Lhasa to Nepal, March/April 2011

AFAIK,there is a good chance tat Tbet will not open to foreigners at March,
cause the Tibeten New Year holiday, travellers can get the permit to go to.
I think u better plan it on April...

The closure of Tibet to foreigners in March has nothing at all to do with Tibetan New Year Holiday - who makes this stuff up?

Tibet is closed to foreigners in March as March 10th is the anniversary of the Tibetan uprising and the riots of 2008. The govt. closes Tibet as they do not want foreigners to see any "social problems" or the security crack-down that they impose every March.

Permits are usually issued again by the last week of March provided there are no "problems". The situation is beginning to relax slowly so there is a chance that Tibet may only be closed to foreigners for a few weeks or so - but there is no guarantee of this at all - so best to avoid travel to Tibet for all of March.

Chinese authorities are not happy at any gatherings of Tibetans so clamp down rather hard in Lhasa Tibet. Just a few days ago when there were festivities in Jokhang there was panic and stampede due to rumour of gunshots which dispersed crowd quickly and (evidently) thousands of armymen on Barkhor square.

So nothing can be certain about traveling in Tibet even if you have all necessary permits.

However I would suggest to OP to contact some established travel agencies in Lhasa which make group tours from Nepal like Tashi Delek. Some travellers will definitely return to Kathmanu by land (likely by bus, but some also book jeep) and you can ask to join them. The only drawback is that they want to return quickly as possible in just two days so you can't see many interesting sights they have already seen.

Good luck!

Cheers for the tips regarding March travel, aiming for April sounds like a much better plan.

Also, Thanks Davyd for your advise about getting in contact with returning Nepal-Lhasa tour and trying to get in with them for they're journey back.However, is this legal? I thought you had to stick with your original guide like glue at all times. Would this cause any problems at the border if my permit didn't have their name on it?? The last thing I want to do is to get any locals in the shit.

Thanks again guys
Joe

Hey, I was thinking of a trip around April as well. I was planning on travelling by train from Chengdu to Lhasa, and onwards to Nepal. I wouldnt mind joining. Drop me a message if you're interested!

During the Tibetten New Year, there're 15days holiday,
goverment also takes tis holiday, if therez nobody sign the permit,then how can foreigners go travel to ??
I call it had something to do with...

In my point,The close for foreigners also the way to protection.not just because some "social problems"...

Agree...March is a sensitive time across all regions of the Tibetan Plateau. For the past several years, travel in Tibet during March has not been possible as the Tibet Tourism Bureau has not issued travel permits. It is best to plan to go to Tibet in April.

Also agree....The closure of Tibet has nothing to do with Losar/Tibetan New Year.

to corns86.

why not legal? many people even try to travel independently after getting individual group visa (I came by such visa)? But if you join any group it would be even much easier to reach Zhangmu. I was told that public transport is not easy way to reach Nepal, so joining Nepali tour groups is the way. Only remember to call in advance to learn the dates when these groups go back. I think it's usually on 8th day morning counting after every tuesday and saturday (days when Tashi Delek's budget tour groups leave Kathmandu). If I count correctly it means every Wednesday and Sunday mornings somebody is going to the border.

Hey, How's it going?

Sounds good to me. Not sure exactly what you had in mind but i'm pretty open to suggestions to be honest. I've got no experience of travel in this part of the world so am trying to get as much info from these blogs as possible before i get there.

My understanding is that it's not possible to get a permit or travel through Tibet without an organised tour, which can be really expensive if you do it alone, hence the shout out. I've looked into a tour called Himalayan Journey, here's the link to it;
http://snowliontours.com/index.php/tibet/trip/himalayan_journey/custom_trips

Is this the sort of thing you'd be interested in doing?? I've emailed the guy, who seems dead nice, he gave me a rough idea of prices;
1 person: 9200Y/ per

2 ppl: 4950Y/per

3 ppl:3800 Y/per

4 ppl: 3200Y/per
Please let me know what you're thinking, be good to bounce some ideas off each other i think.
if you'd prefer to email then contact me on; wolverine_dream@hotmail.com

nice one
Joe