The real Tibet. A premium concierge, flawless logistics and guides who live inside the tradition — not perform it

Yes, of course. To do this you need to pay for hotels, a vehicle rental for the whole stay, a driver and a local guide who will accompany you for the entire trip. On this basis the agency issues you a permit to enter the closed region — without it you will not be allowed to board a flight or enter Lhasa. From then on you may only move through the places written into your permit, which is issued on the basis of your booking; nothing can be changed or added "along the way". If you travel as part of a tour group, these costs are shared among all participants; travelling on your own, three to five days in Lhasa will cost around $1,000.

Tibet is a hard-to-reach region with complex logistics and tightly regulated tourist services. The base cost of a tour covers: the local agency's work (arranging all restricted permits and bookings), the rental of quality tourist transport and local drivers' services, the mandatory local guide, the accommodation and meals of the local staff (guide and driver) throughout the trip, and the hotels and admission tickets on the programme. Additional cost comes from your choice of guiding: we bring in tour leaders and guides with relevant higher education and deep cultural immersion who speak your group's language, and since such specialists do not live in Tibet permanently, their fee, travel, accommodation and meals are built into the price — in a group format these costs are shared among all participants, on an individual tour they are paid by you directly. Clients ask for different levels of guiding: guides with a deep knowledge of philosophy and Buddhist practice — translators of books and events, volunteers at worldwide Tibetan forums, personal assistants to masters and practitioners; Tibetan-to-Russian translators, who significantly deepen the experience, since what the local guide shares comes through more fully and the doors of Tibetan monasteries open differently; and English-to-Russian translators, the simplest option to arrange — easier to find, with a more modest fee than a practising Buddhist fluent in Chinese and Tibetan. A significant part of the cost is management, organisation and thorough preparation: for you to spend two weeks in a perfectly planned journey among kindred spirits, a team of ten-plus specialists starts work a year before your trip. This also covers the marketing side — bringing together a group of four to ten people who share the same values, outlook and expectations is real work, and we find these people among a huge volume of enquiries, to create not just a tour departure but a community of kindred spirits.

A passport valid for at least six months; a Chinese visa or a Chinese group visa (depending on your point of entry); a Tibet Travel Permit; and insurance with a high-altitude option.

By law, only a certified local specialist may act as an official guide in the Tibet Autonomous Region. But our expeditions are built for depth, so every group — and individual routes on request — is accompanied by our experienced tour leaders and professional translators, and where needed by orientalists, philosophers and practitioners. The language barrier is removed entirely, and complex meaning reaches you in your own language, precisely and without distortion.

We specialise in "comfort-plus" expeditions with deep immersion into the tradition, culture and nature of Tibet; mass conveyor-belt tourism is not what we do. The formats: authored small groups, individual VIP itineraries and closed groups, plus consulting and specialist sourcing for other organisers. Whatever the format, the foundation is the same — mindfulness, gentle acclimatisation and a careful, sustainable relationship with the region.

Preparation runs on two tracks and starts several months ahead. Physical: building cardio load (swimming, running), basic tests (ECG, ferritin, iron, haemoglobin) and closing any deficiencies. Psychological: lowering stress physiologically improves the body’s adaptation to altitude, so we learn breathing practices and attention techniques in advance. For every group we run breathing sessions and record video instructions for practising on your own.

Altitude sickness comes from the lack of oxygen at height. Symptoms include headache, breathlessness, nausea, insomnia and loss of appetite. In the first days it is important to reduce physical activity, drink two to three litres of water a day, avoid overeating, cut out alcohol entirely and avoid getting cold. We rely on natural adaptation, through preparation and breathing.

Diamox (acetazolamide) stimulates breathing and speeds up the body's adaptation, but it is a prescription drug with a serious list of contraindications — take it only as prescribed by a doctor. A common mistake is overusing Diamox from the very first days: this disrupts natural adaptation and raises the body's tolerance to the drug, so that when a real deterioration comes with altitude the medication may prove useless. In our groups we rely on natural adaptation: regular breathing practice before and during the trip, along with natural remedies based on Tibetan herbs. In rare cases we recommend taking Diamox two days before heading onto the high-altitude route and during it — but by then the body is usually adapted enough that many participants choose to go without medication and its side effects.

The average altitude is above 4,000 metres. Lhasa sits at 3,656 m, Shigatse at around 3,800 m, and Mount Kailash and the Everest Base Camp at 5,000–5,200 m.

The basic minimum: an ECG under load, a full blood count, iron, ferritin and haemoglobin levels, and blood-pressure monitoring. We strongly recommend a fuller check-up and closing any deficiencies before you travel — it makes the body’s adaptation at altitude noticeably easier. With any chronic condition, a consultation with the relevant specialist is essential.

There are no official age limits. Whether the trip is possible depends on your state of health and the absence of contraindications to being at altitude.

