Tibet Travel Forum

Hi,
I'm considering a trip to Tibet next autumn, travelling upwards step by step from Kunming/ Lijiang/Dali/Zhongdian to Lhasa, Shigatse and Gyangtse.
What bothers me, is the fact, that I'm not sure, whether I and my wife will be ablr to cope with the high altitude.
I'm in the late 60ies, as is my wife, but in a rather average to good shape, working out 3times a week, a little overweight,with a well treated light hypertension.
Are there any VTers in my age-range, who have already done a trip to Tibet and could please let me participate in their personal experiences!
I'm of course aware of the usual altitude-problems, but would appreciate very much to learn from first hand experience, whether I could dare to take this trip or not!
Thank you so much for your highly appreciated opinions !

I think you will be ok if you give your body time to adjust, but you should consult your doctor.

Hi. We were in Tibet at the beginning of October as a 30 people group. There were seniors and youngsters, sport people and smokers... Only a few of them (just 3 people) affected by the altitude: One is in his 20ies, two are in 35-40. There were several people over 60, some of them smokers, none of them affected.
We used Diazomid (Diamox in Europe, I think) as precaution. It is used for altitude sickness. First day I felt dizzy but later I was quite fine. Just try to move slower than your normal.

Don't think about it much. Thinking makes it worse. Hotels have oxygen tubes in the rooms for breathing problems.

Hi,

thanks for your very motivating replies!
Jack

Altitude sickness doesn't seem to relate to fitness or age. I suffered very little altitude sickness when in Tibet (I'm aged 50), I am overweight and unfit. The only person in our party of 14 who did suffer, was a fit, young man of 23. We took Diamox too, and found it useful.

Many years ago, when I was slimmer and fitter and younger, we went to La Paz in Bolivia, and I suffered terribly from altitude sickness.

Thanks a lot for your reply - I checked also all your tibet-tips several times.
Very interesting and helpful! All the best & kind Regards! Jack

I was wondering, are you planning to fly from Zhongdian or drive in?

Zhongdian has been the traditional place to start a drive in. But sometimes it is difficult to arrange a car and driver. There are a few flights from Zhongdian to Lhasa but most flights leave from Chengdu. I believe you can also get the train from Chengdu.

Hi,
the tour will be Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Zhongdian-by car, Zhongdian-Lhasa by air !
Thanks for the hint !

Having been to Tibet I can say that the best thing is to drink loads of water (over 3 litres a day). You wee a lot but it realy does help.

You may not notice anything for the first couple of hours of landing in Lhasa but you may not sleep well for the first night or two as your heart will beat faster to cope with the altitude. You may also get headaches so take paracetamol or ibuprofen for that.

Don't do too much for the first 2 days. I would not recommend going to the Potala Palace until you have acclimatised as there are a lot of steps. I'm reasonably fit but I felt like an old granny slogging up there on the second day.

Diamox does help, its ok to take with hypertension medication but it can have a side effect of making your toes go numb!

Altutude sickness can strick anyone regardless of age or fitness but chances are it will just be a mild discomfort.

I forgot to mention Diamox's side effects. Mel is right, I felt that itchy thing at my fingers and toes for days. There were people didn't use Diamox and they had headaches. I wanted not to take pills and try myself but couldn't dare.

Mel is right again, you have to drink too much water. Tibet has a dry climate. You'll feel it in your body. Your skin will dry, your nose will dry, your eyes will dry... Take some medication for these.

Also Diamox has another side effect. You'll have to urinate more. Since you are having too much water, this is a problem.

Hi Mel and Ozlem !
Thank you so much for your valuable informations ! Jack

Hello

These is some suggestion for you, it will be useful for you

Don’t be so afraid of high altitude sickness, just take other people's advice, not to do heavy actions, not to take shower, not to eat too much on the first day, and what's more, no to think too much about the altitude, let the excitement fill you whole body.



About Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), it normally a slight reaction taking place more or less especially for the travelers who come to Tibet for the first time. AMS represents the body's intolerance of the hypoxic (low oxygen) environment at one's current elevation. the typical symptoms would appear on the facets like headache, dizzy, feels of to be disgusted, vomit and etc, but if only do you follow the necessary instructions from our tour guide and everything should be okay. And the major cause of AMS is going too high too fast. Given time, your body can adapt to the decrease in Oxygen molecules at a specific altitude. This process is known as acclimatization and generally takes 1-2 days at that altitude. And when acclimatization lags significantly behind ascent, various symptoms occur. To prevent of the Altitude Illness, the most important thing is you can’t over-exert yourself or move higher for the first 24 hours and you’d better not to take any activities for the first day in Tibet. Normally you will regain normal sense on the second day upon your arrival.



There’re also some other tips to avoid AMS:

● Do exercises to keep you fit before coming to Tibet.

● Avoid catching a cold before you entry to Tibet.

● Make sure you have a good sleep the night before you flying to Lhasa.

● After getting off your airplane in the airport, walk slowly, take some deep breath. Do not do anything severely.

● Ascend to higher altitude gradually. Stop ascending if you feel bad.

● Prepare some AMS pills according to your doctor's suggestion.



Medicine to bring:

Aspirin-for pain or fever

Cold and flu tablets, throat lozenges and nasal decongestant

Multivitamins-consider for long trips, when dietary vitamin intake may be inadequate

If you have any question about the Tibet tour, you can contact with Access Tibet tour

Christina

Hello Christina !
Thank you so much for the excellent advice, given in your mail!
It is a very good feeling, to have experienced colleagues at VT who help the newbees!
Although my fitness is rather average, I'm in the higher 60ies and a bit nervous about the altitude. Your advice gives some good feeling, for sure!
Do you live in China ? Do you happen to know a reliable travel-agency with some internet-pages to check?
In the meantime best regards and a lot of greetings from Vienna, Austria!
Jacky

Hello

I am working in Lhasa. I think there is no problem for you to travel to Tibet. Every year there are lot of tourists travel to there, one third of the people their age more than 50 years old. So the age it is not problem, It is just depend on your healthy. Don't afraid the high altitude too much.

My E-mail address is Christinalee911@hotmail.com . If you have any question about the tour in Tibet, you can contact with me

Best Regards

Christina

Hi,

Not sure this is relevant, but I'll let you know anyway.

I traveled to Peru with my 75 year old grandmother. We were at altitude (I forget exactly how high) but she suffered from SEVERE altitude problems. She was the oldest person there but she is in really great shape (everyone else was in their 60s and were fine) and she was the only one who had these problems.

They weren't classic altitude symptoms but the doctor said they were quite common in older people who aren't used to it. It was really scary- it was like she suddenly had dementia. She didn't know who, or where she was, she could barley walk, she was hallucinating badly. It was terrifying. I thought she had had a stroke. But as soon as we came down from the altitude she was 100% fine. This was maybe 6 years ago and she's been normal ever since.

Hope this helps. Don't mean to scare you off at all- as I said, there were maybe 15 other people with us in their 50s and 60s who were all fine-
But you should know in case it happens to you. I was so scared, I thought she had lost it.