Tibet Tour Packages
- Lhasa sightseeing tour
- Tibet Cultural tour
- Lhasa Kathmandu overland
- Tibet overland with Mt Everest
- Mount Kailash tour
- Kailash Mansarovar Yatra
- Lhasa Kathmandu biking tour
- Best of Nepal & Tibet tour
- Nepal, Tibet & Bhutan tour
Tibet Trekking Tours
Useful Information
- Places to see
- Tibet travel information
- Tibet travel permit
- Tibet tours from Kathmandu
- Festivals in Tibet
- Tibetan Buddhism
- Tibet map
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Tibet General Information
Tibet History
The written history of Tibet dates back to the 7th century when Songtsan Gampo, the first powerful King who ruled Tibet . He married one Nepalese and one Chinese wives, who brought Buddhism to Tibet from Nepal and China . The Buddhist statues they brought from Nepal is still seen in the Jokhang temple in Lhasa. This king sent his minister Sambhota to India to study Sanskrit who on his return invented the present Tibetan script based on Sanskrit. There are four main periods in Tibetan history
1. The Tsanpo's Period ( 127 BC to 842 AD)
Some 42 Tsanpo Kindgs ruled Tibet from 127 BC to 842 BC, among them the most important ruler was Songtsan Gampo who unified Tibet and established what we see as Tibet now . A great visionary , he unified Tibet, changed his capital to Lhasa, started the Tibetan script by sending his men to learn Sanskrit in India, married Princess Wencheng of China and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and built the Potala and the Jokhang temple . These two princes from Nepal and China brought Buddhism in Tibet . The famous Samye monastery was built by theTibetan state towards the end of this period.
2. The Period of Decentralization ( 842 AD – 1260 AD)
The strong, unified Tibet got divided into several small states after the assacination of the last Tsanpo king in 842 AD . The divided Tibet had very few contacts with China which was itself weaker compared to the rising Mongol Empire . The Mongol Empire was powerful during the period and in 1260 A.D, it was in this period that Pagpa, the Abbot of Sakya monastery started to rule Tibet with the support of the Mongols. Impressed by Buddhism, the Mongols declared Buddhism as their state religion and the head of the Sakya monastery their spiritual leader. Though Buddhism was not flourishing in Tibet after the collapse of the strong central government, the Kagyupa order of Tibetan Buddhism was established around 1050 AD by Marpa ( disciple of Milarepa ) in the Guge Kingdom in western Tibet and around same period, the Sakyapa school of Buddhism was established in Sakya after establishment of Sakya monastery.
3. The Period of Sakya and Karmapa's Rule ( 1260 – 1620 AD)
The Sakya priests ruled parts of Tibet for about 100 years . As the Mongols got weaker and lost their rule over China , both China and Tibet became free from Mongol influence and Tibet once again started to function as an independent state . The end of Sakya's rule was followed first by Pagdu's rule in Lhaoka and then by Karmapa's rule in the Tsang region(Shigatse). Karmapa was the head of Kagyupa sub -order at Tsurpu monastery . This period lasted from 1260 A.D to 1642 A.D. during which political powers centered in the three regions of Sakya, Pagdu, and Tsang successively ruled over Tibet. During this period a monk named Tsongkhapa ,at Ganden, started teaching Buddhism in a different way as he wanted to make Buddhism free from political involvements and intrigues of Sakyapa and Kagyupa orders , and have doctrinal purity and monastic discipline .This later developed as Gelugpa ( Virtuous ) order. The Drepung and Sera monastery in Lhasa and the Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse were established during this period. The Gelugpa order got very popular in Tibet and the head of Gelugpa were honoured by the Mongol Kings with the tile of Ta-Le ( Dalai ) , meaning "ocean", and implying ocean of wisdom.
4. The period of Dalai Lamas' rule ( 1642 – 1959 AD)
The Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet since 1642 A.D. when the 5th Dalai Lama overtook the ruling power from the Tsang ruler. In order to remain in power and protect themselves against the frequently attacking Tsang Kings and the Karmapas of the Tsurpu monastery , the Dalai Lamas sought help from the Mongols. Once the fifth Dalai Lama conquered over these two domestic powers of Tsang and Tsurpu in 1656 with the help of the Mongols , the Dalai Lamas exercised power independently and ruled over the present Tibetan territory once again . The rule basically ended in 1949 and Tibet became the Tibet Autonomous Region of PR China.
Tibet Geography
Tibet has an area of 1,200,000 square kilometers, with most of its land having an average elevation of 4000m above sea level, and hence is called the roof of the world.
Tibet lies in the south-west part of PR China and borders with Sichuan, Yuannan, Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces of China to the north, with India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Burma to the south and east and bounded by Kashmir on the west.
Geographically, Tibet can be divided into three major regions, the east, north and south. The eastern region is mostly forested, occupying approximately one-fourth of the land of Tibet. Virgin forests run through the entire breadth and length of this part of Tibet. The northern part is open grassland, where nomads and yak and sheep are in abundant. This forms approximately half of Tibet. The southern and central part is mostly agricultural region and occupies about one-fourth of Tibet's land area. All major Tibetan cities and towns such as Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse and Tsetang are located in this area, and hence is the cultural, economical and spiritual center of Tibet.
Tibet has several extremely beautiful lakes like Manasarovar, Namtso, Yamdrok Tso etc and some of the world's heist mountains like Mt Shishapangma, Gurlamandhata and Mt Everest. (Mt Everest forms boarder between Nepal and Tibet and the northern /eastern face of Mt Everest lies in Tibet).
