Tibet trip planning

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China/Tibet itinerary.


San Francisco ----> #Hong Kong ---> #Guangzhou---> Chengdu ---> Lhasa ---> Kathmandu ---> Bangkok ---> Hong Kong ---> San Francisco

Useful websites

Books

  • Lonely Planets
    • South-West China
    • Tibet
    • Nepal
    • Hong Kong, Macau & Guangzhou
    • Bangkok
  • Mapping the Tibetan World
  • Tibet Handbook, Victor Chan
  • Trekking in Tibet, Gary McCue

Alternatives...

  • What about travelling through Yunnan overland to Lhasa?
    • An old thorntree post said:.
      • 'The Camellia Hotel in Kunming now rents out jeeps to go to Lhasa. They will help arrange more people to share the costs of around 5000 yuan (US$ 700) for the five to seven day journey.'
    • contact details for the Camellia Hotel
      • 96th East Dongfeng Road Kunming
      • (0871) 3163000, Fax (0871)3147033
      • email chbg@public.km.yn.cn
    • there's a story at PassPlanet about a trip from Zhongdian to Lhasa via Markham, of dubious legality, and with a bit of luck.

Hong Kong (arrive 26th May) [*]

  • good maps available from the HK Tourist Association at the airport
  • some info on p. 150 of the South-West LP
    • Airport bus A21 runs to Tsimshatsui (budget accomodation, HK$33)
    • dormitory accomodation HK$40-80
  • accomodation, eating, and addresses for Tsimshatsui *
  • things to do?
  • definitely book the ongoing ticket from Guangzhou here, so we don't have to waste time catching SARS in Guangzhou, at a CTS office
    • Head Office (2853-3888), 2nd floor, 78-83 Connaught Rd, Central
    • Central (25217163) mezzanine, China Travel building, 77 Queen's Rd
    • Tsim Sha Tsiu (23157188), 1st floor, Alpha House, 27-33 Nathan Rd

Hong Kong ---> Guangzhou

Should take one day or less.

  • Cheapest route (total ~Y70, 6 hours?)
    1. Hunghom -> Lo Wu (border) via Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR), HK$33 (p154)
      • runs between 0608 and 1748, at 3-10 minute intervals ([1]).
    2. walk across border
    3. Shenzhen -> Guangzhou via hard seat train, 3 hours, Y58 (p154)
      • 5 trains per day? [1]
      • more trains, Y50 for soft seat, timetable? *
      • or minibus, 2.5 hours Y30 (p154)
  • Direct routes (p 154)
    • Kowloon-Canton Railway -> Guangzhou (east) via direct train, HK$180
    • Kowloon -> Guangzhou via bus, HK$150
  • Ferry routes
    • China Hong Kong City ferry terminal, in Kowloon -> Guangzhou, HK$189 or more, 2 hours. (p 157) Departures 0815 & 1330.

Guangzhou

There's not much to do in Guangzhou * except leave asap!

Guangzhou ---> Chengdu

  • Guangzhou -> Chengdu train,� K192/3, dep 1432 arr 0808 (42 hours, 2527 km!) [3]
    • It's possible to book this from Hong Kong, through China Travel Services, with a surcharge. Otherwise, it may be difficult to get tickets on short notice.
    • costs Y271 seat, Y490 sleeper [4]
    • possibly also train 377/380 (slower?) [5]

We'd previously considered some alternatives, via Guiyang and/or Kunming, but time pressures, and then SARS, ruled that out.

