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About Tibet

About Tibet

 The People’s Republic of China has long been known as the "Roof of the world" and is no idle statement. The land veiled in secrecy, closed to the outside world for centuries. 'The Roof of the World" is now open to you. The bottom valley of Tibet is higher than the highest mountains elsewhere. Its snow-covered plateaus are the highest in the world. Apart from Everest, which Tibetans see form the other side, many a mountain ranges are over 15000ft. We are introduced with chanting monks' stopped in prayer, the nomadic herds men of the Tibetan plateau single and wade through prostrating citizens as they circumambulate monasteries on their bellies while prayer flags fan the burning incense as the smoke rise towards the heaven, to God who govern by a faith compassionate to all living thing.

TIBET, "The Roof of the World", is a great land of beauty and mystery for tourists, mountaineers and explorers. When you step on the soil of the roof of the world, climb upon the world's highest peak, put on the beautiful Tibetan dress,  ride the Tibet pony or yak-" The boat of the Alpine plateau", look at the melting of the charming pastoral songs, spend a night in nomad's test taste mouthful of aromatic sweet Tibetan barley beer, drink a cup of specially flavored yak butter tea, eat some tasty mutton, sit around blazing, crackling fire, enjoy the melodious music from the 'Dannijan' six stringed flute, bask in the romantic charm of a night on the high plateau grasslands and explore on foot the mysterious, uninhabited, open spaces, the holy mountains and the sacred lakes, you will have on overwhelming and intoxicating experience which will be the most unforgettable time in your life. The best season for tours in Tibet is, April – November.

About Tibet

Weather in Tibet

In fact, the Tibetan climate is not as harsh as many people imagine it to be. It is suitable for travel to Tibet from April to the beginning of November, and the best time is August and September. But if you only stay in Lhasa, you can go there any time of the year.

Sun radiation is extremely strong in Tibet. The sunlight in Lhasa is so intense that the city is called Sunlight City. The thin air can neither block off nor retain heat so that the extreme temperature can be met in daytime and the same night respectively in Tibet. However it is not impossible to visit the holy snow land. May, June and September are the tourism season in the eastern Tibet.

Most annual rainfall comes in the rainy season that starts from June to September. Usually it rains at night in Lhasa, Shigatse and Chamdo area. The rainfall may block roads and make travel difficult but the scenery at the time will be the best.

Here is some more specific information in different areas of Tibet:

Lhasa - Shigatse - Lhatse - Tingri - Nyalam: Along the Friendship highway is basically in good conditions year around. But from December to February, the road could make some trouble. Try to avoid August - landslide could happen in the rainy season.

Mt. Everest Area: Early May and early October are the best time to visit Mt. Everest. Due to the clear weather, you have great chance to see Mt. Everest's true face (if you are lucky). From December to February, you'd better not to go to this area because it is too cold - except you are real Great Adventure People.

Ali (Mt.Kailash): Even without climate restrictions, this area is already inhospitable. Big rain and snow could make the journey worse. However, for those determined tourists, the appropriate time is May, June, July, September and October.

Eastern Tibet: Don't go to this area in July or August (the rainy season) because the rain could ruin the road, and make terrible landslides. In winter, the road could be frozen.

Northern Tibet: With the average altitude of 4,500m, this area offers very limited time for tourists. Summer (July to August) is the prime time to enjoy the great plain in northern Tibet.

Main Attractions

LHASA, The holy city of Lhasa (3650metres) is the historical capital of Tibet and dates back to the 7 th century, when King Songtsen Gampo moved his capital from the Yarlung valley to Lhasa after unifying Tibet. Lhasa city is located on the north bank of Kyichu river and is the cultural centre of Tibet.

POTALA PALACE,The Potala is considered one of the great wonders of the world. It is held sacred by Tibetans as the former residence of successive Dalai Lamas, and is one of Tibet's most holy pilgrimage sites. A palace was originally built in the 7 th century by King Songtsen Gampo, and was believed to have been nine stories high, but around the 9th century it is believed to have been destroyed by a big fire. The present Potala Palace was constructed by the great fifth Dalai Lama in the 17th century after he became the ruler of Tibet. The Potala Palace is divided into two sections, the White Palace (completed in 1653) and Red palace (completed 1694). It has more than one thousand rooms and is thirteen stories high. The White Palace was secular in nature and mainly used for government administration, whilst the Red palace was mainly used for religious functions and still has numerous chapels, including those containing reliquary stupas of the successive Dalai Lamas which are richly decorated in gold, silver and semi-precious stones.

