Suggestions on Planning a Trip to Tibet, Nepal and maybe Bhutan
 

Hello All-

I currently live and work in South Korea. I am looking to plan a 12 day trip this summer(July/August) to Tibet and Nepal and possibly Bhutan. I want to start the trip from Tibet and exit out of Nepal back to South Korea. Any suggestions and advise on how to plan and execute this trip would be greatly appreciated. For any of you who've visited Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan prior any suggestions on travel/tour agents would be a plus. Please leave your suggestions. Thanks in advance to all:)

First of all, you don't have time for all three countries. It will be difficult to do just the two. If you fly into Lhasa, you will need some time to acclimate to the altitude before heading toward the border. The overland route is rough and takes time. There may be shorter routes now, but traditionally, it has been a two-week overland slog.

You need to do some research - get yourself a Lonely Planet guide, for instance. Search the web and read accounts of overland travel from Tibet to Nepal. This is a trip where all of your time will be getting from one place to another, there will be no time to linger or explore or learn about the countries you are visiting. If this is what you want, that's fine, but have no illusions you will get much of a flavor for the cultures and history.

Right up there with picking up some guidebooks, you need to look into visa requirements. You will probably need to leave Tibet off your application for a Chinese visa. You may need to join a tour group to get into Tibet - I'm not up to date on the requirements - they can be organized through travel agents in Chengdu and Kunming if you don't want to do it ahead of time.

And there is a time each summer when Tibet is closed.

You'll need to find an agent to arrange your Tibet travel. The agent will send you an invitation (which won't of course mention Tibet) that you will submit with all your other paperwork to a Chinese embassy to get your China visa. Plenty of agents in Lhasa, Xining or Chengdu can arrange this for you. See Losang's web site for advice on selecting one and lots of outer useful advice http://www.thelandofsnows.com).

It's standard to spend a few days in Lhasa getting adjusted to the altitude and then overland to Nepal border including when open a stop at Everest Base Camp (though you could fly to Kathmandu). Many agents can arrange this trip for you. If you go overland, this will take up at least a week of your trip, so that won't leave you much time in Nepal. Bhutan's a terrific place to visit but you won't have time to do it and it's very pricey (though July and august are low season and there are discounted rates in effect for the tourist tariff $200 vs. $250 day and discounted flights).

In 2013 it was easy to get into Tibet (I went twice, with a group in August and solo in December) but who knows how it will be 2014.