Best Time to Travel to Tibet: the pro’s and con’s of summer, autumn, winter and spring

We often get inquire from people who want to go to Tibet, but are frustrated with arranging their Tibet tour and puzzled about when the best time to travel to Tibet is.

Therefore, as a Tibet local travel agency, we can give a hand to them. For the best time, it is a bit difficult to answer because there are different sceneries to each season. What I will do is to analyze four seasons of a year and list the pro’s and con’s about them, to help decide when the best time is for visitors to travel this Roof of the World.

Tourists at Yamdrok Lake

Summer ( June, July, August )

If you are interested in seeing nomad Tibetan culture, summer is the best time of a year. The grasslands are an amazing color of green and thousands of Tibetans living in their yak wool tents can be found. In addition, the summer season is the warmest time of a year across the Tibetan Plateau and is also the most popular time for traveler to come. Most places where travelers go to are mild and comfortable. Because of this, getting train tickets to Lhasa from Beijing, Shanghai or Chengdu are difficult to get during the summer season. Also, tour and hotel prices are higher during summer than the low season.

While the weather during the summer months is mild for the most part, the summer does bring rain and clouds. However, it does not affect your journey and is still possible to trek in Tibet. Also, the cloud cover is thick, so getting clear views of Everest and the Himalaya’s are not as common as they are during the rest of the year.

Tibet Pilgrims

Autumn ( September, October )

The autumn season is a great time to travel to Tibet. The rainy and cloudy season normally ends in mid September. The temperatures are not as mild as the summer, but are still comfortable. The skies are generally clear and the mountains are usually snow-capped. Tourists can still find nomad Tibetan living in tents across the grasslands.

However at the areas with high altitude, the temperatures are enough low to freeze. With appropriate clothing and equipments, you will be fine.

Tibetan Grassland in Autumn

Winter ( November, December, January, February )

The winter season is considered as the low tourist season. The weather is getting more and more dry and windy, but is the clearest in a year giving amazing views of the mountains. Hotels and travel agencies offer discounts during winter time, and there are almost no tourists around. In addition, Lhasa is filled with Tibetan pilgrims from all corners of Tibet areas. It is an excellent time for photographers to visit Tibet to capture images of Tibetan nomads. So, winter is a great time of year to travel to Tibet.

In winter, with the intense sun, the temperatures during the day make you feel much warmer than what it actually is. The guesthouses in the Everest region and in western Tibet do get cold at night so bringing good quality winter clothing is important.

Tibetan Grassland covered under Snow in Winter

Spring ( March, April, May )

The spring is a good time to visit Tibet. The weather begins to warm up and is generally clear until around mid to late May. Also there are not too many tourist around Lhasa. Tourists can get a discount lodging fees and tour service fees. It is also easy to get train ticket either from Beijing or Shanghai, or Chengdu.
However, Tibet is closed for foreign tourist and the Travel Permits normally stopped being issued about 5 or 6 weeks from the late February to the early April due to political reason.

Nomad Tibetan Tent in Spring