Travelling to Tibet is the dream tour for every ambitious traveler around the world. Due to the high altitude, how to enter Tibet can be a big question for many travelers, especially those who come to Tibet for the first time. So, here we collect some top gateway cities to Tibet. Hope our suggestion can help you make a fantastic Tibet tour!
Chengdu, China-Top Gateway Cities to Tibet
Chengdu is always the gateway cities to western China from the history. Nowadays, it is the biggest city of southwest China and attracts lots of foreign travelers each year. To enter Tibet, you can choose Chengdu as your first destination in China. Since Chengdu is abundant in Chinese culture, you can taste the local food, see panda and visit some highlight attractions before go to Tibet. Then you can choose take the train or flight to enter Tibet. There are many flights per day between Chengdu and Lhasa, so it is quite easy to find the suitable time schedule to leave. As for train, it departs every other day and takes about 40 hours to get to Lhasa. But, the landscape is quite worth taking such a long-time train. Moreover, you will get acclimatized to plateau environment gradually on the train supplied with oxygen from the Xining part.
Xining, China-Top Gateway Cities to Tibet
Xining is the capital city of Qinghai province. It is also the starting point of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the highest railway in the world. There is also a popular piece of suggestion for acclimatization, that is, going to Tibet from Xining and spending several days in Xining before departure. Well, since Xining has the altitude of around 2,300 meter, you can kind of get acclimatized in the city. Also, the view of Qinghai Lake is quite beautiful, so you can visit there if you have enough time. Moreover, there are many train departs from Xining to Lhasa, so it is easy to get the tickets (not in the high season) and enjoy the stunning landscape along the way.
Kathmandu, Nepal-Top Gateway Cities to Tibet
For some travellers want to visit Nepal before their Tibet tour, Kathmandu will be your option as the gateway city to Tibet. However, the overland tour from Kathmandu to Tibet is not available now (due to Nepal Earthquake), so you can take airplane from Kathmandu to Lhasa. However, even though there is daily direct flight, the air fare can be expensive. So, you had better plan it in advance and make your budget per that.
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