Prices for- Tibet Adventures and Trekking

Tibet Information

Necessary knowledge for touring in Tibet!

1. What documents I should hold for travelling in Tibet?

There are two requirements for foreign tourists tour in Tibet. One is the Chinese Visa, which you Can apply for in Chinese Embassy in your place. Another is the Alien' Travel Permit, which issued by Tibet Tourism Bureau .


2. What Statue of person called " foreign tourist"?

"Foreign tourists" here refers to the person who doesn't hold Chinese ID card. Although Hongkong, Taiwan are the inseparable parts of China, but the citizens are still required to get the permit.

3. Is independent tour allowed in Tibet?

In dependent tour is not allowed in Tibet. You should join an organized group or have the local travel operator arranged for you.

4. What is the best season for tour in Tibet?

In general speaking, from April to October is the best season for Tibet tour. But it really depends on your route. In fact have a winter normal schedule tour will be quite comfortable .Because in Winter, there isn't full of tourists, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery freely.


5. What should I keep in mind when I contact with the Tibetans?

Tibetan people are very kind and hospitable, you can feel free to talk with them. But there are Some rulers you should go by!
1) Do not photo them without getting the permit , please show the respect to them !
2) Don't talk the sensitive topics like the political and the religion matters!
3) Don't eat the dog, donkey and horse in Tibet!

6 What can I do with Tibetan beggars?

Religious beggars are an accepted part of society in Tibet. Giving money or food to a pilgrim is considered an act of merit, donations of five fen to two jiao (Chinese money) are appropriate. Notice if the beggars are the old men and women who dress in shredded, bulky clothing, while the Younger ones may have a monkey on a chain, a spectacle of great interest to the Tibetans. These beggars are professionals, having less meritorious intentions than religious pilgrims. Just wave them off as the locals do if you don't want give anything.


7. What should I bring for the plateau weather.

Tibet's high altitude and the atmosphere allow the sun's solar radiation to strike the earth with unusual intensity. To protect your eyes and skin, you'd better to bring the sunscreen, which with a sun protection factor of 15 and sunglasses  are also useful. And lip creams and balms are also sold with SPF ratings, zinc, oxide creams provide 100% block out. 

Sightseeing Introduction

Potala Palace:
The construction of the world famous Potala Palace was started in the 7th century during the time of the Tubo King srontsan gampo. on the top of Mt. Putup, it is looming over the whold Lhasa city. As high as 110m, the Potala Palace consists of two palaces - the Red Palace and the White Place.. With over 1000 rooms, the 1 storeyed palae covers an area of 10,000 square metres. it witnessed the life of the Dalai Lamas and the important political and eligious activites in the past centuries. There are grand palaces within palaces.

the Palace stands up so high that it resembles a magnificent castle in the heaven. It makes itself a good example of the ancient tibetan culture and architecture. The statues of the Tubo King Srongtsan gamoi and his wife Princess Wen Cheng are being worshipped in the Palace. Among the 8 tomb pagodas of the Dalai Lamas, the 5th tomb is the most extravagant. It stands as high as 14m and used 11,000 ounces of gold in its gold plating. the designs and decorations on them all are inlaid with diamonds, peals, turquoises, agates, corals etc. There also stored the world treasre-the gold hand-written Buddhist scriptures, valuable gifts from the Chinese emperors and a lot of pricless antiques. You will be amazed by the colorful sculptures and paintings. The Potala Palace deserves the title of art gallery and museum. It is a symbol of the wisdom and power of the Tibetan people.

Jokhang Temple:
The Jokhang Temple claims one of the oldest buildings in tibet. It is the joint effort of the Han And Tibetan people. It said that when Princess Wen Cheng came to inspect the landform of Lhasa, she drew the conslusion hat the Wuotang Lake was the heart of the devil. It was them filled with the earth carried by white goats. To comemorate the white goats, the temple was named "Ruosha" meaning "goat carrying earth" in Tibetan, Then the name developed into "Lhasa" meaning the holy land. In the central hall on the first floor, there is a gold sitting statue of a 12-year old Sakyamuni, brought in by Princess Wen Cheng. It is one of the most precious antique in tbiet. In the temle, they also keep the portrays of Buddha in silk from the tang Dynasty, the pearl gown and gold lamp from the Ming Dynasty as well as the painting by the famous painters several hundreds of year ago.

The stone Tablet of Unity between the tang Dynasty and Tubo kingdom with the inscriptions both in Chinese and Tibetan was erected in 823. It marks the riendship between the Chinese and Tibetans. The willow tree beside the Tablet, called Tang Willow, is said to be planted personally by Princess Wen Cheng and the Tubo King Srontsan Gamoi,\. There are 5 big copper pots for making tea for 5,000 people in the front of the temple. They are so big that when cleaning them, ladders have to be use. In 1409 Zongkaba, the founder of the Yellow Sect of tibetan Buddhism, originated the Geat Prayer Festival. The debate between the candida-tes for the degree of "Guoxi" was conducted among the Yellow Sect Buddhists. For more than 1,000 years, the Jokhang Temple remains to be the favourite spot for the worshippers from far and near.