Chengdu

[1] (try to arrive by June 1 or 2. Stay 7-9 days, including Leshan and Emei Shan)

  • Accomodation (Y20-Y50)
    • Dragon Town Backpacker's Guest House
      • No 27 Kuanxiangzi St, tel. 028 86648408, dragontown1979@yahoo.com.cn
      • call and they'll pick up from train station, according to an old thorntree post.
      • $4.40USD per night www.hostelworld.com
  • Sichuan trains *
  • Time estimates
    • 2-4 days in Chengdu
    • 5 days for Emei Shan and Leshan
  • In and around Chengdu
    • Wenshu temple (tea, good vegetarian food) entrance Y1.
    • Sichuan opera (tours Y40-60, or DIY for less)
    • Giant Panda Breeding Research Base
      • 12km north of the city centre, but cycling not recommended
      • From thorntree - tour from the traffic hotel the best deal, sign up the night before. Cycling possible -- 20km, somewhat bumpy road, impossible to miss sign off the main road.
      • Y30 admission
      • tours for Y50, including transport and admission.
        • ask drivers to drop off at the Zhaojue Si temple on the way back -- friendly monks, vegetarian food 11am-2pm
    • Monastery of Divine Light
      • in Xindi about 18km north of Chengdu
      • lots to see, good vegetarian food
      • buses from Chengdu's north train station, takes less than an hour
      • round trip by bicycle about 4 hours
  • Further afield from Chengdu
    • Emei Shan (p. 464 ff. entrance Y60) [*]
      • a mountain to climb, monasteries to stay at
      • someone on thorntree suggested staying with the very helpful Nathan, of `Nathan Hotpot' rather than the LP-recommended Teddy Bear cafe.
      • two days of walking
    • Leshan (p. 471 ff.)[*]
      • Da Fo, the biggest Buddha in the world
      • also Dragon Boat festival, June 4 (we should try and make this!)

Chengdu ---> Lhasa (somewhere around June 8-12)

  • flying ought to cost somewhere in the range Y1800-2700. More like 1800, booking at Dragon Town Hostel in Chengdu?
    • 2 flights a day, try to get the morning one
  • hlouis@21cn.com is an English speaking tour operator based in Chengdu
    • He sent two itineraries, via the North and South Sichuan-Tibet highways, and a subsequent reduction in price. They're still to expensive, but presumably we can do something similar for cheaper still.
  • (or) overland, via Xining and Golmud
    • suggested itineraries Chengdu -> Xining and Xining -> Lhasa *
    • minimum travel time 1 week, Chengdu -> Songpan -> Zoige -> Langmusi -> Xiahe -> Tongren -> Xining -> Golmud -> Lhasa
    • cost to Golmud <Y300
    • Golmud to Lhasa Y210 - Y1500, depending on need for permits
  • (or) overland, direct
    • the webpage of an expensive (USD2000) tour

Lhasa (9-11 days in Lhasa, including the Ganden -> Samye trek)

  • Saga Dawa is on June 14 -- we should be in Lhasa for this!
  • Accomodation should cost Y20-25 per night
    • Pentoc Guest House Y25 recommended
  • Places to see in and around Lhasa
    • Barkhor Square
    • Jokhang (free)
    • the Potala (Y40 admission)
    • views of the Potala and Lhasa from Chagpo Ri
    • the Sera monastery, and nearby monasteries and nunneries
  • Get a Nepalese visa, from the consulate.
  • Trekking in the Lhasa area
    • It should be possible to rent gear in Lhasa
      • tents Y25 -> Y70 per day
      • mats -> Y20 per day
      • buy a gas canister Y60-70, possibly get free rental of the burner
      • rent a petrol stove Y10 per day
    • Ganden -> Samye
      • 4-5 days, public transport to both ends should cost Y40-Y50
      • lakes, alpine meadows, two monasteries
      • crosses a 5250m pass, so worth spending a night or two at Ganden before starting, to acclimatise
        • Just a few notes for those wishing to do this trek. I just returned yesterday:

