Low Season: The time to go to Tibet

If you have followed any of my blog posts or posts on Lonely Planet's Thorntree Travel Forum you will know that I often recommend people to travel to Lhasa and other regions along the Friendship Highway during the winter. You might think I am crazy to recommend people to travel to Tibet during the winter, but in my opinion it is the BEST time to travel there. Here is why...

The top reason to travel to Tibet during the low season is because of the few tourists who are there during that time. In 2009, Tibet set a record with over 5.6 million tourists and tourists numbers for 2010 are expected to reach 6.5 million. Nearly all of these tourists spent their time along the popular route from Lhasa to Everest Base Camp. If you divide those 5.6 million tourists over the course of a year, that comes out to over 15,000 tourists per day in Tibet. During the high season, which runs from late May through early October, it is safe to estimate that around 25,000 tourists arrive daily in Tibet, with most of those spending their time along the popular route from Lhasa to Everest. Roughly 93% of tourists to Tibet are domestic Chinese, while the remaining 7% are foreign travelers. Since the start of the train to Lhasa in 2006, I have only visited Lhasa during high season 3 times, most recently in September 2010. Each time I have been there during high season, I am a bit overwhelmed by the massive amount of tourists. I feel like I am in Disneyland rather than the Roof of the World!

During the winter, the tourists numbers dramatically decrease. I have walked around Jokhang Temple during the winter and not seen a single other tourist. Only thousands of Tibetan pilgrims were there with me. It was awesome!

The second reason to travel to Tibet during the winter is because of all the Tibetan pilgrims who will be there. Losar ལོ་གསར་, or Tibetan New Year, is held each year either in late January or early February. Tibetans from all regions of Tibet arrive in Lhasa beginning in December for pilgrimage. Tibetans often will spend the winter months in Lhasa and the surrounding area visiting all of the major monasteries and temples. Literally tens of thousands of Tibetans are in the region during this time. Lhasa looks and feels far more "Tibetan" during this time than during the summer high season. There is nothing like being in Lhasa during the biggest holiday celebration in Tibet. 

The third reason to visit Tibet during the low season is because of discounted prices. Most travel agencies and hotels offer at least 10% to 15% off of their high season prices. Travel agencies are far more likely to offer their lowest prices possible during the winter. Hotels also will offer their lowest possible prices. Since there are so few tourists during the winter, travel agencies and hotels are glad  to have customers, even if it means charging a lower rate.

The fourth reason to travel to Tibet during the winter is for the weather....yes, the weather! The skies along the Friendship Highway, which links Lhasa to Kathmandu, are generally clear during the winter. The views of the Himalaya during the low season are great. For some reason Lhasa has a reputation for being extremely cold during the winter. I recently took the train to Lhasa and was talking to a Chinese tourist about this. Even in September, he was convinced that Lhasa was going to be well below freezing. I tried, in vain, to tell him that Lhasa was going to be quite pleasant, but he wouldn't believe a word I said. I am sure he was quite surprised when we arrived in Lhasa and the temperature was a balmy 23C / 74F! I have had this same conversation with plenty of other Chinese tourists who are convinced that Lhasa is one of the coldest regions on earth. Truth is, much of North America and Europe are actually colder than Lhasa during the winter!

Over the past 6 years, Lhasa has had an average winter high temperature of 9.5C or 49F. These are hardly arctic like temperatures. With plenty of sunshine, the day time temps can feel much warmer than this. In fact, most days in Lhasa I end up stripping off a layer of clothing because I am too hot. The average low temperature in Lhasa over the past 6 years is -4C or 24F. Most of the mid and high end hotels in Lhasa have heat so there is no concern about freezing to death at night.

Places outside of Lhasa will be colder of course, but still not cold enough to not visit. Shigatse has an average winter high temperature of 7.8C or 46F and an average low of -9C or 16F. Tingri, the closest main town to Everest Base Camp, has an average winter high temperature of 4.6C or 40F and an average low temperature of -13C or 9F. Again, when the sun comes out, its rays are quite strong at high elevation making the temperatures feel warmer than they are. Shigatse has a few hotels, like the Manasarovar Hotel, that offer heat during the winter, but none of the guesthouses or hotels near base camp will have heat. They will offer lots of blankets and possibly even electric blankets, but will not have heat. 

