How to get to Tibet

After I’ve told so many stories about Tibet, you may have a question—how I get there? You can get Tibet by plane, by train or by car. Of course, the first thing is you need to get to China. Because Tibet has a changeable weather and very special geographic condition, there traffic is very limited. Here are the details about how to get to Tibet from Beijing.

By plane

Although Tibet has 6 airports, 5 of them are very small; they only have 2 flights every day and only for regional transportation. The biggest one is Lhasa Gonggar International Airport; it is a 4E airport. Gonggar airport is a dual-use airport, thus some times the civil flights may make way for warplanes. This airport is at an altitude of 3600 meters (11811 ft.). So when people decide to fly to Tibet, they need to consider if they can handle the altitude change from 43 meter (141 ft., Beijing) to 3600 meter in 4 hours. That is very easy to get altitude sickness. From Beijing there is only one direct flight to Tibet through Tibet Airline. Other flights need to stop in Chengdu or Chongqing, which will cost 6 to 13 hours.

By train

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the only railway to Tibet, which was completed on October 12, 2005 and opened to trial service on July 1, 2006. If you choose to go Tibet by train, whatever the starting point is, the train must go to Xining first and enter Tibet through Qinghai- Tibet Railway. Because the average altitude of Qinghai-Tibet Railway is 4000 meter (13123 ft.), so when the train arrived Xining station, it will change to an Oxygen supply train. That will make passages feel more comfortable in this high altitude railway. From Beijing, passages need through train T27 to get to Tibet. This train will take 43 hours. By train, passengers can experience the landscape change with the altitude change and reduce the incidence of altitude sickness.

By car

In American people always like travel by their cars, you can also do that in China. But if you want to travel to Tibet through a car it is a big challenge. First, because of the harsh weather and tundra, the road conditions in Tibet are very bad. Secondly, because Tibet is a sparsely populated region, the travelers may pass no man’s land and get lost. Thirdly, travelers may suffer lack of oxygen or altitude sickness when driving on the plateau. If you are fully prepared and brave enough to face tough challenges, driving to Tibet could be a fantastic journey. There are 4 main roads to get to Tibet：Sichuan-Tibet road, Xingjiang-Tibet road, Qinghai-Tibet road, and Yunan-Tibet road. From Beijing you can choose all this 4 roads to get to Tibet and that will take more than a week to get there. By the way, a good SUV is needed for the driving.

Here is the three major ways to get to Tibet. Choose your favorite one and package now! Welcome to China and Welcome to Tibet.