Tibet Tourism How to travel in Tibet

The Tibet Autonomous Region is located in the southwest of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. People on the snowy plateau seem to be born to pray for all living beings. They chant sutras, turn prayer wheels, and kowtow every day, day after day, year after year. , this is their living habit. Now is the peak season for traveling to Tibet. Let’s take a look at what you need to pay attention to when traveling to Tibet. Things to note when traveling to Tibet. Guide to dressing for traveling in Tibet: Tibet Spring (March-May): Tourists entering Tibet at this time usually go for the peach blossoms in Nyingchi, and Tibet is still slightly chilly at this time. Since you are traveling and moving a lot, it is recommended to wear loose-fitting sportswear or casual clothes as well as light and comfortable shoes. At this time, when traveling to Tibet, you can wear a thicker cotton jacket and ordinary thermal underwear. For pants, you can wear sportswear and thinner long johns. Underwear should be mainly made of pure cotton and comfortable. Summer in Tibet (June-August): Tibet has entered the peak tourist season at this time, with bright sunshine and comfortable temperatures. If you are in Lhasa, you can wear long-sleeved T-shirts and casual pants during the day; Namtso is also thawing at this time. In summer, Short-sleeved pants and a jacket are enough. There are also many people hiking in Ali, Medog and other areas. If you go to these high-altitude areas, you should bring long sleeves and a thick jacket. The temperature in these places may drop to about 10 degrees Celsius at night. , as for shoes, ordinary outdoor shoes are recommended. Autumn in Tibet (September-November): The autumn scenery in Tibet is very beautiful. Different colors slope down from the mountains. There are also many people hiking on routes such as Ali and Medog. If you go to high-altitude areas such as Ali, you should bring a sweater. Warm clothing such as down jackets, as temperatures in these areas can drop to several degrees below zero at night. In areas such as Lhasa and Linzhi, wear thicker jackets and thicker thermal underwear. For pants, it is recommended to wear sports pants and thicker autumn pants. For shoes, high-top outdoor shoes are more suitable. Tibet Winter (December-February): At this time, Tibet is like a sleeping child in its swaddling clothes, with a peaceful and quiet beauty. Tourists entering Tibet at this time simply want to appreciate the elegance of the snowy plateau and feel the warm sunshine here. At this time, heavy snow has blocked roads in Ali, Medog, Namtso and other places, making them unsuitable for tourism. It is very pleasant to bask in the sun in the Jokhang Temple Square during the day. In the morning and evening, the temperature will reach several degrees below zero. You should wear sweaters and down jackets. For pants, it is recommended to wear thick sports pants with good warmth. Autumn pants can withstand this cold winter. For shoes, it is recommended to use hard-soled shoes with cotton and moisture-proof materials. Essential items for traveling in Tibet: Backpack The difficulty of the place you plan to visit determines the size of your backpack. If the place you want to go is relatively remote, or you are participating in some outdoor activities, such as going to the sacred mountain, hiking and camping next to the holy lake, etc., then two backpacks, one large and one small, may be a more reasonable choice. If it is not a long-distance trip, you do not need a backpack exceeding 45 liters. Some travelers are accustomed to carrying a fanny pack. Be careful not to put the fanny pack behind your body in towns. Clothing The temperature in Tibet is generally much lower than that in areas at the same latitude in the mainland, especially in mountain passes and high-altitude areas. It is also windy, rainy and snowy. Suddenly, it brings a lot of trouble to travel clothing. Therefore, a down jacket is a must unless you only plan to go to Lhasa and Shigatse for a group tour in July and August. Even in the hottest summer, in places such as the Himalayas and Ali, the temperature is generally around 0℃ at night, and it is even colder in mountain pass areas. At the same time, the plateau area has a large temperature difference between day and night. Even in the warmest season of the year, the weather is still relatively cold in the morning and evening. If you mainly travel in the Yalong Valley area, wear a down vest or sweater, and when it gets colder, add a waterproof and windproof jacket to cope with it. If you go hiking or mountain climbing in Tibet, you should also prepare a set of sweat-wicking underwear. In the wild, sweat sticking to your body is troublesome, and it quickly removes body heat, which is very dangerous. In addition, a warm fleece jacket is also indispensable. All body equipment, including tops, pants, and shoes, should be waterproof. In July and August in Tibet, it rains almost every day. It’s hard to imagine that the waterproof properties of clothing are not good. During the rainy season, it rains frequently in Lhasa at night, while in Nyingchi and other areas it rains much more often. Sleeping bag: A 1kg duck down sleeping bag is enough to keep you warm in July and August. Buy one with more than 80% velvet. After compression, the volume is not much larger than a large bottle of Coke, making it very convenient to carry. If it's still too big, you can use a set of compression straps to compress it and reduce the volume by another 1/3. It’s best to bring a moisture-proof pad as well.

