Best time for Lhasa

April is a good time- it's busy, but not quite peak season. May will be very busy.

Best general advice, I believe, is to go soonish, certainly within 2007. I perceive a ramp up in train-fuelled tourism into Lhasa, which is effectively an overlay on the existing increase in tourism interest in Tibet that has been building for some years.

And - next year is the big O - the Beijing Olympics, China's showcase event to the world, with so much at stake for national pride on the big stage. Not only will pre-event tourism be extremely large, but the authorities can be expected to to be jittery about the Republic's unruly far-flung regions, notably Tibet. They will tar the EBC road, and plan to run the Olympic torch over Everest [gonna need some serious special gas to keep it alight!]. So Tibet is front and centre of 'the plans'.

For these reasons, I have come to the view that Tibet tourism is on the up and up, with good and bad consequences. We already know that tourist costs have risen substantially since 2006, for 4wd tours. Price gouging for everthing from entry to the Potala to ex-Tibet travel agency costs are serious issues. Accommodation is harder to find, and, since the inauguration of the high railway, a multitude of rail fanboys and girls have ensured long waiting lists and hassles with inbound train arrivals, not to mention the incessant TTB problems. Another consequence is the kind of travellers going there: less the serious make-do travellers, more the 4-5 star hotel, pressed slacks, sit-down toilet types.

To which you can add that Tibet is very popular with domestic tourists these days; and as Lhasa is an overwhelmingly Chinese city with a tiny boutique Tibetan remnant, that influx will only grow in magnitude, along with the increased volume of Han in-migration flows.

If you look at the pace of [what passes for] modernisation in the Tibetan countryside: giant roads to EBC, road building on a mammoth scale right along the major western routes, all the way to the Kunlun Shan, speculation of an airport into Ali [joyflights over Kailash anyone?], well, as an American guy once said 'You don't need a weatherman to see which way the wind blows'.

Bottom line: late September into November 2007.
The near-term post-Olympics future: Out of season visits, such as April-early May, Winter [Dec-Feb] and perhaps late Autumn [late November-Xmas].

Opinions only, as always.

In my opinon, the best time to go to Lhasa is in the winter. The months between November and March see relatively few tourists to Lhasa. Lhasa winters are not nearly as cold as many people think and the skies during this time are often bright blue and cloudless. Many pilgrims from Kham and Amdo as well as other parts of the TAR visit Lhasa in the winter (especially around Losar) so the city looks and feels much more Tibetan than in the summer months.

YEP.....as usual Losang is spot on. Winter is a great time to visit Tibet. it is far more "Tibetan" in Lhasa and there are very few tourists around. Personally it is my favourite time to travel for a culturally focused trip. Even trekking in winter can be great if you are well equiped.

Philip is also pretty right although I would offer a far less doomsday outlook! Tibet is certainly changing fast and the rate of development is astounding. But at the same time if you are willing to get off the beaten track it is very easy here. You can ride your bike 15mins out of Lhasa and find totally Tibetan rural lifestyles. Tibet is such a huge place it will always have places that are undeveloped. I spent 1 month out in East Tibet this May and saw 2 western tourists in 30 days!!

CJ

Best time might be in winter, though it might seem surprising. This is only based on my readings so far, not personal experience.
Cheers!

We took the train to Lhasa from Chengdu in April and were really lucky to get sleepers.

Thanks everyone for the replies. So I take it that it doesn't matter when you go there will always be hassles with permits and train ticket availability?

Permits are always needed. Getting train tickets during the winter are much easier to arrange than the summer months. I have already noticed it is getting much easier getting hard sleeper tickets from Xining to Lhasa. I have been able to buy several hard sleeper tickets the past few days without any problems (still have to get them 10 days in advance).

Last year, I went in mid to late October. It was excellent. There were quite a few tourists still around, but not to many, and there were no problems finding accomodations, or planning trips. Also, the weather at this time is very good. Not to warm, and not to cold, and the monsoon season is over with. The only real problem I found was planning a trip to Namtso. It took two days of waiting before we could go, due to snows in the pass above the lake.