8 days Nepal to Tibet tour

Nepal to Tibet Overland Tour

 8 days Nepal to Tibet Overland Tour is the most famous tour where you can visit two countries with different culture, traditions, variety in food, Religion etc. some are common for instant Religion like Buddhism are also practicing in Nepal and shares the world’s highest mountain. 

Nepal and Tibet are the closest neighbor where you can have breathtaking drive from Kathmandu to Tibet via Kyirong Border, for now the only border crossing between Nepal and Tibet is Kyirong Border. So, this Tibet tour will be the best option for you to experience with Tibet Shambhala Adventure. “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”.

How to get to Nepal?There are two ways to get to Nepal. First way to get to Nepal is by Air. Nepal is very much flexible to the tourists to enter Nepal so if you just think of traveling to Nepal, you can easily book a ticket and fly to Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. You don’t have to prepare visa before your arrival since Nepal government gives arrival visa to most of the countries’ tourist.

Usually, the shortest visa that you can get at the airport is 15 days Nepal tourist visa and it cost around 25US$. If you already plan to travel to Tibet from Nepal and back to Nepal after your Tibet travel, you might ask for a multiple entry visa so that you don’t have to ask again another visa to enter Nepal when you return from Tibet. The multiple visa might cost a little higher and longer days of visa.

How to look for a right travel agency in Kathmandu for Nepal to Tibet overland tour ?

There are thousands of travel agencies in Kathmandu and you will see several hundreds of travel agencies in Thamel Bazar of Kathmandu valley. Most of those travel agencies can help you to arrange Nepal to Tibet overland tour and can help you to get China group visa for Tibet travel.

Another way to look for a right travel agency is to search the best local Tibetan travel agency from google or other internet resources and you can directly deal with local Tibetan travel agency who can give you more accurate information and better Tibet trip cost prior to your arrival in Nepal or even from Kathmandu.

How to get China visa and Tibet travel permit for the Nepal to Tibet overland tour?

Make sure that you must have around a week time to wait in Kathmandu for the documents of China visa and Tibet travel permit if you book the trip in Nepal. The Nepalese agency has to get China visa invitation letter from the partner Tibetan travel agency and the application of China visa in Kathmandu takes you three working days.

Make sure that your passport is not a diplomatic passport and that you don’t enter Nepal with diplomatic passport because without Nepal visa on your normal passport, you will not be able to enter Tibet from Kyirong border.

Driving distance from Kathmandu to Kyirong border in Tibet ?

The driving distance between Kathmandu and Kyirong border is 150Km only but the road condition is not so good, especially during the summer because it is a heavy monsoon in Nepal and sometimes it is possible to have heavy landslides as well. An adventure four-wheel drive journey is started early in the morning in Kathmandu and arrive in Kyirong between 2-3.00 Pm Beijing time.

Kyirong is the bordered town between Nepal and Tibet. The total driving time is  around 8-9 hours. The landscape is beautiful, dominated by hillside villages, forested gorge, and green rise field and the Langtang national park.

How to cross Nepal Tibet border?

Once you arrive in Syaburibesi at Nepal side, there are Nepali border guides who can travel to China Tibet side with special license so our Nepali guides will introduce to the border guides and will take you to Tibet side. Just take a departure stamp from Nepal custom at Syaburibesi and walk over the friendship bridge between Nepal and China Tibet.

Meet your local Tibetan travel guide at China custom with all your necessary Tibet travel permits with him. Be in the queue, give the passports to your Tibetan guide. The guide will do necessary paper work from China custom and then give the passports back. Get entry stamp on your China group visa and drive to Kyirong town which is 18km from the border. The road condition is far better than the road in Nepal.

Is it important to spend a night in Kyirong border?

It is very important to have a night in Kyirong during Nepal to Tibet overland tour because in the one hand, the travel distance from Kathmandu to Kyirong is very long and tough. In the other hand, your Tibetan guide must make another Tibet permit from PSB (People’s Security Bureau ) by showing your original passports for the travel route from Kyirong to Lhasa. Another reason to spend a night in Kyirong is to acclimatize to the condition of high altitude in order to succeed your Tibet travel.

How far is the travel distance from Kyirong to Lhasa?

This Nepal to Tibet overland tour officially begins from Kyirong town. Kyirong is the birth place of Milarepa who is one of the most famous Buddhist Yogi, got enlightenment within his lifetime. If the time permits, you can also visit this sacred cave on a rocky mountain to the left side of the main road to Lhasa after around 20km drive from Kyirong. The total distance of 8 days Nepal to Tibet overland tour is around 1098km from Kathmandu to Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet.

What you can see during 8 days Nepal to Tibet overland tour?

This Tibet overland tour will take you through some of the highest mountain passes including Gungtang la pass, Gyatso la pass, Karola pass and Kampa pass. All those high mountain passes are above 5000mts above sea level and you will enjoy a panoramic view of different Himalayan Mountain ranges and beautiful lakes including Yamdrok lake.

