Does anyone know of a way to obtain a travel permit to reach Mt kailash without booking an organised tour? I'd be grateful to find out. Alternatively, does anyone know of anybody reaching Kailash recently without a travel permit, and how they did it? Thanks, Michael.
1
zhaoyun
You don't need to book a tour to go to Kailash- you just need a guide and driver. You set your own itinerary.
A bus service which I think is called Tibetan Antelope used to take foreigners (surreptitiously) to Kailash, but I don't know if they're still doing that after regulations were tightened after the protests in April. Once you get to Ali the PSB will fine you for 300 kuai and then for another 50 will sell you a permit.
2
losang
Agree with Zhaoyun...you would not be joining a set trip. You make your own itinerary according to your time frame. All you would have is a driver and guide. You decide what you want to do each day.
The only way to get the necessary permits to go to Kailash from Lhasa is from a travel agency in Lhasa. You can't get permits in Lhasa to travel to Kailash independently.
3
pq
I don't think westerners can take the bus to kailash at the moment. I was there a couple of weeks ago (arrived by bike) and all the westerners I met who weren't in hired landcruisers were hanging around for days trying to get lifts in trucks which aren't very common - even though there were buses around. Saw loads of buses on the road but saw no westerners on them.
Permits are not always necessary travelling by bike (I was never asked to show mine) but it may well be different travelling in a vehicle.
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