The golden rule in the mountains is layering. In Lhasa you can pick up fleece jackets, down jackets, trekking poles and oxygen cylinders, but the critical items — broken-in boots, personal medication and good thermal underwear — you must bring with you. Clothing: a membrane storm jacket and membrane trousers, trekking trousers and warm trousers (down to 0 °C), a warm walking jacket (to +10 °C) and an insulated one for altitude (to −10 °C), a long-sleeved synthetic top, thermal base layers for sleeping, a warm hat, fleece and light gloves, trekking and wool socks. Footwear: high, well-broken-in trekking boots, comfortable shoes for towns and lodges, spare laces. Gear: an insulated sleeping bag, category-S3 sunglasses, a sun hat, a thermos and a water bottle. Toiletries: a synthetic towel, hand sanitiser, eco toiletries in 50 ml sizes, biodegradable wet wipes, SPF 50+ cream and lip balm. Other: earplugs, a charger and power bank, orthopaedic knee supports, isotonic drinks, zip bags and rubbish bags — in Tibet we follow the "Leave No Trace" principle and carry everything back out.

If your basic bloods are normal and there are no deficiencies, a month before departure it is enough to take a course of vitamin C and a quality multivitamin with iron. Pay particular attention to vitamin B12: it stimulates the red blood cells that carry oxygen to your tissues, and the better that system works, the easier your body copes at altitude. Gentle natural remedies based on ginkgo biloba and ginseng also work well. On arrival in Lhasa we recommend visiting a local pharmacy for traditional adaptogens with no serious contraindications — rhodiola, ginseng and cordyceps. Altitude and sports doctors also cite a broader reference list: multivitamins and minerals, digestive enzymes, hepatoprotectors, eubiotics and probiotics, glycine and meldonium. One caveat: stuffing yourself with pills "just in case" is a bad idea — at altitude your stomach, intestines and liver are already under enormous strain. The wisest move is to take this list and fresh test results to your own doctor and keep in your kit only what you truly need.

Beyond the medication you take regularly, put together a basic kit for emergencies: painkillers and fever reducers that suit you; gastrointestinal remedies — sorbents, enzymes and anti-diarrhoeals (loperamide, for example); cold remedies for the first signs of a cold; antihistamines in case of an allergic reaction; motion-sickness tablets for the long drives along mountain switchbacks; dressings — a bandage, antiseptics and good plasters, including blister plasters such as Compeed; decongestant nose drops and a remedy for sunburn (radiation in the mountains is extremely high). If you have any chronic conditions, be sure to bring the medication your doctor has prescribed, along with the prescriptions in English.

The optimal window is May to October: most passes are open and the temperature stays comfortable. April to June and September to November are also suitable, though the mountains can be colder then.

Yes. Tibet closes to foreign travellers every year from mid-February to the end of March, because of the weather and the Tibetan New Year celebrations.

There are four main ways in, and the choice depends on your priorities, the logistics and how much comfort you want. By air from cities in China (Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai) — our main recommendation: the fastest, easiest and most comfortable way to reach Lhasa from anywhere in the world. By air from Kathmandu (Nepal) — a short flight of just 1.5 hours with a chance to take in Nepal; the trade-offs are that the border can only be crossed as a full group, and it does not suit holders of a valid Chinese business visa (entering from Nepal, an ordinary Chinese visa is cancelled and a group visa is issued instead through the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu, with your original passport handed to our Nepalese agent a week before entry). By train along the Qinghai–Tibet railway — a scenic route that helps the body acclimatise gradually, but it costs a good deal of time; we recommend taking the train one way only. By road from Kathmandu to Lhasa across the Himalayas — a long, costly route with difficult mountain stretches; its upside is the logistics — once past the Chinese border you are as close to Kailash as possible and can start the kora within a couple of days — but we strongly advise against driving this route twice.

The carriages are sealed and oxygen is maintained inside. Real acclimatisation only begins once you step onto the platform in Lhasa, but the slow gain in altitude softens the sharp stress: in our experience, travellers who arrive by train feel the symptoms of altitude sickness far more gently, or not at all.

In terms of crime, Tibet is safe, and you are always accompanied by guides. The one safety rule outside the towns is to keep away from Tibetan mastiffs in the areas where nomads live.

The official currency is the Chinese yuan (RMB). Cash machines are easy to find in Lhasa and Shigatse, but remote areas take cash only, so stock up in advance. The most convenient option is to link a card to the Chinese payment systems (WeChat, Alipay). Russian "Mir" cards do not work in Tibet; if you travel from Russia, arrange a UnionPay card beforehand.

Medical insurance is mandatory and is not included in the tour price. You need a policy that covers high altitude above 3,500 metres, as well as emergency medical evacuation (including by helicopter) and search-and-rescue. Ordinary travel policies, and those bundled with premium bank cards, generally do not apply at these altitudes.

Circling sacred sites (the kora) and turning prayer wheels is done clockwise only. Photograph local people only with their permission. Remove your headwear when entering a temple; never touch altars, statues or a person's head; and step over a temple threshold rather than onto it.

Tips are not strictly required, but in the tourist sector they are expected and form a meaningful part of your guides’ and drivers’ income. At the end of the tour it is customary to leave each of them a thank-you — roughly from $100 per person, depending on the length of the trip and how satisfied you are with their work; the organiser usually names the exact recommended amount before the tour ends. In cafés and restaurants tipping is not common practice, but for excellent service you may leave up to 10% of the bill by tradition. We advise against giving to street beggars — it is wiser to save those funds for donations in monasteries, or to support the team that builds your journey.