As the only international gateway city to Lhasa, Kathmandu has become a very popular destination among tourists. A Kathmandu to Lhasa overland tour is one of the best tour packages that takes you traveling along the Sino-Nepal Friendship Highway to explore the tranquil lakes, ancient monasteries and beautiful cultural reflections of the Tibetan Buddhism lifestyle. Choose one of the itineraries from our travelers favorite Tibet and Nepal trips below to uncover the mysteries of the Himalayas with help from our friendly local travel experts. All of the tours are customizable, so just tell us your needs and we'll do the rest to give you a once in a lifetime experience to these two Himalayan kingdoms.
There are two ways to get to Tibet from Kathmandu, via road transportation or by plane. Most travel agencies have to arrange a car drive to Gyirong port without carrying any tourists to pick you up if you choose to go to Lhasa from Kathmandu via road transportation, so the price is very high, so we suggest you take a plane to Lhasa. It is a much cheaper and faster way.
Nepal is the only country with direct flights to Lhasa, which costs about 300 US dollars. The whole journey is about 600 kilometers, and it takes about an hour and a half, which is pretty short for an international flight. There are two flights per day from Kathmandu to Lhasa, CA408 (12:10-16:00) and 3U8720 (11:30-15:05). The flights schedule may change without noticing any side, so it is suggested to check out the exact schedule with us at least one week in advance.
If you do want to travel to Lhasa from Kathmandu via road transportation, our partner in Nepal will send you to Gyirong, the new port between China and Nepal, and our Tibetan guide will pick you up after you pass customs. Due to the increasing elevation, you should stay at the port for a while to acclimatize yourself to the altitude, and then set off to the east Tibet slowly. Before reaching Lhasa, you’ll visit Tingri, Everest base camp and Shigatse.
There are numerous fascinating attractions along this classic route, such as Mount Everest, magnificent Buddhist monasteries and Lake Yamdrok. In addition, you will have the chance to meet face-to-face with local residents and explore exotic cultures and traditions.
Currently, it takes 4 working days to apply for a group visa for Tibet. That means you’re need to stay in Kathmandu for at least 4 working days. Then you can leave for Lhasa on the fifth day. Please note that you do not need to apply for a China visa if you have applied for the Tibet group visa.
For international tourists, visa applications need to be submitted to the Chinese embassy in Nepal through local operators. Visa fees vary according to your nationalities. It usually ranges from 90 US dollars to 200 US dollars.
Necessary documents include invitation letter, original passport and application form.
It takes about four days from Kathmandu to Lhasa. The following itinerary is for your reference:
If you want more sightseeing, it is recommended to spend one more day in Shigatse. The Karola Glacier and Kumbum Monastery could be included in the one-day tour in Shigatse. The Tashilhunpo Monastery could also be visited on the day you go to Lhasa from Shigatse.
The Tibetan group visa is one type of Chinese visa, but it is different from other types of Chinese visa.
Difference in entry cities: Tibetan group visas are only available for international tourists who enter Tibet from Kathmandu. Other types of visas allow tourists to travel to other places except Tibet. If other visa holders want to travel to Tibet, they need to apply for a Tibet Entry Permit.
Difference in the number of applicants: Tibetan group visas are applicable to more than 5 people and are supposed to apply through local travel agencies (If you don’t have travel partners, we could arrange other tourists to make the number reach 5. They will only share the visa, but will not travel with you); but there are no such restrictions in applying ordinary visas.
Difference in the requirements for entries to China: Visitors with Tibetan group visa are required to enter Tibet and leave China at the same time. there are no such restrictions for ordinary visa holders.
Difference in the requirements for visa extensions: Visas for Tibetan groups cannot be extended. Ordinary Chinese visas are more flexible and can be extended.
Until now, visas for Tibetan groups can only be issued in Kathmandu. The original passport must be submitted to the Chinese embassy in Nepal. Therefore, if you prefer to get to Tibet from Kathmandu, you should leave enough time for the application in Kathmandu.
Some of our customers posted their passports to Kathmandu for applying for the Tibetan group visa. According to their feedback, it took almost one month due to the slow international mail service in Nepal. Some of them even lost their passports. So it is not a good option.
