Tibet---->Nepal or Nepal---->Tibet

going from china-tibet then to nepal is much easier than going from nepal to tibet. because of permits. you shouldn't have any problems arranging your tour in chengdu.

enjoy

The main reason people prefer going from mainland China to Tibet rather than Nepal to Tibet is because of the group Chinese visa. Entering Tibet from mainland China, you can use a normal tourist visa. You can spend time traveling across China and then do a tour of Tibet. If you enter Tibet from Nepal, you are limited to a group Chinese visa, which is much different than a normal tourist visa. This group Chinese visa is usually only valid for the duration of your time in Tibet, plus a few extra days to leave the country. Normally you will not have enough time on a group Chinese visa to do a tour of Tibet and travel through mainland China without having to go to Hong Kong to apply for a new visa.

For more information, read my articles below:

Mainland China to Tibet
Nepal to Tibet

entering from Nepal is complicated in terms of visa application, the group visa for tibet is only issued at Chinese Embasssy in Kathmandu, it is useless for you to have a Chinese visa applied in your country, and the Chinese officals there only work on each Mon, Wen and Fri. Even though, you can not get this visa without help of tibetan local tour agents who will write you VISA APPLICATION LETTER; only with letter, can you get the visa. So, it is more complicated, and of course more expensive.

and the duration of this visa is generally 3 weeks.

Thanks for your replies!

Losang, that's exactly what I thought, but if you read the forums, it's all people asking about how to get from Nepal to Tibet.....which doesn't make sense to me. It looks like a lot less hassle to fly into Mainland China from wherever you are, it might be a bit more for the flight but so much easier and less time consuming. and less restricting!!!

Thanks for your articles, Losang, I will read those, they look very interesting.

I am an independent traveller, going solo.

I am in London, will get my Chinese visa as soon as the Chinese holiday is over and then fly from London to Chengdu. Once in Chengdu I will book a tour/trek that includes overlanding from Chengdu to Tibet (with Khampacaravan.com as per recommendations by others on thorn tree). After the organized tour I would like to have some time in Tibet traveling independently for a week before traveling to Nepal: ideally I would then like to over land to Nepal via the Friendship Highway around early November time.

Does anybody have experience of this? is it feasible? I haven't been able to find anything to the contrary but I also haven't found anything about others having done it.

Is the friendship Highway a bus route from Tibet to Nepal? or would I have to hitch hike or rent a vehicle and driver? what would the other options be? train etc.....?
BTW: I am female with blond hair, I would prefer to hear about safe options, Cheers!

i look forward to reading any suggestions.

"I haven't been able to find anything to the contrary but I also haven't found anything about others having done it."

with all the forum reading perhaps you somehow have missed the repeated entries on people saying it is not possible to travel independently for any time let alone a week in tibet these days,

Once you book the tour to Tibet , with any agency including Khampa Karavan then this will automatically have to include getting you out of tibet, in some way,.

November is no problem to travel in, and the road to Nepal is a well worn path, in which there is alot of information also posted on having to travel by private vehicle whether it be a car or van/bus as part of a group, or fly ( of which you can be the only member if you so wish as long as you have the funds for it)

Agree with #5....it is not possible for you to have an organized tour and then travel around Tibet on your own. You have to be part of an organized tour the entire time you are in Tibet....all the way until your agency drives you to the airport or train station.

Again, there is absolutely no independent travel allowed in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

lhasalb and Losang, Thanks a lot.
I have read that you only need a guided tour to get into Tibet and once there you could break free and travel independently. I guess it was old information. So if it is the case as you both say, then my tour would be responsible for taking me back to where they collected me from, in my case Chengdu. ???

I wonder why LP Tibet guide book shows routes for independent trekking, advice and maps etc if it's not possible??? In the trekking section of (the latest edition) it only says "depending on your experience it MAY be better to organize a trek through an agency" and that is implying that you're already in Tibet when you do that. Is it that the information you guys both give is brand new and that the LP guide is out dated already?

I'm happy to take a guided trek if that's the only way....just exploring options really.

Ok so after my tour/trek of Tibet and I'm back in Chengdu having being dropped off by the agency, how do I then go back through Tibet on the Friendship Highway to head to Nepal?

What's the consensus on doing that? is it mega expensive?

Thanks for your info...I realize that these questions may have already been answered but there is so much info to trawl through on this forum that it can get confusing. I appreciate your time and any info you can give me!
I'm really looking forward to this trip!

#7....No, the agency is not responsible for sending you all the way back to Chengdu. They will however need for you to show them proof (ie air/train ticket) that you are leaving Tibet. They will also drive you to either the train station or the airport in Lhasa the day you depart.

Travel regulations in Tibet change like the wind. The current LP Tibet came out in February 2008 and was researched in the summer of 2007. Travel regulations radically changed following the widespread protests across the Tibetan Plateau in March 2008, just a month after the current LP Tibet came out. So this is why a lot of the information in the LP guide is outdated. LP is a great guidebook and is well researched. I worked with several of the authors/researchers this year (I wrote my first article for LP which will be in the upcoming China edition). New editions of both LP Tibet and LP China will be coming out in early 2011.

Yes, guided treks are the ONLY way to trek in Tibet. You will need to have the trek arranged in advance before arriving in Lhasa.

Rather then go from Chengdu to Tibet, back to Chengdu and then back to Tibet and the Nepal border, why not just do a tour of Tibet that includes going to the Nepal border. The way that you have suggested is a complete waste of time and money. If you have tons of money to spend in Tibet (your proposed trip would be many thousands of USD), you can do that, but most people would finish their travel in mainland China and then go to Tibet. From Tibet they would then continue on to the Nepal border.

It may sound confusing now, but travel in Tibet is actually very easy to do and very easy to arrange.

I agree with you Losang,
So can you recommend a company that I can do a trek/tour with and then finish with an over to Nepal along the friendship highway? or if I can only get as far as the Nepalese border with such a tour group then what do I do on the Nepal side by way of getting to Kathmandu?

Do recommend booking this tour before I leave the UK or can I do it in Chengdu?