          1) there are three buses going to Garden, not just one. They start at around 6:15am (from the Jokhang) and then every 30-45 minutes.
          2) It is highly recommended to hire a yak to carry your packs up to the 5240m pass (on day 2), we were two fit blokes and it took us 5.5 hrs to ascend the 1200m from Hepu to the snowy pass. Bloody difficult at that. If you decide to carry packs and it takes you 8-9 hrs there is really nowhere to camp except to hike another 1.5-2 hours down the other side. The going rate is about 6OY per yak (can hold two packs easy) plus another 30-40 for the guide/owner.
          3) if you arrive in Samye late in the afternoon like we did (5pm) all the official buses have left, you can still get to Lhasa the same day:
          a) hire a vehicle to the ferry spot (usually 10-15Y each),
          b) bargain like mad with the ferry boat guy as you will probably have to charter the entire boat because there will be no locals there that late in the day (we paid 15Y each x 3 people),
          c) relax on the 45 minute boat trip, very nice views,
          d) they drop you right at the highway so walk up to the road and flag down a truck or one of the many minibuses coming from Tsetang (we caught ours at 7pm) and make it back to Lhasa by 9:30pm.

          This way you can avoid staying in the monastery overnight and hopefully avoid the PSB dudes (we did).
    • (or) Tsurphu -> Yangpachen
      • 3-4 days, public transport to both ends should cost Y40
      • see nomadic settlements
      • crosses a 5300m pass.

Lhasa --> Kathmandu

  1. Lhasa -> Shigatse
    • buses, Y38
  2. Shigatse -> Lhatse
    • Shigatse has a helpful CITS office?
    • buses Y30, last public transport
    • or possibly a ride with a Land-Cruiser to the border, Y250-400
  3. Lhatse -> Tingri -> Nyalam -> Zhangmu
    • difficult! expect to pay ~Y150
  4. Zhangmu -> Kodari
    1. Y20 for a bus?
    2. or walk in a few hours (porters available, Y2).
  5. Kodari -> Kathmandu
    1. buses to Kathmandu US$30 or less

The turn off to Everest Base Camp is at kilometre marker 5145, after Lhatse
Tingri is at road marker 544, after the EBC turnoff.

Alternatives

  • may be possible to get a direct ride Lhasa -> Zhangmu for Y350, p 166.
  • 7 day Land-Cruiser tour Lhasa -> Zhangmu, via all the sights, Y3000-4500
  • `Snowlands' recommended as a tour operator, although not the cheapest
  • 6 day Land-Cruiser tour Lhasa -> Zhangmu, 120GBP = 190USD = Y1600 (assuming 5 people) thorntree
  • An incredible alternative would be to walk into Nepal.
    • The main possibility is to walk from Tingri to Lapchi, and thence to Charikot in Nepal, in about 11 days. If there are problems getting into Nepal, you can travel on to the Friendship Highway, north of Nyalam in another 2 days, Alternatively after reaching Drubden, 6 days from Tingri, you can head south down the Rongshar valley, reaching Charikot in 3-4 days.
      • see p. 248 ff. in the Tibet Handbook
      • also p. 126 in Mapping the Tibetan world, which says there is a checkpoint before the Lapchi gompa
      • also a map on p.160, and descriptions in pp. 192-197 in Trekking in Tibet, which warns that officials at Rongshar Qu might turn you back if you're trying to walk towards Nyalam but don't have an appropriate military permit.
      • I found something at an old Tibet guidebook webpage
      • there's a great map on p 124 of MtTW.
      • and p. 373 in LP Nepal
    • Another is via Kyirong, west of Shishapangma, but the border sounds tight.
    • The only others are crossing the Nangpa La, down into Chhule, then to Thami and Lukla, or an obscure route east of Makalu (see the map on p. 906 of the Tibetan Handbook), passing through Kharta, then down the Phung Chu and the Arun to Tumlingtar in Nepal.
  • Side trips
    • Shishapangma base camp, via the Phu valley, and the walk north to Ngoru, sound great.
    • the Kanshung Glacier sounds good, but out of our way.

Kathmandu (Depart 9th July)

visa� - might be worth getting in Lhasa, rather than at the border (rumour of exorbitant pricing at Kodari?)

Accomodation and things to do around Kathmandu *

Chitwan National Park * � 2 *

Kathmandu departure tax Rs. 1000-1100

Bangkok

No visa necesarry.

Passplanet.com has information about Bangkok * and other areas in Thailand.

International Flights

Other things


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