The China Train to Lhasa

Permits and Maps

Permit for Lhasa and Tibet

Getting the permit so that you can get the train to Lasa ticket is a journey in itself. It is a catch 22 situation, as you can not get the train ticket for the special train to Lhasa with out the permit, and the permit costs in Xian is 850 Yuan. The catch is that you don't know if the train is full or not? Once you have the permit there is no guarantee that you will get on the train, and you might end up having to catch a plane which is OK as there are really cheap flights in China available.

Asia Travel Tip The best place to buy cheap flights and discount airfares in China is the train stations

Map to Lhasa Permit office Xian China

We question some of the people in the know and it seems that the train to lhasa is in high demand during the high season with a 15 to 20 day wait we got ours the next day during the low season. the train back from Lhasa is not so heavily booked so you might check into going one way BACK from Lhasa, which will be your highest chance of success to take the train during the Season. The high season is April to October with September the busiest. If the train is sold going there it is worth trying to get a seat coming back another advantage of this is that you will have acclimatized for as long as you are in Lhasa for the 5000 meter section of the train where they pump oxygen into the car. another advantage is that the power lines will be on the other side of the train so it should be a better view.

office address name plate to get permit