In some places, when you need to stay at ordinary people's homes or work on the road, all they can provide you is an empty stone house. Even if you have a sleeping bag, you cannot sleep directly on the ground. Shoes You need a good pair of shoes when traveling, especially in Tibet. In the rainy season in Tibet, waterproofing is particularly important. The best choice is hiking shoes with hard soles and high tops. Especially when hiking, the road surface is often not very good. High-cut hard-soled shoes are not easy to get into sand and gravel, which avoids squeezing or stepping on the feet, and they are not easy to fall off when crossing muddy ground. Moreover, hiking shoes are also better at waterproofing and keeping warm. If you really require higher waterproofness, you can use waterproof foot covers to protect the trouser legs from getting wet from rain. Tibetan travel customs and taboos: 1. When receiving guests, whether walking, sitting or talking, always give the guest or the elder first, and use honorific language, such as adding the word "La" after the name to show respect and kindness. It is taboo to call him by his first name. When greeting guests, you should bow down and smile. When sitting indoors, sit cross-legged, do not straighten your legs, put the soles of your feet facing people, and do not look around. When accepting a gift, use both hands to receive it. When giving gifts, bow down and raise your hands above your head. When offering tea, wine, or cigarettes, you should offer them with both hands, and do not put your fingers close to the mouth of the bowl. 2. Tibetans are absolutely forbidden to eat donkey and horse meat, and dog meat is the most taboo. Utensils containing these meats will no longer be used. They believe that eating the meat of these animals is unclean and sinful, and they cannot ascend to heaven after death. Some areas also don’t eat fish. The shepherd's preference for horses has the color of totem worship in primitive religion. They believe that the horse is a symbol of the road god. They do not eat its flesh, milk it, or use its skin, and they reproduce and die naturally. 3. Tibetans are forbidden to shovel pots, step on the stove or sit on the stove when they are not cooking. 4. When toasting, the guest must dip his or her ring finger into a little wine and flick it into the air three times in a row to show sacrifice to heaven, earth and ancestors. Then take a sip gently, and the host will refill it in time. Take another sip and then refill it. Take three sips in a row. By the fourth refill, you must drink it all in one gulp. This is a conventional rule, otherwise the host will think that the guest is not polite and look down on him. 5. When eating, be sure to keep your mouth full, bite and drink without making any sound. When drinking butter tea, the host pours the tea, and the guests can only take it and drink it when the host holds it in front of their hands. Unfamiliar men and women are not allowed to knead and eat tsampa in the same bowl. It is forbidden to leave bowls, cups and other utensils with their buttons closed, because only the bowls and cups of the deceased can be left open. 6. On the first day of the Tibetan New Year, it is taboo to sweep the floor, eat food with fillings, cry, curse, quarrel, and say unlucky words such as empty, nothing, illness, pain, death, murder, poverty, unnecessary, bad luck, etc. This is believed to be a bad omen for the whole year. You are not allowed to borrow things from others during the Chinese New Year, for fear of not being wealthy throughout the year. 7. The biggest taboo among Tibetans is killing. During the winter slaughter in pastoral areas, the herdsmen feel sorry for those sexual animals and cannot bear to kill them. Therefore, the slaughtering method in the west is to use a large needle to pierce the internal organs from the back to minimize the pain of the sheep being slaughtered; in the central pastoral area, ropes are tied around the mouth of the sheep to suffocate it to death. It is an undesirable and cruel act for a herdsman to kill someone with a knife. Oppose the killing of wild animals. 8. It is taboo to spit or slap others behind their backs. Women are not allowed to flutter their skirts in front of others because they think doing so will bring misfortune to the other person. When you encounter temples, Mani piles, pagodas and other religious temples on the road, you must go around from left to right. It is considered sinful to go in the opposite direction. When climbing over the top of a high mountain, don't make any noise, otherwise it will cause wind, snow and hail. 9. Don't throw bones into the fire, thinking that doing so will attract ghosts. Avoid whistling at home. Because you only whistle when sending ghosts. If there is a sick person at home, no visitors are allowed. It is taboo to take out the garbage at night. After dark, white things should not be taken out of the home to avoid losing wealth. After the death of a relative, no happy events, singing or dancing are allowed for 49 days so that the deceased can ascend to heaven quietly. 10. Do not cross ritual objects or braziers; do not reverse prayer tubes and prayer wheels; do not allow others to touch the top of your head with their hands.