Wikivoyage:Tourist office/Archives/2022/December

Kailash trip for american

I would like to rent a 4wd car or truck in Chengdu and travel to Kashgar, by way of Kailash. The tourist requirements have been to have a "guide" and be careful with the authorities, and I understand that. As an American, am I allowed to travel to China, let alone to the TAR? (Asked by User:69.126.190.215 and moved from a deleted article that had the same title as the question heading.) Ikan Kekek (talk) 18:39, 19 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Yes you are allowed. But you need to apply for a 'Tibet Travel Permit' beforehand and the rules are quite strict: you can ONLY enter Tibet by train or plane and NOT by car (because you're a foreigner) which makes no sense but that is the regulation. Also, you MUST apply the permit with a Tibetan travel agency and not by yourself and you cannot travel freely once you arrive (except for in the center of Lhasa), you can only travel in 'groups' with a guide and there are 'a lot of' (according to my research) checkpoints outside of Lhasa. So I guess theoretically you can just apply for the permit and rent a car in Lhasa, but it could be quite difficult.

Also, some articles mention that there are special military operations in Tibet and going there would require more special permits for foreigners. I'm not sure if your destination falls into that category but just keep that in mind.

Here is a website but I'm not sure if it's operated by a travel agency or the gov.https://www.tibetcn.com/guide/8.html W dvd (talk) 09:41, 26 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

See Tibet#Requirements and Mount Kailash for what info we have. No guarantee it is up-to-date. Kashgar is in Xinjiang which may mean additional complications. Also, just entering China requires a visa & may involve COVID quarantine; see China#Get_in. Then various regions have other COVID-related restrictions. See also articles like US urges citizens to avoid China travel amid Covid spike and (BBC) China Covid: 'Everyone I know is getting a fever'.

My advice would be to wait at least six months hoping that will get you beyond the current COVID surge. Then consider a less difficult route such as the Yunnan tourist trail; that does get you into areas that are culturally Tibetan but does not require a permit & has far better roads. Pashley (talk) 13:52, 26 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]