Lhasa Surroundings

When you arrived in Lhasa, you will suffer from altitude sickness of different degrees. If you just take the city tour in Lhasa, your body will gradually adapt to the plateau environment after 2-3 days. Lhasa's altitude is relatively low compared with other areas, and if the symptoms of altitude sickness occurred, they are not too serious. In addition, Lhasa is the region with the best medical conditions in Tibet. It is very convenient to treat or even choose to return to the mainland immediately by flight or train.

Yes, if you have limited time to travel to Tibet and want to go on foot, you can consider hiking from Ganden Monastery --Chimpuk--Samye Monastery or you can drive to Gandan Monastery, which is one of the "three" Gelug Monasteries established by the Great Tsongkhapa in 1409. It is very interesting to walk around the Ganden Monastery. You can also see the cracks in the rocks and the wonderful scenery of the monastery and the Lhasa valley.

For short distance trips in Lhasa, if Chinese tourists who want to rent a taxi, they can just wave on the street and directly talk with the taxi driver. For the tourists in groups can also find some of the vehicle rental information by themselves, but the quality and price of the vehicle depend on the bargaining skills. However, it should be noted that all tourist vehicles must have a special certificate issued by the Tibet Tourism Bureau. At the same time, there will be great changes in the price of vehicle rental in Tibet during the off and peak seasons. It is suggested that you should not be excessively eager for the low price in the fare. As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for", if the fare is too low, not only the quality of the vehicle cannot be guaranteed, but also the driver may raise the price temporarily or impose additional fees.

No, foreigners must go to Tibet in the name of groups, and they are not allowed to travel independently or freely, not even in Lhasa city. Foreign tourists must form in groups from the local Travel Agency and join the itinerary that provided from the travel agency throughout the whole journey, such as: accomodation, tour guide (have to accompany through the whole journey), vehicle, route, etc. How to apply for the Tibet Travel Permit before going to Tibet. Please send your itinerary, entry and leaving city and transportations, the scanned format of your valid national passport and Chinese VISA and then send them by E-mail (at least submit 1 month in advance) to the local Travel Agency in Tibet.

The temperature in Tibet is very suitable for human activities, especially tourism, except for northern Tibet and Ngari depopulated zone. In summer, the temperature is below 25 degrees in the daytime and around 10 degrees at night. In winter, it is in the mid-teens during the day and -0 at night. However, our tour activities are concentrated in the daytime, therefore, it is neither hot in summer nor too cold in winter.

The Potala Palace, Jokhang Monastery, Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery are the must-see scenic spots in Lhasa. These monasteries are highly recommended for the first time tourists to Tibet. The culture and implications are profound and mysterious. Of course, there are also other tourist attractions around Lhasa. Here are the tickets of the tourist attractions in Lhasa:
Potala Palace: RMB 100.00 (low-season), RMB 200.00 (peak-season)
Jokhang Monastery: RMB 85.00/person
Ramoche Monastery: RMB 30.00/person
Drepung Monastery: RMB 60.00/person
Sera Monastery: RMB 50.00/person
Norbulingka: RMB 60.00/person
Gandan Monastery: RMB 40.00/person
Tsurphu Monastery: RMB 30.00/person
Namtso: RMB 120.00/person
Yangbajain: RMB 30.00/person

RMB/CNY is used in Tibet, but it is suggested for visitors to bring enough cash, and there are few safety issues. ATM can be found everywhere in Lhasa, but only can with drawl with domestic banks, WeChat and Alipay has not been widely accepted in the local, so it is strongly recommended to bring enough cash.

There are Chinese Banks, Agricultural Banks, Construction Banks and ICBC, and can also use domestic credit cards in some superior hotels or restaurants, thus can also use credit cards (domestic credit cards) to withdraw money from the bank, but as the domestic banks, all the banks in Lhasa are off work on Saturday and Sunday.

Although there are celestial burial in Drigung Til Monastery in Maizhokunggar County, in order to respect the local ethnic customs, you are advised not to watch the celestial burial, and forbidden to take photos without permission, or it may cause you great trouble. At present, the celestial burial ceremony is forbidden to be watched by both domestic and foreign tourists.

Lhasa is a place worthy of visit the whole year, and the best months are May, June , September and October. July-August is the rainy season in Tibet; at the same time, during the summer vacation (July - August) , Lhasa is rather crowded with tourists from home and abroad. In winter, Lhasa is more like a Tibetan place with less tourists and more pilgrims. If you prefer a quiet Lhasa and you are not afraid of the cold, visiting Lhasa in winter is also a good idea.