Though a few of the touristy restaurants in Lhasa will close during the winter, most hotels and nearly all main tourist attractions remain open during the winter.

Regions of Tibet that are off the beaten path such as Nagchu prefecture north of Lhasa and Ngari prefecture (Kailash area) in far west Tibet are extremely cold in the winter and are probably best visited during the late spring and early fall. The Amdo and Kham regions found in Qinghai, western Sichuan and southwest Gansu can be visited during the winter, but are also extremely cold. The winter temperatures in these regions are some of the coldest in all of the Tibetan Plateau. Winter low temperatures of -20C to -30C are common in much of Amdo and the northern Kham region found in Yushu prefecture. 

The past 9 years, I have spent 6 winters in the Lhasa area and have loved it. It is the only time of year I prefer going there. I have been all along the Friendship Highway many times during the winter and have never been delayed by heavy snow (in fact, I have seen very little snow at all). The train to Lhasa also has never been closed due to snow. Take my advice and visit Tibet this winter. With bright blue skies, few tourists, lots of pilgrims and discounted prices, I am sure you will have a great time.

For more information on Tibet or information about which travel agencies to use, please send me an email at [email protected]

Comments

[Harper Cosper]

Lhasa is such a majestic place. Good thing travel there is more accessible today. Many can now enjoy the beauty and culture of the Himalayas. Thanks for the wonderful post.

[Nghi Ng]

Super excited as I am visiting in mid November!!!
Once again, thank you so much for all the information you provided...definitely great help for a solo backpacker like me!!!

[K]

I traveled just a bit through Kham in February this past year and it was fantastic. Cold, surely, and with most places we stayed not having heat or running water. But all the mountains were brilliantly covered with snow, many nomads were wintering in the towns, and in the sun it was not too terribly cold. I'd like to travel more in the region this coming winter!
**The only negative aspect of winter travel that I can tell is that the roads through Ganzi prefecture, mostly bad all the time, are made just a bit more dangerous by some icy sections. (On the other hand, the summer rains cause landslides that block the roads.)

[Dominique Tournut]

I totally agree with you : Lhasa in winter is really interesting, there are so many pilgrims from all over Tibet and although it might be cold at night, it's really enjoyable. This was our first trip to Central Tibet (in 2007) and we took the train from Beijing to Lhasa (and back from Lhasa to Beijing) : an astonishing ride, especially when you go up the Tibetan Plateau. Of course, we also visited different places such as Shigatse, Gyantse, Kumbum, Samye etc... and had the opportunity to witness the change of prayer flags poles in Samye (this is done once a year, at the time of Losar). In a nutshell, Central Tibet in winter is really beautiful and, as you say, not crowded at all by foreigners or Chinese tourists.

[Losang]

Ben...I hope your time in Tibet is amazing. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.

Losang

[Account Deleted]

Very impressed with your blog and current articles! I'm going to Tibet this Spring Festival and will refer to your blog more and more in the coming weeks.

Great photos too!

[Jarden Sitepu]

I am searching information on traveling to Lhasa and around on upcoming winter 20 of Dec to early January. I found you thru Spinn Cafe. I was worry chosing winter as first time coming to Tibet but seems your story encouriging me with my family to go. Thanks a lot. Bless you.

[sanliusan]

Thank you for the post and the amazing photos, makes me excited about my upcoming tibet trip. I'll be going in Nov and would like to cover EBC and Namtso lake, however, the travel agency says that it will be difficult because of the cold weather to reach Namtso lake and that the tents will be removed at EBC in Nov. In your experience, is this true? Can you give me some idea of the weather in Nov, e.g. temperature, mainly snowy days or sunny days?
Any info you have would be helpful to me in planning my trip. Many thanks in advance.

[Losang]

Edmund...Let me know if you will be in Tibet next year. I have plenty of advice on what to see, what to do and which travel agencies to use.

[Edmund]

Very nice and informative site. Will be checking it out for my next yr vacation plans as Tibet is on one of my to-go list (exhausted my vacation this year already).

[Captain Kimo]

Lovely set of great photos, I have to check it all out when I have some more time :-)

[Berta]

Thank you for the post. I am trying to decide what to do this xmas and Tibet was in my mind, but hesitated do to the weather...From what I've read, it doesn't seem to be that bad...

Adios.

Berta