Tibet Vista — Local services in Lhasa

JUNE 2025 KAILASHKORA trip Until Lhasa Darchen saga r fineBUT PROBLEM WAS WITH KAILASHKORA WE WERE NOT PROVIDED PORTERS IN LAST MINUTE WHEN WE WERE ABOUT TO START THE KORA PARIKRAMA. EVEN AFETR WE PAID MONEY AHEAD for HORSE AND PORTER THEY MADE US WAIT UNTIL AFTERNOON WHILE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO START EARLY AS WE REACHED THERE MORNING AROUND 9:00am WE WERE STALLED UNTIL 12:00pm and WERE PROVIDED with HORSE after long wait But HORSE MAN LEFT US AFER FEW STEPS NEAR YAM DWAR AND NO ONE TRIED TO HELP THERE WE WERE JUST STRANDED THERE FOR HOUR AND WE WERE NOT GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS UNTIL WHICH WAY TO GO AND ALL AFTER NEARLY GIVING UP ME AND MY SONS WALKED AHEAD BY FOLLOWING SOME RANDOM PEOPLE WE STARTED KORA WITH NO HELP IT WAS NOT GOING TO BE EASY WITH BACKPACKS LOADED BUT WE MANAGED SOMEHOW TO START AND CONTINUE UNTIL WE REACHED TEA HOUSE THERE THEY TRIED TO PROVIDE HORSE FOR ONE HOUR REST OF PARIKRAMA TO GUEST HOUSE ,FIRST DAY WHICH WE TOOK FOR ONE OF MY SON AND ME AND MY OTHER SON CONTINUED WALKING TO GUEST HOUSE WHICH WAS Only one HOUR LEFT OUT OF 7 to 8 hours SECOND DAY THEY PROVIDED HORSE FOR Uphill TO DROLMALA PAS As HORSE CANT GO DOWN hill WE TOOK FOR 1 SON. BUT REST We 3 CONTINUED WALKING PARIKRAMA UNTIL THIRD DAY. EVENTHOUGH IT WAS INCONVENIENT May be IN THE NAME OF SHIVA WE WALKED AND COMPLETED 3 Days PARIKRAMA GUEST HOUSES WERE PROVIDED AT END OF EACH PARIKRAMA .YOU HAVE TO ASK AHEAD ALL THREE DAYS guesthouse location THEY WONT TELL UNLESS ASKED. BATHROOMS NEAR KAILASH PARIKRAMA GUEST HOUSES NOT GOOD AT ALL BUT THATS FOR ALL ITS SAME SEDOND DISAPPOINTENT IS MANAS SAROVAR LAKE AREA THEY TOOK US TO WHERE THERE IS MANAS SAROVAR LAKE BEHIND DZULITRIOUK AND AFTER SEEING IT WE WERE TOLD TAHT THEY WILL TAKE TO GOOD SIDE NEAT AREA OF WHERE MANAS SAROVAR LAKE WITH KAILASH VIEW BUT SUDDENLY THE HEADSTRONG DRIVER DROVE US INTO THE BACKSIDE OF MONASTRY MANAS SAROVAR LAKE WHICH IS NOT NEAT FILLED WITH CLAY AND LOT OF MUSQUITOES SWAMP WHICH WAS HEALTH HAZARD TO TAKE SUCH SIDE OF LAKE AND FINISHING IT OF THEN TAKING TO SIDE WHICH TEHY PROMISED TO TAKE GOOD SIDE OF LAKE WITH KAILASH VIEW WHERE WE CAN TAKE HOLY DIP MY SON LEGS GOT CAUGHT INTO THE CLAY NEAR THE SHORE OF MANSSAROVAR LAKE AND WAS HARD TO MOVE INTIO LAKE FOR A DIP OF TOUCHING WATER WAS MADE COMPLICATED AND NOT SAFE WE SOMEHOW WENT FURTHER INTO THE LAKE ON SIDE WHICH WE FOUND TRYING SLOWLY TO GO INTO CLEAR WATER WHICH WAS SLIDING INTO MUD AND WE REACHED SOMEHOW AND DIID A HOLY BATH WITH BIG LADDLE TRAY THEY GAVE CANT DIP INTO WATERS WHICH HAS LEACHES IN IT WHICH WHEN WE WENT INSIDE TEHY CAUGHT OUR LEGS AS ITS STILL WATER WE JUST SHOOK OFF THE LEACHES WE SAW SMALL SIZE ONES AND TRIED TO PRAY AND POURED CLEAR WATER ONTO OUR HEADS AND AFTER COMING OUT WE JUST CLOSED OUR HEADS WITH JACKETS TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM SWAPM OF MUSQUITOES WHICH IS TOTAL UNNECESSARY FOR PILGRIMS TO DEAL WITH WHEN THEY CAN SIMPLY LET US DIP IN GOOD SIDE OF MANAS SAROVAR LAKE AND KAILASH VIEW WHICH THEY TOOK LATER ONLY TO SEE FROM FAR AND TAKE PICS THE SURPRISING THING IS NO ONE QUESTIONED THEM TO NOT TAKE US TO MONASTRY BACKSIDE SWAMP SIDE OF MANAS SAROVAR LAKE AFTER PAYING THEM LOT OF MONEY WE DESERVED BETTER TREATMENT BUT THE HEAD STRONG DRIVER AND GOOD ACTING GUDIE DID NOT CARE AS MUCH THEY SHOULD FOR WHAT WE PAID. AND AFTER CROSSING THE CHINA BORDER TO NEPAL BORDER THAT SIDE WHEN THE DRIVER IS SUPPOSED TO TAKE TO KHATMANDU HE JUST DROVE FIRST INTO DANGEROUS ROADS FOR TWO HOURS THAN GOING ON THE ACTUAL ROAD AND WASTED TIME AND DROVE UP AGAIN TWO HOURS TO ACTUAL ROAD ON RAINY DAY TO REACH KHATMANDU. OVERALL FROM KAILASH TOUR NOT THAT SATISFIED NO ONE TO EXPLAIN ANOUT KAILASH AND DIRECTIONS OF KAILASH VIEW POINT AS NO ONE WILL BE NEXT TO US TO EXPLAIN EVERYONE LEFT IN THEIR OWN PATH NO COORDINATION OR ANY CARE PROTECTION NEAR KAILASH AND MANAS SAROVAR LAKE WENT WITH MY TEENAGE SONS, WITH THEIR HELP I WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE KAILASH THREE DAY KORA WITH WALKING AT 47 age WITH OUT MY SONS NOT POSSIBLE

