August is a hot month to take a holiday around the world, and there is no exception in Tibet. Thousands of travelers swarms into the capital city of Tibet every day in August. It is also the peak season for international tourism. August is the monsoon season on the plateau. It rains a lot in this season and the average amount of the rainfall is up to 125mm throughout the month. The heavier and more frequent rainfall makes it much harder to travel in some of the more remote and outlying areas. However, the weather is warmer and the climate is milder that it’s comfortable to travel in this month. Taking all factors into consideration, it’s still the best month of the year for most people to visit Tibet in August.
Tibet in August
Summer has nearly come to an end in August in Tibet. Temperature difference between day and night is pretty huge, so keeping yourself warm in Tibet is still of great importance during this period. When you go to places located at high altitudes, you need to bring thermal jackets and sweaters to keep out the cold. A light down coat would be better, as it is not heavy and can keep you warm to the most extent. At the same time, because of the thin air, long sunlight hours and strong solar radiation during this period, it is of huge importance to protect yourself from the sunshine. Otherwise, you will get a great tan during the journey.
It rains a lot in August making it the wettest month of the year, but it normally rains in the late evenings and overnight, which doesn’t have influences on the journey when traveling in Tibet. So August is one of the most popular months to travel to Tibet. As a result, it is the busiest season in the year. If you choose to travel to Tibet in August, you must be careful to keep safe. Because August is the rainy monsoon season, which often brings landslides and mudslides leading to havoc in the region.
Although August is the wettest month of Lhasa, the weather is warm. Usually, it rains at night and during the night, which makes it comfortable to visit the city in the daytime. However, UV rays are the strongest in August. So it is necessary to cover your body up to avoid being sunburned, although wearing a T-shirt is more relaxing.
Suggested clothes for a trip to Lhasa in August are breathable long pants and long sleeves, which can not only protect you from the sunshine, but can also keep you warm. The weather and air are pretty dry during this period, so don’t forget to drink more water to replenish water for your body during the journey.
Potala Palace
August is the warmest time for Lake Namtso. As the temperature rises, the rolling hills in the north part of Tibet are full of colorful flowers, bringing the magnificent scenery of the grassland to its peak. This lake has no signs of freezing for half a year. And it is a quiet and peaceful place which is worth visiting and exploring. August is a month in warm summer and is one of the best times to travel to this awesome lake. You could enjoy the stunning scenery along the holy Namtso Lake in August.
Lake Namtso
Although it is summer in Namtso in August, the wind here is still strong and cold. Therefore, thermal clothes is necessary for a trip to Namtso in August. If you want to keep yourself warm effectively, you should also put on gloves, scarf, hat and cold-weather mask when you are in Namtso.
It is the hottest month at Yamdrok in June. There is cooler weather and less rain in August. As the rain dissipates, there are lush and green grasses around the lakeside and the surrounding hills which makes it an ideal place for the grazing yaks and sheep. And it’s easy to find the nomadic herders in the vast open meadows around the lake.
Lake Yamdrok
August is the most comfortable time to travel to Yamdrok. Recommended clothes to wear in Yamdrok during this period is as the follows: long sleeves + long pants + jacket. When the temperature is low in the morning and at nights, you need to put on extra thermal underwear to keep warm.
Gyantse is a county in Shigatse and located in the east of the city. Gyantse is one of the famous historical and cultural counites in China, and it is also an emerging tourism county in Tibet. Though small in size, there are several famous tourist attractions in Gyantse such as Gyantse Fortress, Palcho Monastery, and Pala Manor. Gyantse enjoys monsoon climate and there are at most 12 clear days in the whole month which makes August the wettest month of the year in Gyantse with as much as 276mm of rain throughout the month. After the rain, the temperatures drop slightly, and the fresh rain turns the valley into a lush and green paradise. In a word, it’s highly recommended to visit Gyantse in August.
Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet after the capital city Lhasa. In Tibetan Language, “Shigatse” means “fertile land”, which can be exactly used to describe the city. Because of the full sunshine and sufficient water supply, the agricultural industry in Shigatse is the most developed in Tibetan region. Therefore, Shigatse is also known as “the granary of Tibet”. The average temperature during this period in Shigatse is between 9 degrees and 17 degrees, which is a little bit cooler than Gyantse. The rains here are heavier than Gyantse, and it is the wettest month of the year in Shigatse with around 146mm of rain covering the whole month. Since it rains very often, it’s suggested to take an umbrella or a raincoat with you.
If your destination is Shigatse but not the EBC and Ngari at high altitudes, long pants and long sleeves plus a light coat or jacket wound be enough for the journey. You don’t need to bring extra thick clothes at all. But if you plan to go to higher places, a down coat and scarf are necessary to keep out the cold. If you need to stay for a long time outdoors, we suggest that you wear sunglasses and sunscreen, so that you won’t get a sunburn during the journey.
EBC is the short name of Everest Base Camp. August is the wettest month of the year at EBC. The peak of the mountain is often covered with thick clouds for most of the time, making it hard to have a good view for the beautiful scenery such as the clear and bright sky and pure-white clouds. So you’d better choose a good weather if you plan to visit the Everest Base Camp in August.
Mount Everest Sunrise
A sweatshirt or a fleece jacket would be enough for a trip to EBC in August. But if you plan to stay overnight there, you still need to prepare a down coat to against the coldness at nights.
Mt. Kailash is universally acknowledged as a holy mountain in the world. Though different in belief, disciples of different religions have recognized the mountain as the center of the world. It is a mysterious mountain which is totally different from other mountains. For a normal mountain, there is no snow on the side which faces the sun and there is always snow on the other side. However, things are just the opposite in Mt. Kailash: there is always snow on the side which faces the sun and there is no snow on the other side. Even when the latter side is covered with snow, it will melt quickly when the sun comes out.
Mt. Kailash is such a holy and mysterious mountain that attracts thousands of disciples every year. They walk around the mountain circle after circle, believing that their sins can be washed away by doing this. In addition, Tibetan people have the tradition of making pilgrimages in Mt. Kailash in the Chinese zodiac Year of Horse. They make pilgrimages by walking around the mountain circle after circle. It is said by walking one circle, people can wash away the sins of their whole life; walking ten circles, people can get rid of the 500-hundred years’ suffering in hell; walking one hundred circles, people can become a Buddha after their death. Therefore, in the Year of Horse, tourists can see countless pilgrims walking around the mountain.
Devout Pilgrims
It’s advised to visit Mount Kailash in summer. And you should get prepared when before traveling there. For example, you should take the weather into consideration. And you need to be careful when trekking around the kora because of the rain.
August is the peak season of Mt. Kailash tourism, as many people will do kora or trek around the mountain during this period. The temperature won’t be too high, and it may snow at the peak of the mountain. Therefore, you still need to prepare a thick thermal jacket, pants, wind-proof hats and scarves for a trip to Mt. Kailash in August.
Nyingchi is one of the lowest places in Tibet, located at an altitude of around 3000 meters and boasting marvelous mountains, holy lakes, and virgin forests. In spite of the rainfall, the scenery of Ningchi is still worth visiting. During this period, the weather is comfortable that many flowers start to bloom in August such as primroses, irises, and gentian. The pastures of the area are filled with colorful flowers among the lush meadow grasses, which reminds people of the scenery of Swiss Alps in summer.
You need to pass through some mountains when you go to Nyingchi from Lhasa, and the temperature in those mountains might be low. In addition, the temperature difference between day and night is large in Tibet, so you still need to prepare some thermal clothes such as down coats and sweaters when you go to Nyingchi in summer. Besides, as there is strong sunshine in Tibet the whole year, equipment such as sunglasses, sunscreen and hats are necessary as well.
Lake Basumtso
If you don’t have the plan to go to other places in Tibet except Nyingchi, long sleeves and long pants would be enough for this journey. But if you want to stay overnight in Nyingchi, you still need to prepare a coat to against the cold in the evenings.