NAMTSO LAKE at (4,700Meters) is one of the biggest lakes in Tibet and is 70Km long and 30Km wide. The landscape is dominated by the snow peak of Nyenchen Thangla to the south west of the lake. Tashi Do hermitage stands on a promontory with more than 50 small caves including some small chapels. Pilgrims do a half hour walk (kora) around Tashi Do hermitage.

MOUNT KAILASH is located in Western Tibet, at an altitude of (6714Meters) above sea level. It is the most sacred mountain for both Hindus and Buddhists. It is the abode of Samvara, or Demchok in Tibetan, the wrathful meditational deity who is the Buddhist tantric aspect of great compassion.

For Tibetan Bon followers, whose custom is to circumambulate anti-clockwise, it is the abode of Lord Tonpa Shenrab. For Hindus, it is the abode of Shiva, the destroyer of evil. Jains also hold Mount Kailash sacred.

LAKE MANSAROVAR is located in Western Tibet, at an altitude of (4572Meters) above sea level. It is the holiest lake for both Hindus and Buddhists, conceived from the mind of God. It is the mentral creation of Samvara or Demchok in Tibetan, a wrathful meditational deity who is the Buddhist Tantric aspect of great compassion. For Tibetan Bon followers, whose custom is to circumambulate anti-clockwise, it is the mental creation of Lord Tonpa Shenrab. For Hindus, it is the mental creation of Shiva, the destroyer of evil. Jains also hold lake Mansarovar sacred.

ANCIENT BHARKOR STREET is the most sacred pilgrimage site in Lhasa and it is full of pilgrims from down till dusk. There are four huge prayer flags situated in Bhakor street which surrounds the Jokang, known respectively as Gadhen Dharchen in the northeast, Juyak Dharchen in the west, Kelsang Dharchen in the southwest and SharKyaring Dharchen in the southeast. The Bharkor street is the most active market in all Tibet and it is possible to purchase traditional Tibetan artifacts, religious implements, antiques, modern goods, books, music, clothing, spices, fresh meat and vegetable.

NORBU LINGKA (Lingka means Garden in Tibetan) is the first summer Palace which was founded by the seventh Dalai Lama in 18th century and the first Palace Kelsang Podrang was also constructed as the same name as the 7th Dalai Lama, Kelsang Gyatso. The eighth Dalai Lama Jampel Gyatso (1758-1804) did more initiated work on the Norbulingka, expanding the gardens and digging a lake which can be found south of the new summer Palace. The thirteenth Dalai Lama (1876-1933) was responsible for the three Palaces in the North West corner of the park and the fourteenth the Dalai Lama built the new summer Palace in 1956. Nowadays there are some monks who are taking care of the Palace.

YUMBU LHAKANG is the first Tibetan building, founded in 127 BC for their first King, Nyatri Tsenpo and it had been used as the palace by the Numbers of Tibetan Kings. According to the legend, Nyatri Tsenpo is said to be descended from heaven and he was greeted by some herdsmen when they were grazing their animals because the herdsmen found Nyatri Tsenpo as a complete special good looking man, totally differed from them so they respected him as their king and carried him on their neck and named Nyatri Tsenpo, meaning neck throne king. Nevertheless, today the Yumbu Lhakang serves as a chapel and it is inhabited by 5 monks who are taking care of the chapels.

GUGE KINGDOM was founded in the late 10 th century by lineages of Lang Dharma, King Palkor Tsen’s son Kyede Nyima Gon after the Tsenpo period was diminished in the late 10th century and it was resided by 16 lineages of the Kings respectively. The citadel of Guge is situated up on a giant cliff and it has (300Meters) in height and 180,000 square Meters in length. Even though the citadel of Guge was heavily destroyed, it still remains important Buddhist arts in Tsaparang. The wall paintings and the statues paint were influenced by Kashmiri style in 11th century, Newari style in 14th and 15th century, and Tibetan style in 17th century respectively. The least damaged temples now are White, Red and Demchok temples and you can see damaged heads or shoulders of the statues and destroyed wall paintings on the wall in those temples.

