TIBET
The Internet Travel Guide
Peter M. Geiser
VISA
To enter Tibet you need a valid Chinese visa. At the moment, only tour
groups are officially allowed into Tibet.
When you apply for the Chinese visa, make sure you do not mention that
you want to go to Tibet (state anything else, e.g. Beijing, Xian,
Shanghai, Chengdu, etc.). You want to go to China, and need a valid
visa to China. For addresses of Chinese embassies, see the section
Embassies in the Internet Travel Guide to China.
Note: Do not go to the embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal! There have been
several strong warnings that the embassy immediately cancels your
valid visa as soon as they get their hands on your passport, and tells
you to go to a travel agent to get a new one. The cost there is
USD 300, including three of nights in an expensive tourist hotel in
Lhasa. (I read that someone made it for USD 190, USD 25 visa fee and
USD 100 'service fee').
Your best chances are at home or in Delhi (stating that you want to
enter by land via Pakistan. Get the Pakistan visa first!), although
Delhi seems not to be as good anymore. Don't try to get the visa in
Nepal, the embassy just cancels your valid Chinese visa! You should be
able to get a 5 or a 14 day visa through a travel agency, and then
only as part of a group. It will cost you quite some money (no exact
info so far) to split up from the group or to get an extension.
As for the group tour, it seems possible that two people already count
as a group.
Once you are within Tibet, it is possible to extend your visa up to
two times for 15 days each time. An extension costs CNY 110. It may be
that visa extension may not be issued during politically sensitve
events.
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