Even though August is the wettest month of the year, it is still relatively dry in Lhokha. Because there are some mountains around Lhokha which reduces the amount of rain and prevents the rain dropping into southern Tibet. August is nearly the end of the summer, but it’s still advised to trek in the prefecture. Because there is only around 109 millimeters of rainfall throughout the month. As for the temperature, it’s about as much as 22 degrees, which is comfortable to trek at this temperature.
The air on this plateau is thin and clean, so there is little loss of solar radiation when it passes through the atmosphere and reaches the ground. Therefore, how to prevent yourself from a sunburn should be the first concern during the trip. You should wear long sleeves and long pants when there is sunshine in the daytime. If you plan to stay overnight in places which are more than 4,000 meters above sea level, you need to put on thick sweaters to keep warm at nights.
The rainy season of Kathmandu is starting to stop in August, there is still much rain that you may get wet when you get to Kathmandu which is the capital of Nepal. August is also the peak month of the monsoon season. The scenery in August is pretty beautiful that plants are lush and verdant, the wildflowers are blooming all across the plains, making it an awesome trip to travel there in August.
The opening ceremony for Thang-ga is held on the fifteenth day of the sixth month at the Ganden Monastery in Lhasa. Thang-ga refers to religious scroll paintings that are adorned with colored satin. It is a unique form of painting art in Tibetan culture, which covers Tibetan history, politics, culture, social life and so on. This festival is used to remember the enlightenment of the founder of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism, Je Tsongkhapa. There are many relics in the monastery, some of which are the holiest relics in Buddhism. The huge Thang-ga shows religious images on a huge piece of cloth. It spreads on the wall in the monastery. Thousands of pilgrims and devout Buddhists come to honor the Buddhist master and pray at the lower hem of the Thang-ga. The main activities in the festival include unveiling Thang-ga and the performance of Tibetan operas.
Ganden Monastery
Shoton Festival originates from the 11th century. It had been exclusively a religious observance until the 17th century when the Great 5th Dalai Lama introduced the Tibetan opera into the celebration, making it a nationwide gala. Shoton Festival is sometimes called the Yogurt Festival because yogurt is the main food of the festival and it symbolizes the milk curds that the locals would give to the monks at the end of their 100-day Yarné, or fasting period.The festival mainly consists of 3 parts - Great Buddha Display, Tibetan Opera Show and Horsemanship & Yak Race Show. Being the largest and most mysterious festival on the roof of the world, Shoton Festival serves as a showcase to rooted tradition, appealing culture and great piety of the Tibetan people. Travelers all over the world, who urge to discover more than just turquoise lakes and snow capped mountains on this forbidden land, are drawn to Tibet at this time of year.
It’s suggested to travel to Tibet with a light pack in August. But there is also something necessary for the trip such as a sweater. Even though it’s always warm in summer, it’s possible to feel cold at nights or after the rain. Since August is in the monsoon season, it rains a lot. So it’s better to take a light raincoat. If it rains, you can just put it on, which is very convenient. Besides, it’s better to take light pants rather than jeans because it’s both hot and heavy. What’s more, when the temperature is about 25 degrees or reaches higher, you will find that sun cream, moisturizer, sunglasses, and a hat with the brim are musts, which prevents you from being sunburned.
It is wet in some remote areas, so it’s necessary to prepare a pair of strong boots and the waterproof is much more favorable. It’s also advised to bring some comfortable thick socks which will make you feel more comfortable especially when you wear the newly bought boots. August may be hot and sunny, but it’s not recommended to wear tight or short clothes that you’d better avoid wearing spaghetti tops, halter tops, crop tops and short skirts or shorts.
August in Tibet is the peak season for tourism. It is the busiest period in Tibet and it’s also the most expensive time to travel. If you want to travel to Tibet, it’s necessary to plan your trip and book in advance, or you may get disappointed when you travel there because of the large number of tourists in this month. What’s more, the weather in August is warmer, but it doesn’t mean it’s quite comfortable under this temperature. Remember to make your body covered and get everything prepared when you are under the sun, or you may get sunburned or sunstroke. Finally, the rains are heaviest in this month, but don’t worry too much because it often rains in the evenings or during the nights on the plateau. In a word, it’s a good time to travel in August. Wish you a good journey.
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