DUNGKAR PIYANG has around 1100 years history and the murals in the cave are possibly the oldest in Ngari region. The oldest temple at Dungkar is attributed to Princess Lhei Metok, daughter of King Yeshe-O in the 10 th century, but the building that is most prominent nowadays is Tashi Choling. Tashi Choling was built for Tsongkapa’s student Ngawang Drakpa in the 15 th century. Piyang is around 3Km from Dungkar at the far end of the valley. The oldest building in Piyang was the Karsak Lhakhang, attributed to King Yeshe-O. Both Dungkar and Piyang have extremely gorgeous paintings.

PALYUL NAMGYEL JANGCHUBLING was built at the village of Palyul in 1665 by the King of Derge, Lachen Jampa Phuntsok who appointed Rigdzing Kunzang Sherap as it’s first throne holder and it was originally connected with Kagyupa sect but nowadays it has a very big influence of Nyingmapa sect. The temples of Palyul were constructed on the slopes below the peak of Dzongnang and the ridge Dago Osel Lhari. Among them the most important was the Lhasarkang, constructed by Kunzang Sherap himself and containing a gilded copper image of Shakyamuni in the form of Jowo Yishin Norbu as well as the frescos of Namcho deities.

DERGE GONCHEN was once the capital of the largest and most influential of the five Kingdoms of Kham. The crafts of Derge, particularly in printing and metal work here renowned throughout Tibet. The monastery of Derge Gonchen was built in the 17 th century by the Derge King Lachen Jampa Phuntsok and became the most important centre for the Ngorpa order of the Sakya school in east Tibet.

DERGE PARKANG AND PRINTING HOUSE was founded in 1729 and eventually completed in 1750. Derge Parkhang was the biggest printing house throughout Tibet and it not only contains an enormous bullock of printing board of the all different sects of Buddhist religion in Tibet but also numerous texts of other Tibetan culture like medicine, divination, history, grammar, biography, poem, history etc. Here the Sakya School Shuchen Tsultrim Rinchen produced his own edition of the Kagyur and Tangyur, generally considered as the most accurate in Tibet.

Mt. Everest the world's highest peak just standing on the border of China and Nepal, in Tibetan, called Mt. Qomolangma, it is one of the must-see places of Tibet. The Karakorum Mountains guards the west and the hengduan Mountains with vertical cliffs and deep valleys surges on the east. Within the boundary of these huge mountains, the mountain chain of Gandise-Nyainqentanglha and their branches stretch from east to west. the forest of Snow-capped mountains forms quite a breathtaking view on the plateau.

Festival Dates

Festival Name

Year 2010

Year 2011

Year 2012

Tibetan New Year

14 Feb

05 Mar

22 Feb

Monlam Prayer Festival

17 Feb

08 Mar

25 Feb

Butter Lamp

28 Feb

19 Mar

08 Mar

Saga Dawa

27 May

15 Jun

04 Jun

Gyantse Horse Race

20 Jul

20 Jul

20 Jul

Thangka unveling Tashilunpo

26 Jun

15 Jul

03 Jul

Zamling Chisang/Samye Dolde

26 Jun

15 Jul

03 Jul

Choekor Duechen/Tukbe Tseshi

15 Jul

03 Aug

23 Jul

Ganden Thangka Uneling

25 Jul

13 Aug

02 Aug

Shoton Festival

10 Aug

29 Aug

17 Aug

Labrang Festival

17 Aug

07 Aug

25 Aug

Karma Dunba (shower festival)

26 Aug

14 Sep

02 Sep

Nakchu Horse Race

10 Aug

10 Aug

10 Aug

Yushu Horse Race

25 Jul

25 Jul

25 Jul

Litang Horse Race

01 Aug

01 Aug

01 Aug

Lhabab Duechen

29 Oct

17 Nov

06 Nov

Palden Lhamo Festival

21 Nov

10 Dec

28 Nov

Ganden Nga-Choe

01 Dec

20 Dec

8 Dec


Tibet Facts

Official Name: Xizang Zizhiqu

Short form: Xizang

Int'l long form: Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)

Int'l short form: Tibet

Etymological: the name Tibet is derived from the Sanskrit word Trivistapa which means "heaven." Tibetans called their homeland Bod.