Barhore Street:
The traditional lifestyle and appearance of Lhasa's Old City district are well preserved in Barkhore Street: The stone houses, and the man-laid stone roads, Barkhore Street is the commercial center in Tibet shops line one next to another. Here visitors can get everything Tibetan they could hope for, such as the prayer-wheels, the boots and hats, robes, and bags. Commodities made in India and Nepal can also be found here. There are many art galleries and stores for arts and crafts, which specialize in thankas. The thankas are paintings of Buddha.Brightly colored and vividly depicted. Artisans paint and sell thankas on the street.

Trupeng Monastery:
is the biggest of the 3 monasteries, sistuated on the slope of Mt.Guopei, it is 10 km to the west of Lhasa. The Monastery is so big that it resembles a town. It was built by Zongkaba's disciple Jiangyang Qujie in 146. The Monastery consists of a number of grand halls chambers, and the dalai Lamas'palaes. 190 huge pillars are standing in the Grand Hall of Guoqin which could sit as many as 10,000 lamas. The statue of Buddha Jiangba, said to be unearthed by Zongkaba, is enshrined on the second floor. Also enshrined in the Monastery is the white conch with counter-clockwise spiral believed to be buried by Buddha Sakyamuni's disciple Mujianlianzang. It was later on unearthed by Zongkaba and passed on to jiangyang Qujie. Muslim poems are written on the walls of the Hall. Before he moved to the Potala Palace, the 5th Dalai Lama lived here. The Drepung Monastery used to nourish a lot of scholars of Buddhism in Tibet.

Norbulingka:
There is a beautiful park in the western suburbs of Lhasa. It used to be the Summer Palace for the dalai Lamas where they handled political affairs, and practised religious activities The construction started in 40s of the 18th century, covering a floor space of 46 ha. The whole park has more than 370 rooms of different sizes, and lawns, shaded by green trees and embedded by various flowers. With the clear water, and the flowers and trees around, it is known as the "park within the park".

Yamdrok lake:
One of the three famous Holy Lakes in Tibet. Situated between Nhagarise and Gongkha, with an altitude of over 4 thousand metres and a coverage of 638 square kilometres, the lake, like a glittering jade inlaid in the mountains is quite well-known as an amazing and pleasant natural scenic spots, where visitors can find snow-capped mountains tranquil islands, ancient monasteries, hot springs, rare birds, wild animals and platns, and enjoy the leisure time in this vast hunting ground!

Kumbu Monastery:
The Kubum Monastery was built in the 15th century, It is situated in the west of Gyantse Town With mountains enclosing from the east, west and north 3 sides, its uniqueness is that its three Sects of Buddhism-shaja, Ningma and Guolu are living harmoniously under one roof. Each sect Has 6-7 courtyards in the monastery. There are various kinds of thangas, a huge bronze statue of jiangba, the jainrese of a Thousand Hands and a Thousand Eyes in the monastery. There is a hall of arhat mad during the Ming Dynasty.The arhats are so vivid that they look very much alive. Besides the monastey is the world famous 9-storey 10,000-Buddha Pagoda.It stands 32 m,has 108 Doors,77 buddhist chambers and countless shrines. Enshrine in the Pagoda are 10,000 statues of Buddha.The Pagoda opens 8 doors which are decorated with relief sculptures of lively flying dragons, running lions and walking elephants.It is a masterpiece of the joint efforts of the Nepalese, Tibetan and Chinese.

Tashilunpo Monastery:
The Tashilhunpo Monastery sprawls on the slope of Mt.Niser, southwest of Shigatse .It covers an area of about 300,000 square meters with a floor space of about 30,000 sqiare ,eters. Painted in red and white, the buildings in the monastery stand closely together in terraced rows,offering a grand and majestic view. The monastery was founded in 1447 by Gendun Zhuba, one of the principal disciples of the Founder of the Yellow Sect Zongkaba, and was then enlarged consistently by different generations of panchen Lama until it acquired its present dimensions.Gendun Zhuba was first abbot of the monastery,and in 1600 at the invitation of the monastery,the 4th Panchen lama became the 16th abbot of it, thus made the monastery abode of the succeeding Panchen lamas ever since.

There are many valuable and rare historical articles in the monastery, among them are found a lot of gold and jade signets, and imperial certificates bestowed by Emoerors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties as well as a seal of "Daitu" of the Yuan Dynasty scribed in the new Mongolianlanguage reformed by Basba.T hey are of great value for the study of history.

 Prices for- Tibet Adventures and Trekking

Footprint Handbooks

To get the most out of your trip we strongly recommend you find out as much as possible about your destination. There is no better way to do this, than by reading a Footprint Handbook.

You can order direct from: Footprint Handbooks 6 Riverside Court Lower Bristol Road Bath BA2 3DZ Tel: 01225 469141 Fax: 01225 469461   info@footprintbooks.com

Tibet Handbook 2nd edition with Bhutan Gyurme Dorje Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama ISBN 1 900949 33 4 £12.99  930 pages 200 maps