Published on December 16, 2006

Tibet Travel Tips

Tibetan Prayer Flags, Bakhor Market in Lhasa.• Bargain, bargain, bargain. The price you are first quoted is most of the time 10 times what you should be looking to pay.
Walk away if you don’t get the price you want, chances are they will call you back and sell it to you for what you want.

• Recommended rest time in Lhasa is about 3 to 4 days if you are coming from an altitude below 3000m. There are numerous remedies you can take to help with the effects of high altitude including some that are ginseng based. Make sure you research what you are taking.
Drink lots of water and take vitamin C to help with the effects as well. None of the people in our group had any effects except shortness of breath after climbing stairs. However, we did meet people that had to stay in bed for couple days at a time due to horrible headaches and weakness.

• Don’t attempt visiting Potala on the first day in Lhasa. There are a few hundred stairs you have to climb to get inside the Palace and unless you are used to the high altitude, you will most probably get extremely tired and have to turn around.

• Around holy sights you can only walk clockwise and it is considered taboo to do otherwise. Same goes for visiting the inside of a temple, you have to make your way from one chapel to the next by going clockwise.

Namtso Lake.• FIT is the official Tibetan travel office and though not much bargaining can be achieved with them, you can be sure they are reliable. All tours booked through them include driver and car, usually an older model of Toyota Landcruiser, but you can request a newer one.

• The trip to Everest takes a minimum of five days, and costs around 3500 yuan (450 US) per car. This does not include other entrance fees at the base camp, your own accommodation and food and tip for the driver.

• Make sure you have your tour itinerary set straight before you leave because if you want to make stops along the way, the driver will not take you unless you have included them in the itinerary.