China Travel Forum

[Raymond]

In September 1999 tried to get to Mount Kailash in Tibet but roads too bad for our truck. Now keen to actually get there but only have four weeks off work .. would that be enough time to fly to/from London and arrange tour once in Lhasa/Chengdu? Or would it be better taking an organised tour from London .
Would really appreciate any advice.
thanks!

[Guest]

[Brian]

hey,
I went to Kailash in June. As you know, not planning ahead means a lot of 'waiting time'. Waiting for 3 people to share a jeep with, and those 3 people have to have the same amount of time, the same goal (Kailash) and the same cash (most backpackers can't afford it -- only those who are older and are traveling for shorter amount of time can). So.. assume it will take you at least 3-5 days to put up postings and find people. Then it takes about 3 days for trip planning, and permit stuff (if you're lucky you're not delayed by a weekend). That's at least a week of finding people and planning the trip. Again... you have to be aggressive to find the 'right' people wanting to do the same trip. If you're lucky, you'll meet them the first day. If you're not, you may never find them and will have to change your trip plan. I was lucky. Met mine in 2 days, but still took us a week before getting out of Lhasa. Barely met any other travelers there. I also had to wait 4 days in Chengdu for my visa stuff, (even though I emailed the guest house ahead of time to pre-plan).

Having said all that... going on your own is great. IT's all about time. Nepal has organized trips to Mt.Kailash too, by the way.

Does this help? Not really. I guess I'm saying shorten the time getting to Lhasa (ie: pre=plan Chengdu and don't get stuck a few days). Then be as aggressive as hell trying to find people who have cash and time and the same permit (many people only have 2 weeks) as you and you should be fine.

I'd go it alone.