Tibet Reopened to Foreign Tourists on June 25,2009 after closed to travelers since middle March 2008. Tibet Tourism Bureau has started to issue to Tibet entry permit but with much more restrictions. There are overall four documents required for foreign tourists who want to travel freely in Tibet.

Lhasa Chinese Visa - you can apply for in Chinese Embassy in your country. It is issued by Tibet Tourism Bureau and is a must for foreigners entering Tibet. It is required when you are planning to travel to the closed areas in Tibet, which you can obtain it after you arrive in Tibet.

Military Permit - You have to obtain if you are planning to travel to some military sensitive areas. As a local travel agency, Beyond the Limits Treks is able to assist you to process all of those above documents if you book a Tibet tour with us.

Tibet Entry Permit
Customers whose travel arrangements are made by Moon Sun Travels will receive their Tibet Entry permit from the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu.

You are required to present this document when boarding the flight to Tibet. Moon Sun Travels will make all the necessary arrangements to obtain the correct documentation for you if you book a tour with us.

Get to Tibet by Air Plane

For typical tourists, the best way to get there is to take a plane. There are flights to Gongkar airport, 95km (59mi) from Lhasa, from Beijing, from Chengdu (daily departure!), Chongqing, Xining, Chamdo, Xi'an, Zhongdian, and from Kathmandu.

Click on the following link to get the full flight timetable on a new page.

A Full Flight Timetable in and out of Lhasa

Chengdu is a very important hub city for flights going to and from Tibet. There are at least two flights form Chengdu to Lhasa EVERYDAY. If you want to go there from Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, you have to make a stop in Chengdu. Anyway, Chengdu is the best place to see Giant Panda Bears, and the Ancient Sanxingdui Ruins, the "terro-cotta warriors No. 2", is also in Chengdu. So an overnight stay in Chengdu is a good idea.

The flights going to Lhasa from Chengdu are all very early, and the planes are all Airbus A340, very comfortable ones. The flight itself is a great experience. When you look out of the window about 20 minutes before landing, you will see a breath-taking and incredibly beautiful view of the snow-capped mountains!

On the way to Lhasa, the plane flew ever so closely to the snow capped mountains, so close that one could almost touch the peaks! Never any one have seen so many mountain peaks at an altitude of over 7000 meters concentrated in a single location. Tibet has numerous of them! It will be quite an exhilarating experience even if you only got to see it from the inside of the plane.

Drive to Tibet in 4 Wheel Vehicles!

For those very adventurous people, driving a 4 wheel-drive vehicle to Tibet is an incredible choice that will be remembered for the rest of your life. This drive does require a lot of courage and determination.

By Road -You can drive to Tibet via 5 routes:

Sichuan (Chengdu) to Lhasa : 2159 kilometers to 2407 km

Yunnan (Kunming) to Lhasa: 2317 kilometers

Qinghai (Xining) to Lhasa: 1947 kilometers

Xinjiang (Yecheng) to Lhasa: 2743 kilometers

Kathmandu to Lhasa: 1100 kilometers

Among the above routes, driving from Qinghai or Kathmandu ("friendship highway") is the easiest route. We do not recommend that you drive to Tibet using any of the other routes unless you are a ‘professional driver’ and an adventurer with all of the necessary gear and backup support.

Moon Sun Travels can operate 4 wheel driving tours to Tibet. If you would like to take a real adventure by driving all the way to the rooftop of the world.

Which parts of Tibet are listed as the closed areas?
At the present, you have to apply for a Travel Permit if you are planning to visit the following places: