Passport, Visa, and Permits
Your passport must be valid for 6 months beyond your last day of the tour. You need to have enough blank pages for entry and departure seals. As your travel begins in Kathmandu, we will take care of your Chinese visa and Tibet permit application. The visa is called 'Group Visa' and comes in a letter size paper with the list of travelers, passport information, and travel details. The visa and permit application is accepted by Tibetan authorities 20 days before your travel date. Final visa work will be done once you arrive in Kathmandu and  it can take up to 2-3 business days. So, please allow at least two days in Kathmandu prior to your departure to Tibet.
The Chinese Tibetan tourism policy prohibits independent traveling in Tibet. A group visa is normally valid for the period of booked travel only. If you plan to extend your trip in Lhasa, this should be pre-determined and specified in the application because you have to hire the service of the guide for the extra days, no matter you take a tour or not. If you intend to travel to mainland Chinese cities after Tibet, you should indicate the cities in the application. The entry permit comes in two original copies and the Chinese immigration collects one at the port of entry and the second copy at the port of departure. All other necessary permits are arranged by us, leaving you worry free to enjoy the trip.
If your travel begins in China, you are required to obtain a Chinese visa beforehand and provide us with a copy of your passport and visa no later than 30 days prior to your trip date. We will obtain the Tibet entry permit for you.

Accommodation
Zhangmu, the frontier town has a few 2-3 stars hotels, but we plan to go further ahead and spend the night in Nyalam for better acclimatization. Unfortunately Nyalam only has a guest house style accommodation to offer the travelers. However, we will try to accommodate you in the best available accommodations. Note: you may or may not have a private bathroom and some guest houses do provide a hot shower and they may charge extra for using hot shower. Toilets are Tibetan style squat. Lhatse has a 3 star hotel, which is a new addition. The towns of Shigatse and Gyantse have 3 star standard hotels. In Lhasa, there are a handful of 4 star hotels but our preferred hotels are 3 star standard, Tibetan managed properties in the old Tibetan quarter. They provide, an en suite bathroom and running hot and cold water but at times, although hot water may not be available due to power outage. They may or may not have a hair dryer, iron, and ironing boards. Not all of the hotel staff speaks English. Please, do not compare the Tibetan hotels with those in the west or in developed countries standards.

Food
The trip cost includes daily breakfast only. Lunch and dinners are not included in tour cost. You can expect to spend US$ 8-10 per meal in regular tourist standard restaurants. There are a wide range of Chinese, Tibetan, Nepali, Indian, and Western dishes served in the restaurants. Meal choices are limited in the towns of Tingri, Nyalam, and Zhangmu. You may want to bring some dry fruits, chocolates, energy bars, vitamin supplements, etc.

Transportation
In Tibet, we provide 4500 model Toyota Land cruiser. Driver and guide are different people. The driver may or may not speak English but he knows the Tibetan roads and has  the skill to fix the vehicle in case of any mechanical problems or a flat tire.
Now, the road conditions are all paved in the Tibetan side but in Nepal side, some parts are under paved or may be damaged by the monsoon rain.

Guide
You will be accompanied by an experienced and knowledgeable English speaking Tibetan Guide throughout the tour. Besides guiding you on tour, your guide is also responsible for dealing with check posts and local bureaucracies as well as completing the necessary paper works.

Altitude Sickness and Other Health Concerns
There is no mandatory vaccination required for traveling in Tibet and Nepal but you may consider vaccination against rabies and Hep A. Travelers with cardiac-pulmonary issues or any other medical conditions are recommended to consult with their physician. The main health consideration in Tibet is altitude related illness or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). You may experience some mild symptoms initially, such as headache, lethargy, nausea and sleeplessness but symptoms should go away  in the second or third day of the trip. The first couple of days, it advisable not to overly exert yourself; please drink plenty of water and consume liquid food in meals. Our vehicles carry oxygen cylinder for an emergency use. The hotels also do rent out oxygen pillows or bottles. Doctors will be available on call in case of need.

You should start some physical exercises like jogging, swimming, cycling, hiking and aerobics about several weeks before the trip that keeps you fit and lessens the chance of getting sick.

General clothing/Checklist
During the day a light shirt or jumper and lightweight pants will be suitable, but a warm fleece or sweater is recommended for the evenings and mornings even during summer. Night temperatures can fall to below freezing point unexpectedly.
* Warm fleece top
* Thermal underwear (top and bottom)
* Cotton shirts (short and long sleeved)
* Warm and cotton trousers
* Sun polarized sunglasses
* Beanie or warm woolen hat and gloves
* Scarf (to keep out dust as well as cold)
* Sandals (flip-flops)
* Towel
* Rain and wind proof jacket
* Strong sunscreen and lip protection
* Moisturizer
* Water bottle
* Camera (and plenty of film and spare batteries)

Note on Itinerary
Although we will do our very best to adhere to the itinerary schedule as listed, it is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control and your cooperation is very much appreciated.

Booking/Tour Deposit
When you have decided that you will be traveling, please don't delay in booking. The internal flights sell out quickly as do the hotels. We request that a deposit of US$300 on the land package plus the cost of internal airfares at the time of booking. We will also need a color scan of your passport photo page.

Balance Payment
Generally, the balance of your payment is due 90 days prior to your trip date but if any hotels or suppliers ask for an advance payment, we may request that you the second part payment to cover those dues. Credit card payment attracts an additional 3.5% fee.

Cancellation
• 90 days prior departure: Administrative fee US$ 150 per person.
• 60-89 day's prior departure: US$ 250 or 25% of the land cost whichever is higher.
• 45 days to 59 days prior departure: US$ 450 or 50% of the land cost whichever is higher.
• 30 days to 44 days prior departure: US$ 600 or 75% of the land cost whichever is higher.
• Less than 30 days: 100%

Highland Asia Travel
We are an active adventure travel company, based in Minneapolis, USA with destination management offices in Kathmandu, Thimphu, and Lhasa. We are a BBB accredited business, an active member of American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), and  the Nepal Association of Travel and Tours Agents (NATTA). We have set the standard for adventure travel and have a strong reputation for excellence that we will do everything we can to maintain. Our managers and guides have more than 15 years of experience in organizing and leading adventure trips in the highlands of Asia. For us travel is not just a business, but a way of life.

Travel Protection Plan
While we plan and do our best to make your trip smooth and seamless, there may be chances of unforeseen events and conditions such as illness, accident, inclement weather, and flight cancellation, missed connections, loss of baggage, etc. that may cause an interruption, delay, or total cancellation of your trip putting your hard earned travel investment in jeopardy. It’s also possible that you may need medical assistance, emergency evacuation, or medical transportation if you get ill or are involved in an accident when you are traveling in remote areas. Highland Asia’s Tour cost does not cover any of these expenses or losses and so we strongly recommend that you should protect yourself and your travel investment against any unfavorable conditions.