North Asia

Tibet and The Silk Road

This is a map of the Tibet area. Below is a map of the area around Lhasa.

This is a smaller map around the Lhasa area.

From Guanzho I flew to Chendgu. When I was in Chengdu I made arrangements to fly to Lhasa. In 1999 it was required to take a tour to Tibet. The most expedient was a flight and a three day tour to Lhasa. You could then leave the tour and continue to stay in Tibet and leave overland. The overland trip to Lhasa was as expensive as a flight. In Tibet it was necessary to hire a guide and driver outside the Lhasa area. I was in Tibet for the anniversary of the flight of the Dali Lama and so travel restrictions were very tight. Normally it is possible to travel to Gyantse and Shigatse independently, but even these were closed to independent travel. When trying to get on a local bus the driver would not take you.