Only local travel agencies in Kathmandu can submit applications for Tibetan group visas. Tourists are not allowed to submit applications as individuals. Asian Odyssey Travel has been operating trips in Tibet for over 10 years and has a long-term relationship with local travel agencies in Nepal. We are confident that we can handle it well for you and provide you with a comfortable journey if you book a trip to Tibet with us.
I had to mention our tour guide – Puktso because he is too nice. He is very passionate and thoughtful when he talked with us on the daily tour arrangement. We reschedule a little bit and he gave us great ideas. I like all the stories and insight knowledge on local life he shared with us. We enjoyed a wonderful trip with his company.
The trip is very satisfied overall, just a few things to watch. There are too many monasteries. I am not quite a fan of religion. The hotel air conditioner didn’t work well and the hot water went wrong some times. Wish the hotel condition could be better in the near future.
Vielen Dank, Claire, für die tolle Organisation unserer 10-tägigen Reise durch Tibet. Bei den teilweise sehr kurzfristigen Änderungen unserer Reiseroute, warst Du immer sofort zur Stelle und hast uns zusätzliche Optionen, Hotels und Flüge vorgeschlagen und gebucht... in perfektem Deutsch! Das war klasse! Wenn wir nochmals nach Tibet kommen, buchen wir auf jeden Fall wieder über Dich! Danke für alles!
Had a 10 days trip to Tibet with Asia Odyssey. The staffs and tour guide are very nice and helpful. Kay was the person who got in touch with me, and she assisted me with all the document and trip information. Honestly, she made me a lot more comfortable with the trip since I just found this company on the internet and I wasn't sure if it was a legit thing. She also came picked me up from the airport and sent me all the way to the hotel. She is truly a sweet and warm girl! :) Besides, the tour guide and driver are very friendly, they provided a lot of information for me to understand and discover Tibet from a different angle. Overall, I had a great experience with them, and I would love to travel again with Asia Odyssey. Highly recommend people to try their service because you won't be disappointed.
We were very impressed with the travel agency Aisa Odyssey Tour and our organizer Amy who arranged all details swiftly without any worries. We took the flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa and were told we need the group visas to board the flight to Lhasa from there, this agency helped us get both of our group visas and Tibet visas sucessfully before the tour began as we expected and smoothly arrived in Lhasa as planned, really apprecaited!
Tibet is great place we did not want to leave because it’s really fabulous, but of course the long drives across the Tibetan plains to Everest base camp and the fantastic blue skies everyday, we spent a wonderful 7 days trip in Tibet with help of Amy and saw some nice monasteries, lakes, mountains and friendly local Tibetans etc.
Overall, our tour guide is very knowledgeable with culture and history of Tibet and always satisfy us as best as she could, our driver is a good person too and was driving in a safe way everywhere. Tibet is such a beatiful place, hope me and my wife could have a chance to come back again someday to spend more time for visiting further place of Tibet like Kailash? I will contact this agency again then, thanks again for making my long-awaited dream came true!
We had a unique travel experience in Tibet specailly the landscapes we saw and local people we met.
Both of our tour guide and driver were excellent, our guide had a vast knowledge about the areas that we visited and also had extensive knowledge with the culture and history of Tibet. All the way, he made sure that we were comfortable with all aspects of the day. The place that he set for each day was appropriate for our abilities, because the tour schedule allowed for a slower start and initial days in Lhasa to adjust to the altitude. Also, the schedule did not put too much into one day. Once we departed from Lhasa and went to the higher altitudes, we did not have any problems with the heights because we were acclimated already, so a good schedule arrangment is very crucial for first-time tourists to Tibet. Our driver was very polite and accommodating person too, he always picked up us from the hotel on time every day and drove in a very safe manner and made us feel comfortable during the trip, he was a very nice man.
Additionally, I never forget the blue sky and white cloud in Tibet, everywhere is so gorgeous that could rarely see in big cities, we love it so much and hoped to stay there longer time. But only one point I want to tell here, the 3 star standard hotel in Tibet actaully is not really equal to 3 star standard hotel I ever stayed in domestic big cities of China, so choose 4 star hotel is suggested, I think it would be much more comfortable stay in the trip. Overall, the Tibet tour was excellent, here I much thanks to our travel agency Odyseey and consultant Amy for everything you did for us for the trip, thank you!!