Tibet is administratively divided into one municipality (Lhasa) and six prefectures - Shigatse, Ngari, Lhaoka, Chamdo, Nakchu and Nyingtri (kongpo). The People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region exercises the highest administrative authority in Tibet.
Weather and climate
The best time of year to be in Tibet is from April to the beginning of November during which the weather is relatively mild. Tibet is a vast land , almost the size of Western Europe and hence has different climate zones. The central Tibet, including Lhasa, Gyantse, Shigatse and Tsedang (where most of the tourists go for a visit) , generally has mild weather from April to November, though July and August can be rainy - these two months usually see around half of Tibet's annual rainfall. October and November often bring some dazzling clear weather and daytime temperatures can be quite comfortable at Tibet's lower altitude.
The coldest months of the year are December to February but the low altitude valleys of Tibet (around Lhasa, Shigatse and Tsedang) see very little snow even during this period . So traveling these reasons are possible even during winter. Spring does not really get under way until April, though March can have warm sunny days and is not necessarily a bad month to be in Tibet.
The Tibetan climate is not as harsh as many people imagine it to be. In fact it snows only once or twice in a year and owing to the perpetuity of bright sunshine, it is less cold during the daytime and chilldy during the night/ mornings. Tibet is so sunny that it produces a year-round sunshine of over 3,000 hours in a year.
| Temperature in Lhasa | ||||||||||||
| Month | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| The Highest (°C) | 6.8 | 9.2 | 12 | 13.7 | 19.7 | 22.5 | 21.7 | 20.7 | 19.6 | 16.4 | 11.6 | 7.7 |
| The Lowest (°C) | -10.2 | -6.9 | -3.2 | 0.9 | 5.1 | 9.2 | 9.9 | 9.4 | 7.6 | 1.4 | -5 | -9 |
Clothings to bring
For your basic idea , here are the items that you may bring while traveling to Tibet . As it is obvious, the list of items to bring depends how long you intend to be in Tibet , whether you visit only the cities or you go for adventure tour in the remote regions and which months of the year you are visiting .
2. Cap for sun protection, sun glasses, sun tan lotion
4. Warm jacket ( better if it is windproof)
5. Fleece jacket, warm inner garments
6. Head torch ( better) or any sort of torches/ flashlight
7. T shirts, long sleeved cotton shirts, woolen gloves
8. Comfortable walking trousers/ half pants/shorts
10. Toiletries and things that you bring for any regular trips
11. Medium sized towel
13. day sac to be carried by yourself
14.Water bottle and water purifiers
15. Sleeping bag.
16. Basic medicines including diamox for altitude sickness
17 . Dry foods/ chocolate bars
People
Tibet has a population of roughly 2.3 million which comprises the native Tibetans and the Han Chinese people. Both of them belong to the Mongloid group of people. Over the centuries , the Tibetans are supposed to have descended from a variety of nomadic tribes who migrated from the north and settled to sedentary cultivation of Tibet's river valleys. Even today , almost 25% of native Tibetans still lead nomadic life .
Foods
You can not expect much in terms of food in Tibet . Though Lhasa, Shigatse and Gyantse have good restaurants , the food quality is poor and varieties few in rest of Tibet . These restaurants serve Tibetan , Chinese and continental foods in the city . Usually restaurants are decorated and furnished in the traditional Tibetan style. Diners can enjoy the food while admiring paintings and murals symbolizing happiness and good luck . Food quality has vastly improved in the last few years but it is still substandard outside the main cities .
The basic Tibetan meal is " Tsampa " which is made of roasted barley flour, yak butter and water . This is accompanied with water, tea or beer.
"Momo " is the most popular Tibetan food among tourists which is actually small dumplings filled with meat and/ or vegetables and served steamed or fried . They are quite tasty .
Another popular food is Thukpa which is a noodle soup with meat and/ or vegetables .
The nomads usually eat Tsampa and dried yak and lamb meat .
In the cities and in many food stalls along the highway , you will get Chinese food which is mostly the Sichuan cuisine , usually spicy and a bit hot.
Be careful in eating in Tibet , diarrhea is a real problem while traveling in Tibet. Avoid uncooked foods ( for example vegetable salads in ordinary restaurants ) , avoid meat items if you think the restaurant you are eating in does not seem to have a refrigerator and strictly stick to bottled water or have your own water purifier with you .
Tibetan culture & etiquette
Presenting Khada
Presenting khada is a common practice among the Tibetan people to express their best wishes on many occasions, such as wedding ceremonies, festivals, visiting the elders and entertaining guests and even to the statues in the temples and monasteries . The white Kada, a long narrow scarf made of silk, embodies purity and good fortune.
Proposing a Toast and Tea
When you visit a Tibetan family, the host will propose a toast, usually barley wine. You should sip three times and then drink up. To entertain guests with tea is a daily etiquette. You are supposed to drink the tea only after your host presents it to you.
Greetings
One always adds "la"after saying hello to the Tibetan people to show respect . Make way to others. Try not to make any sounds while eating and drinking.
Sky Burials
Sky burial is a common form in Tibet. There are many prohibitions. Strangers are not allowed to attend the ceremony. Visitors should respect this custom and keep away from such occasions.
Pilgrimage
Going for pilgrimage is a popular culture in Tibet .
The immediate motivations of pilgrimage are many, but for the ordinary Tibetan it amounts to a means of accumulating merit or good luck. In Tibet there are countless sacred destinations, ranging from lakes and mountains to monasteries and caves that once served as meditation retreats for important saints. These places are popular pilgrimage sites .
