Shangri-La County is located in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. It is 200 kilometers away from Lijiang and it takes 4-5 hours to Lijiang by car. Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon. It means the sun and the moon in Tibetan language. Because of its sacred beauty, it is called as "the paradise" with the divine snow-capped mountains, deep canyons, flying waterfalls, tranquil lakes surrounded by dense forests, flocks of cattle and sheep squatting on beautiful grasslands, bright blue sky and magnificent temples. Shangri-La is a remarkable city on the Yunnan-Tibet Line. There are three ways to enter Tibet from Shangri-La.
1. Overland Shuttle Bus: It takes 3 days and costs 300yuan from Shangri-La to Lhasa(1600 km) by the overland shuttle bus if you can withstand long-term bumps on the way. The bus passes Deqin, Mangkang, Zuogong, Pomi, and Nyingchi. The road condition is not good until it gets Pomi. If you can handle it, it is the least expensive way to go to Lhasa from Shangri-La.
2. Carpooling: You can get a chartered car or carpooling in Shangri-La. If you prefer a SUV to enter Tibet, you can ask the Kangba Business Road Travel Agency at the entrance of the Dukezong Ancient City. It is easy to do carpooling in May, June and July. But it may get hard to find one in other times. A carpool costs about 500 yuan and a chartered car costs 3000 to 5000 yuan. Both of ways are of much more freedom than the shuttle. If you get along well with the driver, you may also get to take pictures at where you like on the way.
3. It costs 1480yuan to fly from Shangri-La to Lhasa and the ticket is difficult to buy during the busy season. Flying distance from Shangri-La to Lhasa: 872KM
Notes:
1. The above flights information is for reference only, please contact us for the latest information on Beijing-Lhasa flight.
2. In the Off-season, airlines will cut down the number of flights according to the number of tourists. If it is a low-season trip, please contact a travel consultant in advance to check the flight status of the day you travel.
Shangri-La Airport Traffic Guide
Diqing Shangri-La Airport (IATA:DIG;ICAO:ZPDQ) is a civil airport in Yunnan Province. It is located in the southwestern part of Shangri-La County. Its flights reach to Kunming, Chengdu, Lhasa, Guangzhou, Xishuangbanna, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guiyang, etc. It is about 5 kilometers from Shangri-La County to Shangri-La Airport and it costs about 30 yuan by taxi.
Lhasa Gongga Airport Traffic Tips:
Lhasa Gongga Airport (IATA: LXA, ICAO: ZULS) is in Jiazhulin Town in Gongga County, Shannan District, Tibet Autonomous Region. It is located on the south bank of the magnificent Yalu Tsangpo River at an altitude of 3,600 meters. It is one of the highest civil airports in the world. The Gongga Airport is not very big. There are not many flights to and from the country. Unlike many airports with several terminals in the mainland cities, there is only one terminal building with one entrance and one exit in the Gongga Airport. You won’t get lost once you are at the Lhasa Gongga Airport，since you’ll have to take the only exit to be out.
Gongga Airport staff parks the airport bus about five meters away from the exit of the terminal building. There is a small pavilion on the left side of the airport terminal building, where sells was the shuttle bus ticket. The fare was 30 yuan. After purchasing the ticket, you can get on the shuttle bus to downtown Lhasa.
The starting stop of the Gongga Airport shuttle is the exit of the Gongga Airport Terminal. The terminal is the Civil Aviation Bureau at the foot of the Potala Palace.
If you take a taxi, it costs about 200 yuan (not by meter); if you share a taxi with others, it’s about 50 yuan per person.
Tibet Flight travel notes:
1. Foreign tourists need to take the required documents to depart Tibet
- Passport: The passport must be within the validity period. Whether you are flying or booking a flight on the way, you need to provide the original passport when you check in at the hotel or pass the security check. Therefore, please always keep your passport at hand.
- Chinese visa: Except for tourists from the within 15 days visa-free countries, foreigners from other countries are all required to provide a valid Chinese visa.
- Tibet Permit: When getting your boarding pass and passing the airport security check, the airport staff will always check your Tibet permit. So please make sure you have your Tibet Permit ready before you fly and bring the Permit to your tour guide in Lhasa.
2. How to book an air ticket to and from Tibet?
Most tourists now book flights online through some travel service websites such as Ctrip, Qunar, or Fliggy. You can also purchase tickets on the airline's official website or on. Our company provides ticket booking service as well. It is recommended to book your ticket one month in advance to have a fair price.
3. Besides Shangri-La, which other cities can fly directly to Lhasa
Currently, many cities have direct flights to Lhasa, such as Beijing, Chengdu, Xi'an, Chongqing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shangri-La, etc.
4. In addition to Lhasa Gongga Airport, Which airports in Tibet can you travel to by plane?
There are five airports in Tibet. Besides Lhasa Gongga Airport, you can also fly directly from Shigatse, Nyingchi, Ngari and Chamdo. There are only a few flights to these four airports, and only a few cities have direct flights to Lhasa.
- Nyingchi Mainlin Airport: Currently there are direct flights from Chengdu and Chongqing to Nyingchi Mainlin Airport. There are about four flights from Chengdu to Nyingchi every morning between 6:00 and 09:00, and there are about 3 flights from Chongqing to Nyingchi. If you want to fly directly to Nyingchi, you can only transfer from these two cities.
-Chamdo Banda Airport: Both Chengdu and Chongqing have a daily flight to Chamdo, There are only a few tourists go to Chamdo since it is not a tourist attraction in Tibet.
- Ngari Gunsa Airport: Every Friday, There is a flight Lucky Air 8L9681 (07:20-11:35) from Urumqi to Ngari via Kashgar.
5. Baggage
6. Do children have discounts on ticket purchase?
A baby ticket for Infant under two years old (based on the date of departure) is at 10% of the regular adult fare. Children who are 2 years old or older to under 12 years (based on the date of departure) will be entitled to a seat at 50% of the regular adult fare for the same flight. When purchasing a child ticket, you should provide the children and babies’ valid documents such as birth certificate and residence booklet. When purchasing a baby or child ticket, the identity information needs to be attached to the accompanying adult.
How to get your boarding pass after purchasing a ticket online?
At present, once purchasing a ticket online, the passengers can get the boarding pass by presenting the valid documents used to book the ticket at the airport service counter. Foreigners who are flying to Tibet, should also present the valid ID documents and the Tibet Permit to check-in.
Anyone who books a tour with us is enabled to purchase discount tickets from Lhasa to Urumqi through our agency. The discount varies from 10 to 50% depending on the different time of the year. For detailed discount information, please contact our travel consultants for specific discounts information on flights to Lhasa.
