapa began construction of a monastery to enshrine Hynagriva . However, the truth is that in 1414, Jamchen Chojey (or Sakya Yeshe ), one of Tsong Khapa's disciples, visited Emperor Chengzu as Tsong Khapa's emissary. The Emperor Chengzu granted him a title of Dharma King of Great Mercy, sutras, and a set of sandalwood Arhats . In order to preserve them, Tsong Khapa instructed Jamchen Chojey to build a monastery to house the treasures. The Sera monastery was completed in 1419.

Jokhang Temple
This 1300-year-old, golden-roofed building at the center of the Barkhor is the spiritual heart of both the city and of the Tibetan world. The most sacred and active of Tibetan temples, it was founded by Queen Bhrikuti , King Songtsen Gampo's Nepalese wife, on a site chosen by one of his other wives (a Tang dynasty Chinese princess, Wenchang ) as the principal geomantic power-place in Tibet. The courtyard in front of the Jokhang entrance is almost constantly filled with prostrating pilgrims – inside the labyrinth of shrines, halls and galleries are dimly lit by butter lamps and filled with pilgrims and incense and house some of the finest treasures of Tibetan art including a pure gold statue of Shakyamuni – the Jowo Buddha brought by Queen Wencheng – one of the most sacred images in Tibet.

Potala Palace
The Potala towers over Lhasa and is an enduring landmark of Tibet . Little remains of the original structure built by Songtsen Gampo apart from its foundations. After Lhasa was reinstated as the capital of Tibet in the 17th century the Great 5th Dalai Lama began construction of the White Palace (built 1645-53) employing 7000 workers and 1500 artisans. It functioned as the traditional seat of the Tibetan government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas.