Trip Includes
- Accommodation on double occupancy basis.
- There will be Daily breakfast and some meals included as indicated.
- All transfers and sightseeing by private vehicle.
- Sightseeing admission fees.
- English speaking tour guide.
- Service of internal airfare reservation.
- Tibet Entry Permit.
- Service of airfare booking (Estimated in-tour airfare separately billed).
Trip Does Not Include
- International and internal airfare.
- Airport Taxes.
- Nepal Visa Fee.
- China visa
- Lunch and dinner except as indicated.
- Drinks, tips, and other expenses of personal nature.
- Travel & Health Insurance.
- All extra expenses caused due to nature or unforeseen events.
- Excess baggage charges.
Passport and visa
Your passport’s remaining validity must be a minimum of 6 months after your return date. Make sure you have two blank visa pages for each country you travel on this trip.
You can obtain a Nepali visa from a Nepali embassy in your country, or you can wait until you arrive at the port of entry to Nepal. You need to complete the visa application form and affix a passport photograph. Visa fee costs US$ 25 for 15 days and $ 40 for 30 days with multiple entry facility.
You need to obtain a Chinese visa on your own. We will help you with the necessary documents required to submit with a visa application. Our local Lhasa office will obtain Tibet entry permit and ship to the hotel in Chengdu that you will pick up when you check-in.
Please bring one passport picture with you for the Nepal visa application.
Accommodation
Our preferred hotels are three and four-star properties by local standards. You will have a private en suite bathroom with running hot and cold water and ensure adequate comfort.
In Nepal, we have comfortable four-star properties. In Tibet, we have limited choices; in Lhasa and Shigatse, we have four-star hotels. Whereas Gyantse Hotel is the only best hotel in Gyantse, locally classified as three-star. Most hotels do provide cabled or wireless internet, tea-coffee maker and mini-refrigerator.
Food
The trip includes daily breakfast at your hotel. While in Chitwan National Park, you will have three meals a day included in the hotel meal plan. In Kathmandu, you will have one Nepali welcome dinner. Most hotels do have onsite restaurants, and they offer Chinese, Tibetan, Indian, Nepali, and western-style dishes.
Lunch and dinner, except in Chitwan National Park, are not included. You can expect to spend US$ 10-15 for a decent 3-course meal in tourist class restaurants.
Transportation
Depending on the group size, we provide Japanese or Korean made vans and buses for all transfers and tours. Our vehicles are air-conditioned, well maintained, and driven by experienced drivers. Drivers and guides are not the same persons.
Guide
You will be accompanied by an experienced and knowledgeable English speaking local guides. Guides in Nepal and Tibet will be different persons. Besides guiding you on tour, your guides will help you check-in hotels and deal with the check posts and bureaucracies.
Health Concerns
There is no mandatory vaccination required for entry into Tibet and Nepal, but you may consider vaccination against rabies, Hep A, Malaria, Japanese Encephalitis, etc. Travelers with cardiac-pulmonary issues or any other medical conditions are recommended to consult their physician before you sign up for the trip.
The primary health consideration in Tibet is altitude sickness, also called Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). When you first arrive in Lhasa (Altitude 11, 995 ft.), you may experience some mild symptoms initially, such as headache, lethargy, nausea, and sleeplessness, etc. Usually, these symptoms should go away in a day or two. The trip has you spend the first three days in Lhasa, and you should be well-acclimated and be ready to travel to a higher altitude. The highest elevation in this trip is at Karo La pass, which is at 16, 432 ft, but the towns you spend a night in are in lower altitudes (Gyantse 13, 210 ft. and Shigatse 12, 467 ft.). If the symptoms persist or worsen, please see the doctor immediately.
You should start some physical exercises like jogging, swimming, cycling, hiking, and aerobics about several weeks before the trip. This helps you keep fit and lessen the chance of getting altitude sickness. You should have a good sleep the night before you fly into Lhasa and take complete rest on the first day. It's also advisable to drink 3-4 liters of water daily and consume liquid food.
Climate and Weather
Nepal's weather is generally predictable and pleasant. There are four climatic seasons: March to May (spring), June to August (summer), September to November (autumn), and December to February (winter). The monsoon is approximately from the end of June to the middle of September. About 80 percent of the rain falls during that period, so the remainder of the year is dry. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons. In this trip, we travel in the central valleys and southern lowland. In the central valleys of Kathmandu and Pokhara, the temperature remains mild throughout the year. In the coldest winter, the temperature may fall below freezing point, but days are surprisingly warm with 20 ºC /68º. In the hottest summer, the temperature ranges from 19-27ºC (67-81ºF). In southern lowland (e.g., Chitwan National Park, summer is scorching with temperature exceeding 40ºC (104ºF). Undoubtedly, Tibet is one of the harshest places for human existence. It is cool in summer, but excruciatingly cold in winter.
In Lhasa, the relatively humane city in Tibet, although the temperature may exceed 29 ºC (84 ºF) in summer, it can also plummet to minus 16 degrees C (3 degrees F) in winter! Solar radiation is extreme in Tibet. The sunlight in Lhasa is so intense that the city is called Sunlight City. The thin Tibetan air can neither radiate nor absorb heat, resulting in temperature extremes during both day and night. However, it is not impossible to visit the holy snow land. The period from April to October is the best time to visit Tibet, avoiding the coldest months from December to February.
You should carry lightweight and tropical clothes with an umbrella for June to August. Between October and March, you should wear thin garments in Kathmandu and central valleys. If you are traveling during winter, of course, you need to keep yourself warm. And at the same time, make sure the bulky jackets do not take your luggage space. Traveling in Tibet also needs warm clothing no matter what time of the year you are going. We recommend layered clothing! For example, it is much better to wear a T-shirt, a long sleeve cotton shirt, a light sweater and on top that a windbreaker. It would be better than to wear one bulky down jacket or parka. This idea also comes in handy when you are packing and trying to keep under the weight limit. A windbreaker plus a sweater can be just okay if you walk around Lhasa, Gyantse, and Shigatse during summer, but down jacket will be necessary if you travel from late October through April.
Note on Itinerary
Although we will do our very best to adhere to the itinerary schedule as listed, it is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control.
Booking and Cancellation
When you are sure you are traveling, please don't delay in booking. The internal flights are the key factor in determining whether your trip can be realized or not. We request you for a deposit of US$300 on land, plus the cost of domestic airfares along with the complete trip application form and passport copies.
Balance Payment
Balance payment is due 90 days before your departure. Depending on the number of applicants, we may set an early payment date.
Cancellations
- Ninety days prior departure: Administrative fee US$ 150 per person.
- Sixty-Eighty-nine day's prior departure: US$ 250 or 25% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Forty-five days to fifty-nine days prior departure: US$ 450 or 50% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Thirty days to Forty-four days before departure: US$ 600 or 75% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Less than Thirty days: 100%.
Travel Protection Plan
We plan and do our best to make your trip smooth and seamless. But there still may be chances of unforeseen events and conditions such as illness, accident, inclement weather, and flight cancellation or missed connection or loss of baggage, etc. It may cause interruption or delay or total cancellation of your trip, putting your hard-earned travel investment in jeopardy. It’s also possible that you may need medical assistance, emergency evacuation, or medical transportation when you are traveling in remote areas. Far & High’s Tour cost does not cover any of these expenses or losses. So we strongly recommend you that you should protect yourself and your travel investment against those unfavorable conditions.