Is it suitable to visit Tibet in Winter?

Tibet is a dreamland place , Tibet visit is on the  budget list for many travelers! For most people, they would like to visit Tibet in warm season because they think travelling to Tibet in Winter would be too cold. Certainly it 's warmer to travel in Summer and Autum but you will also expect lots of travelers specially during holiday season, it might be  diffcult to get a room in the hotel and tourists spots will be full of people, you may find it difficult to take a picture without crowds!

So some one perhaps would like to know if it is suitable to travel to Tibet in winter time, what is the Tibet weather like in winter time? Is it okay to plan a Tibet travel in Winter?  Here we would like to give you some information about Tibet weather in winter and Tibet visit in Winter.

Tibet visit in Demcember - Potala placeTibet visit in December - Gangdeng monastery

Generarlly speaking，it it the driest season in Tibet in Winter , 20 out of 30 days are sunnny days! So the weather is very clear, if you want to see mountain snow capped peaks, then winter time is better than Summer season. It tends to rain and cloudy so the mountain peaks will be covered by clouds in Summer and early autumn!   In Winter, the temperature would be usually as the bellowing:

Lhasa ： minus 10℃ to 5 ℃, sunny

Shigatse:minus 18℃ to 4 ℃, sunny - cloudy

Namtso lake: minus 8 ℃ to 5 ℃，sunny-cloudy

EBC: minus 18 ℃ to 0 ℃, sunny and windy

Nyngchi：Minus 6 to 5 ℃

Nagri region： minus 30 to minus 6 ℃

Tibet is referred to the cloest place to paradise on earth due to its high altitude, when the sun comes out will bring a lot of warmth, the body feeling temperature is much higher than the reported temperature.  However in early and in evening, when the sun is not out yet, it is indeed very cold. So travelling to Tibet in winter, do need to wear warm clothes for the night and the morning, booking a proper hotel with good heating system is very essential.

In recent years, people are fancy more about winter travel to Tibet because it does not feel like as people imagined and there are less people in tourists destination than travelling to Tibet in other seasons.  In november, the body feeling temperature could be around 28℃, even want to wear a T- shirt. Some people plan a Tibet travel in November to the Geminid Meteor shower and photos at the full moon view over Everest base camp and Namtso lake as the weather is very clear , there is no shadows in the sky to block the view. So the view is very impressive.

Hot Tibet travel destination in Winter

Hot destintaion for Tibet visit in winter : Lhasa,  Shigatse, Everest base camp and Nyingchi area. For those place, the alitude is belowing 5200m, even during the snow is also acessbile and transport is also good.  so they are preferred destinations by many tourists. Recommended Tibet visit plan in winter

D1. Arrive lhasa by train or flight

D2- D3 Lhasa sightseeing and acclimatization

D4 Lhasa - Shigatse

D5- Shigatse - Everset base camp

D6 Everest base camp- Shigatse

D7Shigatse - lhasa

D8 Lhasa - Namtso lake

D9 Namtso lake - Lhasa

D10 Lhasa - Nyingchi

D11 Nyingchi visit

D12 Fly out of Nyingchi

So there are already two railways running in Tibet.  One railway connectes Lhasa with Shigatse  and one railyway connects Lhasa with Nyingchi. So it is now more convenients and cost saving to visit Tibet.   Enjoy Tibet travel in winter time is a very good option to try. 

Special notice about Tibet visit in Winter

1. Drink more water as it is the driest season in Tibet

2. Bring warm clothes

3. As it 's most sunny days in Tibet, the sunlight is very strong, need to use very good sunprotection measures

4. Choose a hotel with proper heating system at night

4. Bring some emergency medecine with you  and bring some extra oxygen bottle

Whenever you are planning a Tibet travel, as a foreigner, you will need to apply Tibet Permit in advance with a travel agency. Normally travel agency like us could guarantee your Tibet permits. Just need to make sure you apply in advance as it takes at least 8 working days to get Tibet permit ready.  Whether you are taking the flight or taking hte train to Tibet, you will be requested to show your Tibet permit to board on the flight  or the train.

Recommended family travel to Tibet in winter time

If you are planning a Tibet family visit in winter time, you are recommended to travel to Lhasa, Shigatse, Nyingchi area, better to ski Everest base camp if you bring small kids with you. Although normally kids adjust the altitude better than adults but the accommodation at EBC is very basic, so if you are very particular about accommodation, Everest base camp visit might very suitable to you. While now it is possible to find very good hotel in Lhasa, Shigatse and Nyingchi area already.

From the above informtion you will able to understand, it is suitable and possible to plan your Tibet visit in winter  and Tibet weather in winter is actually very good  sightseeing of  a clear moutain peak view and lake view. With good preperations you will also not feel that cold for your Tibet travel in Winter. Most imporantly there will be less people than peak seasons. And normally Tibet travel bureua will hold promotion policy for Tibet travel in winter, you  can get very good hotel deals and some scenic sport will be free of entrance. It is good to  enjoy very good view with snow mountain peaks, turqoise lake, crystal blue sky while saving a lot of money. If you are planning a big family travel, then winter time might be best  for you even.

Want to learn more? Please view the most detailed tibet travel guide.