You will drive through beautiful Tibetan villages, dominated by their unique Tibetan architects with white washed walls, colorful prayer flags raised onto the roof of the Tibetan traditional houses, fertile lands of barley and rapeseed flowers, great view of Mt Everest and other above 8000mts mountains including Shisha Bangma and Jo Oyu.

Visit Shigatse, the second largest city of Tibet and Tashi Lhunpo monastery, one of the six largest monasteries in Tibet and the seat of the successive of the Penchen Lama.

Gyantse town, one of the least influenced town from modernization and a home to Palchoe monastery and Kubum Pagoda stupa, the largest Buddhist stupa in Tibet with 9 stories high. The old town of Gyantse and the Tibetans who are into their traditional costume makes the town very unique and special. Old fortress of Gyantse Dzong and beautiful Tibetan traditional houses make it a real Tibet.

After Gyantse, your 8 days Nepal to Tibet overland tour takes you to Lhasa city via Karola glacier, located to the foot of Nechen Kangsang snow mountain ( 7200m ) and Yamdrok lake, one of the most beautiful and most sacred lakes in Tibet. You will be driving along the lake side and will enjoy seeing a fantastic view of entire Yamdrok lake and Nechen Kangsang snow mountain from the top of Kampala pass which is the last highest mountain pass during your 8 days Nepal to Tibet overland tour.

Driving down the zigzag road of Kampala pass, you will enter into the Brahmaputra river valley ( Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan ) The valley is created by Brahmaputra river which is the longest and largest river in Tibet, starts its source from the western part of Tibet near Mount Kailash, flows through Shigatse, Tsetang, the cradle of Tibet, located to the south of Lhasa city and continuously to the south and finally empties into the Bay of Bengal.

In the summer time, the valley is very beautiful by extreme green trees, barley field, and beautiful Tibetan villages and finally enter into Lhasa, seeing the Potala Palace standing still in front of you when you cross over the bridge of Lhasa river after Lhasa train station, Eventually, reaching Lhasa as your final destination of the 8 days Nepal to Tibet overland tour.

Lhasa is the center of Tibetan culture, religion, business and official headquarters. It is also the home to some of the most famous and greatest sights of the Buddhist temples, Palaces and monasteries. Some of them have been listed in the UNESCO world heritage sites. Visiting the highlights of the Lhasa city including the Potala Palace, Jokang temple as the UNESCO world heritage sites and Drepung and Sera monasteries, the largest Buddhist philosophical colleges in the world, dominated by beautiful Tibetan traditional buildings, old wall painting and lots of ancient culture and antiques inside the monasteries.

If you visit the monasteries during special occasions, you will witness monks chanting, musk dancing and of course monks debating in Sera monastery. During your Tibet tour, you can also see some of Tibetan festivals such as Shoton festival or Yogurt festival in the middle of summer, monks’ musk dancing festivals or Thangka display festivals if you are lucky to take Tibet tour for a right time of the festival.

During your Tibet tour, it is very important to take a walk around the Jokang temple and enjoy walking with local Tibetans around the Jokang temple and watching the Bazzar in Bharkor. In front of the Jokang temple, it is very interesting to spend some time to watch a big group of Tibetan pilgrims who are doing prostration in front of the joking temple to pay homage to the most sacred statue of Buddha Shakyamuni.

Condition of the Road from Kyirong to Lhasa:

The road condition in Tibet these days is very good and most part of the road in all the regions of Tibet is paved so it make the tourist to travel to Tibet more conveniently than before. Regarding on the road condition of this 8 days Nepal to Tibet overland tour, apart from Nepal side, the road for entire Tibet journey is paved so it is an easy and comfortable road journey except crossing some of the highest mountain passes of the Himalayas through many zigzag roads.

When is the best time to do 8 days Nepal to Tibet Overland Tour?

The best time to do this beautiful Nepal to Tibet overland tour is from April-October because during this period of time, you can see beautiful green scenery, warm and beautiful weather, comfortable temperature and many Tibetan traditional festivals also occur during summer time but you can do this Tibet tour throughout the year because of a good road condition and good facility on the way from Kyirong to Lhasa.

What kind of food you will get during Nepal to Tibet overland tour?

Nowadays, no need to worry about the food in Tibet during your Tibet trip because there are plenty of Chinese and Tibetan restaurants in every stop like Kyirong, Tingri, Shigatse and Gyantse. In Kyirong, Shigatse and Gyantse, you can also find restaurants which serve continental food as well.

Once you arrive in Lhasa, you will have a variety of food options that there are western, Chinese and Tibetan restaurants and many of them are high quality restaurants where you can get different kinds of imported wine and whisky.

What kind of hotel you will get during this Tibet tour?

