Nepal is a mysterious country located at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains. It borders Tibet and is the tourist center of South Asia, as a large number of tourists would choose to enter Tibet from Kodari, which is a small village in Nepal and a border crossing from Nepal into Tibet. According to the Chinese immigration regulations, all tourists should carry the following three documents when they enter Tibet from Nepal: Tibet Group Visa, Tibet travel permit and passport.
If you choose to enter Tibet from Kathmandu, Nepal, you must apply for a "Tibet Group Visa" in addition to the Tibet Travel Permit. General validity period of a Tibet Group Visa is 30 days. Whether you have obtained a Chinese visa or not, you still need to apply for the group visa in Kathmandu. Yet for those who enter Tibet from other cities in mainland China, they don’t need to apply for the visa.
Once the group visa is issued, any Chinese visa you obtained previously will be invalid, so please do not apply for a China visa if you plan to enter Tibet from Nepal. After you apply for the Tibet Travel Permit through a local travel agency in Tibet, you will receive a "Tibet Group Visa" invitation letter.
We will send the invitation letter to the Nepalese travel agency we cooperate with. You just need to hand over your original passport to the local staff, who will then go to the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu to apply for a "Tibet Group Visa" for you. Normally, it takes 3 working days to obtain the visa. If you need to get the visa urgently, please contact us. The more quickly you want to get the visa, the more money you will have to pay, so we recommend that you submit related documents at least 2 working days in advance.
Besides, fee of Tibet Group Visa is different by nationalities. It costs 200 USD for the United States passport holders and 120 USD for tourists with other nationalities.
When you are applying for the Tibet Travel Permit, you will get an invitation letter of Tibet Group Visa, without which you can’t apply for the Tibet Group Visa. It takes at least 3 working days to obtain the invitation letter, so you should submit the documents as early as possible.
If you choose the Tibet service with us, our travel experts will arrange the application of your Tibet Travel Permit. You will need to submit basic information (including your name, nationality, age, gender, and occupation) and a copy or a clear photo of your passport. Besides, you also need to tell us about your detailed itinerary in Tibet, such as the time you enter Tibet, your duration in China, and your travel destinations, etc.
You do not need to collect your Tibet Travel Permit in Nepal, as it will not be sent to Nepal and our tour guide will give it to you directly when he/she picks you up at the airport in Tibet.
Traveling from Nepal to Tibet is not only a wonderful adventure, but is also an exploration of Tibetan Buddhist culture. There are many transportation options for you to get to Tibet from Nepal.
Nepal is the only foreign country in the world where tourists can enter Tibet directly. There are direct flights from Kathmandu to Lhasa every day. Generally speaking, it takes only one and a half hours to the Gongga International Airport in Tibet from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal by flights.
If you have enough time, chartering a car in Kathmandu to enter Tibet is a good choice. The Sino-Nepali Highway is the only international highway to Tibet. Known as the "Road of Pilgrim" for countless Tibetan travelers, it starts from Lhasa, passes through Shigatse, Tingri County, Nyalam County, Zhangmu Town, the Friendship Bridge, and finally arrives in Kathmandu. The highway is a witness to the friendly relations between China and Nepal and scenery along the highway is beautiful. However, due to the Nepal Earthquake in 2015, Zhangmu Port had been closed temporarily and it is now only for freight use. Therefore, people now all chose to travel between Nepal and Tibet through Gyirong Port.
If the price is not the most concerned factor, it is recommended to take a helicopter from Purang (a county in Tibet) to get a bird's-eye view of the Mt. Kailash. It is also a valuable experience to see the holy snow mountains on the plateau from the helicopter.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us. Our travel experts will get back to you as soon as possible.
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