Lhasa Travel Answers

usually when on a tour in these places, they take care to help acclimate their passengers; it is not good to have someone sick of course. my question would be: HOW high are you expected to go? when I trekked the Andes, we went to 16,000 feet and I had no real problems until after 15,000 BUT I think mostly because I had let myself get dehydrated; one MUST keep their liquid intake up--it is NOT the time to worry about having to go to the bathroom too much. Actually, when your water intake is sufficient, you go to the bathroom LESS, so you can begin ahead of your trip to make sure you are well and completely hydrated. If you have no heart or breathing problems, you should be fine. If you have some questions in that area, after finding out how high you expect to go, query your doctor.

My wife and myself took both ways the train to Golmud and the bus between Golmud and Lhasa in 1986. For us it was pretty tough, we felt really bad. We planed to stay in Lhasa longer but had to give up. The situation now is much better insofar that the train is much more comfortable and it goes all way to Lhasa. But the feeling was pretty awful. I heard, it really depends on person. Some felt worse than us, some fared much better.

Thanks so far for your answers! The trip goes up to around 18000 feet (5630 m) which is pretty high I think... Anybody else who has experiences with Tibet? Thanks, Britta

We spent two weeks in Tibet five years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. That being said, it was a physically demanding experience for a number of reasons, but the extremely high altitude was the main one. We visited a travel medicine specialist before our trip and were told that it would take about a week for our bodies to adjust to the the high altitude (increased red blood cell count), and that seems to have been a pretty good prediction. We tried Diamox, but went off it after a few days because the side effects (tingling extremities - hands and feet) were worse than the altitude sickness. Even after the acclimitization, there were certain aspects of altitude sickness that stayed with us for the whole trip - shortness of breath (going about 1/3 of our normal pace helped) and a headache the whole time we were there seemed to be the worst of it. Lhasa is at altitude too - not as high as say Nam-Tso or the Mt Everest region. Three days on the train will help a bit (I expect that you won't be at real altitude for most of that time, and if the train cabins are pressurized, it won't help a lot. Adding the three days at Lhasa will be important too. We were there in early to mid-May and are looking to return in August some year. May was dry and dusty (both were tough on the body) and we would love to see a greener Tibet sometime. Have a great trip and I hope you enjoy Tibet as much as we did!

Yes, Manfred - the headache was really difficult to deal with. Also had a feeling of excessive pressure in my eyes.

Oh my god, headache and pressure on the eyes does not sound very invitingly....

Tibet is not an easy place to visit. It's remote location, minimal infrastructure (you tour around in Landcruisers for a reason!) and altitude all make this for a tough, dirty trip. The cuisine is very basic - tsampa and butter tea are hardly culinary delights. The rewards are the stunning landscape, amazing temples and its wonderful people. Images and clips from our trip are at: "Lhasa" - Tibet by GrumpyDiver

Everyone if different. I had very little problems with high altitude. I think I was just lucky and also drank a lot of water. A travel nurse recommended taking multiple vitamins with iron for at least 6 weeks before the trip. I don't know if it helped but I did what she recommended. But my friend was like an altimeter and had problems every time we went over 4,000 meters. My friend got use to it over time, I think going up and down in the car as we drove to Lhasa helped. We were touring so took about 2 weeks driving up and down at altitude. The main thing is give your body time to get acclimated to the altitude. Don't fly in to Lhasa and head off to Everest Base Camp (EBC) the next day. EBC is a tourist sight and many people do this. Drink plenty of water. Just breathing causes a lot of lost of water vapor that you don't even know it's happening. Drinking alcohol will cause problems Info about altitude illness: ciwec-clinic.com/articles/al... My external link on my VT pages points to youtube for 2 videos of Lhasa. My VT pages has some photos.

imo, if you dont have any previous history of respiratory diseases then you dont need to worry that much... taking precautions is the key: try to walk a bit slower than average, take a lot of water, try to stay out of direct exposure to sun. There is a perception that high altitude areas are not that hot, true, but because of the sunrays it will be hotter under sun, so have an umbrella or take breaks under shades every 10-15 minutes while walking... I will also recommend you to do jogging or running before going to Tibet, it will help a lot. Overthere, after a short walk you will have a feeling similar to that after running. you will even see locals breathing faster and harder than average. so if you feel this way, then just take it normal. We have been to Deosain Plains (West Tibet plateau located in Pakistan), at a height of 5000 m, but we did not feel anything at all. you are about to start a trip so many people dream about, so feel high and have a wonderful trip......

one more thing: Trish's observation about dehydration is very very true. It is dehydration that actually hurts so have plenty of water and repeat, stay out of direct exposure to sun rays. packing good quality sun blocks is highly recommended... and I am not for medicines, they always have side effects, dont try them without having read all the info about the medicine and until you badly need. The lesser the better...

Thanks for your tips and advices! I didn't expect to get so much help! But still I did not decide wheather I should go or not and time is running out because of the visas I will need... Well, thanks again and I hope you all will have some nice travels this year! Britta

Hi! I don´t know if this answer will help you, but I have been in Tibet in last september. In the first 2 days it rained, but in the most of the week the weather was acceptable. It was cold, but nothing a good coat does not resolve until. Some times I even used a t-shirt. About the symptoms of altitude, on the third day I had a headache and nausea. Had medication, which resolved it easily. I also felt breathing difficulties in walking, but I am asthmatic. Again I took the medication, without other problems. I would say I felt bad just for a few moments, but in general I have been very good. My husband felt nothing! You need permission to travel, but since you have the papers to enter in the country, a local agency can arrange all other documents. After leaving Lhasa to Everest, I lost count of the controls and at least two or three times we had to deal with other papers to continue travel. As we have to travel with guide, this problem is easily solved by him. As others have said there is little infrastructure outside of Lhasa. For example, when I approached the Everest slept in a kind of hotel, that had a bathroom for all and had no toilet (it was just a hole in the ground and droppings fall to the floor below). The food was complicated, too yak noddle with yak. However, I loved it and would repeat. It is a unique country and is well worth it!

thanks for the feedback; glad you had a pretty good trip!

"The trip goes up to around 18000 feet (5630 m) which is pretty high I think..." Highest point is 5072 meters at Tangula pass , but this is largely irrelevant since everyone breathes extra oxygen. "I had no real problems until after 15,000 BUT I think mostly because I had let myself get dehydrated; one MUST keep their liquid intake up..." Altitude sickness is edema in the brain and lungs , ie. excess of fluid in the tissues. You will not prevent this by pushing in more fluid , you may actually cause the same just from drinking copiuos amount of water : see hyponatremia. "Drink plenty of water. Just breathing causes a lot of lost of water vapor...Info about altitude illness : http://www.ciwec-clinic.com.." CIWEC doesn´t agree with any of the above , neither does International Society for Mountain Medicine, CDC, or The Himalayan Rescue Association , and other main medical sources . Many warn against copious water intake . More at http://korta.nu/myths "if the train cabins are pressurized, it won't help a lot..." The train is not pressurised , that would make it difficult going to the dining car, struggling with the airlocks .. It´s oxygenated , which still gives you one day around 3000+ effective altitude , plus the time between Xining (2300) and Golmud (2800) . This still makest it important to find two stops at 4000+ ( that excludes Shigatse and Gyantse) between Lhasa and EBC ( where one tourist died again last week , after a badly planned tour )