Geography:
Location: Asia, north of India, located on the Tibetan Plateau, the world's highest region.

Area: 1.2m sq km (471 700 sq miles), Bod: 2.5 million sq. km, approximately the size of Western Europe.

Terrain:70% Grassland; from high plateau to tropical forest

Climate: Average temperature 28 degrees Celsius (Summer) -15 degrees Celsius (in Winter), extremely dry except during rainy season (July-August).

History:
Tibetan history can be traced thousands of years back. Tibet's history can be divided into four period: The Tsanpo's Period, The period of Decentralization, The period of Sakya, Pagdu, and Karmapa's Rule, and The period of the gandan Podrang's Administration.

People:
Population: 2.72 million

Ethnic Groups: primarily ethnic Tibetans; Menba, Lhoba, Mongols, Hui and a growing number of Han Chinese.

Religions: Tibetan Buddhism, Animism.

Culture: Wedding, Funeral

Languages:
Tibetan, Chinese.

Festivals:
Tibetan New Year, Shoton Festival, Bathing Festival.. Click to see more Festivals celebrated in Tibet.

Natural resources:
Forests, wildlife, mineral resources, uranium (world's largest uranium reserve), hydro-, geothermal energy.

Agriculture products:
Livestock and livestock products.

Industries:
Mining, wool spinning, carpets, forestry, food processing, printing, building materials and machinery, tourism.

Currency:
Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY)

Time:

Local Time = UTC/GMT + 8 hours

Government:

Type:
Communist party-led state (People's Republic of China)
The Tibet Autonomous Region was founded on 9 September 1965.

Regions and Cities:

Administrative Regions

Area Code

Regional Capital

Elevation of Capital (m)

Other Towns in this Region

Lhasa

0891

Lhasa City

3,658

Damxung

Shigatse (Xigaze)

0892

Shigatse City

3,836

Gyangtse, Tingri, Zhangmu

Shannan (Lhoka)

0893

Tsedang

3,500

Jiacha, Gongar

Nyingchi

0894

Bayi Town

3,000

Bomi, Basu, Ranwood,
Gongbuk Gyanta

Chamdo (Qamdo)

0895

Chamdo

3,240

Mangkhang, Banda

Nagqu (Nakchu)

0896

Nagqu

4,570

Amdo, Tuotuo River

Ngari (Ali)

0897

Gar (Shiquanhe)

4,300

Doma, Ritok, Tsada, Bakag, Chongpa, Taqing

Climate in Tibet

Tibet Autonomous Region has long been known as the "Roof of the world" and is no idle statement. The land veiled in secrecy, closed to the outside world for centuries. 'The Roof of the World" is now open to you. The valley bottoms of Tibet are higher than the highest mountains elsewhere. Its snow-covered plateau is the highest in the world. Apart from Everest, which Tibetans see from the other side, many a mountain ranges are over 1500Oft. We are introduced with chanting monks' stopped in prayer, the nomadic herds men of the Tibetan plateau single and wade through prostrating citizens as they circumambulate monasteries on their bellies while prayer flags fan the burning incense as the smoke rise towards the heaven, to God who govern by a faith compassionate to all living thing.

TIBET, "The Roof of the World", is a great land of beauty and mystery for tourists, mountaineers and explorers. When you step on the soil of the roof of the world, climb upon the world's highest peak, put on the beautiful Tibetan dress ride the Tibet pony or yak-" The boat of the Alpine plateau", look at the melting of the charming pastoral songs, spend a night in nomad's test taste mouthful of aromatic sweet Tibetan barley beer, drink a cup of specially flavored yak butter tea, eat some tasty mutton, sit around blazing, crackling fire, enjoy the melodious music from the 'Dannijan' six stringed flute, bask in the romantic charm of a night on the high plateau grasslands and explore on foot the mysterious, uninhabited, open spaces, the holy mountains and the sacred lakes, you will have on overwhelming and intoxicating experience which will be the most unforgettable time in your life. The best season for tours in Tibet is, April – November.

Average Temperature Chart

Month

Lhasa

Shigatse

Tsedang

Nyingchi

Mount. Everest

 

High

Low

High

Low

High

Low

High

Low

High

Low

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