Tibet : Updates
Michael Buckley, April 2010
Before March 2008, it was possible to fly into Lhasa on a short tour, jump ship, and branch out and travel to other parts. However, since the eruption of major protest across Tibet in March 2008, travel in Tibet has been highly restricted, with foreigners closely monitored. At times the doors have been slammed shut to foreign guests. At other times, there have been small windows of opportunity and individuals have managed to get around on their own. Keep an ear to the ground: things may change for the better--meaning more freedom of choice, and greater freedom of movement in central Tibet without permits.
The current model is similar to travel in Bhutan--you must arrange your full itinerary outside of Tibet, and are only permitted to travel outside of Lhasa with a guide and Landcruiser at all times. Within Lhasa city, you can get around on your own if you can manage to lose the guide for a while (no Landcruiser needed in Lhasa). Within Lhasa Prefecture, the rules may bend and you might be able to access some sites yourself. Or you might not. Travellers typically enter the TAR in small groups for trips of seven to twenty days, and then exit to Chengdu, Xining, Zhongdian, or Kathmandu, Nepal.
That means a number of suggestions in the Bradt guide to Tibet for independent travel to Tibet are no longer viable, so you will have to read between the lines. However, the guidebook can be used for advance route planning and for choosing hotels and so on. And on the spot in Tibet, the Bradt guide will help make sense of what you see--as official Chinese interpretation is likely to be somewhat skewed.
Here are some potential stumbling blocks:
• A trip to Tibet will be expensive. Tibet is not a budget travel destination. The best way of cutting costs is to form your own mini-group of say three or four people for a Landcruiser. Four is the maximum number for one Landcruiser, while three people is more comfortable—a factor to consider if there are long hours of Landcruiser travel involved. The full itinerary would most likely have to be arranged in Chengdu, Xining, Zhongdian, or Kathmandu. Try and find a Tibetan-staffed agency to handle your trip, and insist on a Tibetan driver for the Landcruiser, and a Tibetan guide. Pricing tends to vary considerably for guide fees (US$25 to $45 a day quoted--not clear if the higher-paid guides are more proficient), and for Landcruiser (US$110 to $180 a day quoted). Landcruiser rates vary depending on mileage and road conditions (the rougher the road, the more you pay, as this means wear and tear on the vehicle). Within Lhasa city, no Landcruiser is necessary, as you can walk or take local buses or taxis to destinations, and so save considerable amounts on transport.
• Hidden costs: when you are quoted pricing a ‘tour’, it usually does not cover all costs. Make sure you get full accounting of what is covered under your tour and what is not covered. Does your itinerary cover the cost of all permits? What about road tolls? Who pays for food and accommodation for the driver and guide? What about entry fees to temples and sights? (the entry fees tend to add up). Tours quoted often do not include cost of food and accommodation—you specify if you want shared accommodation, or two-star hotel or three-star, etc.
• Red tape can tedious and time-consuming. The TTB permit (which allows you to enter Tibet in the first place) can take two to five days to obtain in Chengdu or elsewhere within China. For any exotic-looking itineraries, it can take longer to get permits. It can take a week or more to obtain the permits to launch an overland Landcruiser trip from Zhongdian to Lhasa. It could take ten to fifteen days to arrange permits for a Landcruiser trip from Lhasa to Mt Kailash, requiring five different offices to sign. Meantime, your Chinese visa is ticking away, if you are in say Chengdu. Best to line up all paperwork for advance processing with agencies--leaving lots of time to get it all squared away. And obtain the longest Chinese visa you can.
• No flexibility: you are pretty much stuck with the set itinerary that is decided on: you may even have to specify which day and hour you intend to visit the Potala Palace in Lhasa. A guide will be with you for at least three to four hours a day. Some are lazy, knowing very little about the regions visited. Others are knowledgeable and helpful. Obviously you would want the latter. If you get stuck with a lazy guide, try and get him or her changed on the spot in Tibet through the agency. If you are paying out for a compulsory guide, then at least ensure that the guide is actually doing the job. And ensure that the guide speaks reasonable English. Some do not.
• Outside the TAR: if you want to extend Tibetan travels at reasonable prices and with greater freedom, consider going to Tibetan regions outside the TAR which do not involve all this official hoopla. You can fly from Lhasa to Zhongdian (Shangri-La Airport, in Kham) as an exit route, for instance. There are a number of ethnic-Tibetan areas in Amdo and Kham with large temples, big snowcaps and fine trekking. And these do not cost the earth.