Nowadays, the hotel facility in Tibet has been improved a lot for the last 10 years so there are different optional hotels available on the way during your Tibet trip.

In Kyirong, there are a few good 3* conditioned hotels, in new Tingri ( Shegar in Tibetan ), there are a couple of good conditioned 3* hotels, in Shigatse, there are optional hotels from 4 star to 1 star, in Gyantse, the best available hotels are 3* and in Lhasa, you can find the best hotel from Shangrila or ST Regis Lhasa Resort and Lubhum Tsang boutique hotel and Songtsam Choekyiling resort and many other optional different kinds of hotels from 5 star to 1 star.

What kind of guide you will get for the Tibet trip ?

Most of the time, you will get English speaking guides in Tibet but if you have a specific language speaking guide request, Tibet Shambhala Adventure can arrange you French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian speaking guides for your Tibet tour. All the guides of Tibet Shambhala Adventure are local Tibetans and they are knowledgeable and very well know the culture, religion, lifestyle of the people of Tibet and so on. 

What kind of vehicle you will get during Nepal to Tibet overland tour?

In Tibet, you must have a tourist licensed vehicle and it depends on what kind of vehicles you will be provided. Normally, it depends on the size of your group. If the group number is above 4 people, we will arrange comfortable mini van, or van, mini bus or bus according to the group size. Tibet has the largest tourist bus as 29 seats. If your group is bigger than 27 people, then we will arrange two buses for the Tibet trip.

Is there high altitude problem for this Tibet tour?

Usually, having a little dizzy or headache in the beginning of Tibet tour, it is very common and usually, this kind of symptom will be gone after 2-3 days in Tibet. Drinking a lot of water is compulsory and you might take some high altitude herbal medicine, made in Tibet which really helps you to avoid from altitude sickness. In general, most of the tourists don’t get severe altitude sickness because this kind of Tibet tour is slowly moving around.

How is the travel Rescue and evacuation system for this Tibet travel tour?

Actually, there is no need of travel evacuation for this kind of Tibet trip because you are traveling through towns and cities so just incase you are sick from altitude, your guide will take you to the hospital nearby and they will take care of altitude problem. If they can not solve the problem, then they will send you to Lhasa or Shigatse for the further treatment. In Tibet, we don’t have helicopter evacuation service. You will be sent to the hospital by ambulance.

Does the trip cost cover Tibet travel insurance?

If you book Tibet trip with an officially registered travel company in Tibet like Tibet Shambhala Adventure, they all have travel agent liability and travel accidental insurance but we recommend you to buy personal and evacuation travel insurance to make sure that all your cost will be covered just incase you are sick from altitude.

Can we get Medical kit and Oxygen during your Tibet tour?

Tibet Shambhala Adventure always offers a big full cylinder of oxygen in your vehicle and medical kit including some altitude medicine, cold and headache medicine, bandages and other necessary equipment for the medical kits.

How much does it cost for 8 days Nepal to Tibet overland tour?

The cost of Tibet tour mainly depends on as below:

1. Which month you are traveling to Tibet?
2. Number of People in a Tibet travel group.
3. What type of accommodation you are requesting
4. If you want us to include all three meals etc

In General, if you take a private 8 days Nepal to Tibet overland tour, it will cost around 1300US$ per person approximately on the basis of 2 people group size but if you are looking for a low budget Tibet tour, you can join our fixed Departure tour from Kathmandu to Lhasa and this Tibet tour departure is guaranteed on every Saturday. To have more information of this Tibet trip, please check Tibet travel at Tibet Shambhal Adventure.

Can you extend the tour to mainland China after this Tibet trip?

Yes, we can definitely help you to extent this Tibet tour to any kinds of mainland China cities. You can travel to mainland China from Tibet by flights or train but the most important thing is that you must let your travel agency know when you book the Tibet travel because you must ask for a separate single China visa when we apply for the China visa in Kathmandu. Once you have a separate China visa, you can easily travel to mainland China from Lhasa.

About The Author:

This Article has been written by Dawa Tsering, Managing Director at Tibet Shambhala Adventure. Dawa Tsering, a resident of Lhasa city, has worked 20 years in the Tibetan tourism industry, traveling to every corner of Tibet including the western and eastern Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan, Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Region. He has dedicated a lot to the Tibetan tourism industry especially, adventure trekking, motor biking, mountain biking and Tibetan home stay. He is fluent in Chinese, Tibetan and English. He can tailor you any type of unique Tibet tour and Tibet trekking tour throughout the region.

Contact Information:

Company Name: Tibet Shambhala Adventure

Contact Person: Dawa Tsering

Designation: Managing Director

Contact No.: +86-891-6386662

Fax: 86-891-6321655

Address: Nyangra Road, Xinfu xincun, 89

Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region,

China 850000

Email: sales@shambhala-adventure.com

Website: https://shambhala-adventure.com/