[jazzvb]

Dear travellers,

Currently I (from The Netherlands) am living in India and I would like to take the opportunity of taking the Qingzang railway from Beijing to Lhasa as long as I am (relatively) close by.

But the following questions arise in my head:
1. do I need different visas for China and Tibet?
2. do I have to get them from the embassy in India or in China (in case of the Tibet visa)?
3. how do I get to Delhi from Lhasa?
4. how do I obtain a train ticket for the journey? Do I have to book well in advance or can I just show up on the day of travelling?
5. are there any issues I need to take into account?

I will be travelling alone. I am not sure if this matters for the visas. I have read you can only apply for a group visa, but that sounds strange to me.

Many many thanks for your answers.
Kind regards,
Jazz

[WonderWomanUSA]

This article about the train between Lhasa and Beijing has some info about booking tickets.

[vistet]

1. Travelling from Beijing you need,  apart from the Chinese visa , a Tibet travel Permit - but recently some seem to have been able to just buy a train ticket and go unchallenged to Lhasa. Outside Lhasa there are a number of destinations that require additional permits , most notable Everest Base Camp that has become a battleground in a propaganda war.
2. There are no Tibetan visas, only the above mentioned  Tibet Travel Permit and , for people travelling from Nepal , group visas.
3. Delhi to Kathmandu , hitch up with a group , jeep to lhasa. Or fly Ktm-Chengdu , and train it to Lhasa . The Chengdu option means that you don´t have to deal with group visas .
4. Train tickets are sold ten days in advance . In high season at least the soft sleepers are sold immediately to agents etc. Right now you can probably pick up a ticket within a few days.
5.Altitude effects/sickness will hit hardest travelling by road Ktm-Lhasa. Best preparation is a high altitude trek just before setting out. Everyone doing this should read up on altitude sickness and discuss using Diamox with their doc. Going with the train is a lot easier since you get one more night at intermediate  altitude , and everyone gets  extra oxygen between Golmud and Lhasa.

Useful links :

Seat 61 : Tibet train
Leo´s Hostel for tickets Beijing-Lhasa
Losang´s blog with tons of Tibet info , and tickets Xining-Lhasa .

[jazzvb]

Both thank you for the explanations and the link!