FYI, OUR GUIDE WAS LHA-DUP. THEY GAVE GOOD HOTELS AND SAW ALL MEMBERS...

CAUTION DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY. I am EXTREMELY disappointed in this tour service. My friends and I have had a lot of experiences with many tours and this by far was the worst experience EVER

Starting off in Kathmandu Nepal we paid extra for help with Chinese Visa. This was the Nepal branch of Tibet vista. We were told $20pp in a contract we signed before trip. Upon arrival we were told for a group visa we need 4 people(we had 3) and we had to paid for an additional processing fee of both company and visa fees. Another $60+ dollars that was never discussed. he took our pictures for visa. I have a pixie haircut with bangs. He said I couldn’t have bangs for Chinese visa (which was true) so they had to edit my photo.

After a week of their so do Nepal tour, I was called in to embassy(not a good thing). The company said to arrive by 900 for appointment but the embassy wasn’t open until 930!!? After waiting in the street for 40minutes, I finally got to go in. The embassy asked me to take my glasses off. Then they showed me the picture of me that was submitted and asked if it was my picture. I mean it had elements that looked like me.They were only supposed to edit out my bangs. I could not recognize myself. The embassy asked where was the mole next to my eye. (It was edited out) That was the issue. I told them the tour company did the photo so I was not sure. the embassy sent me home. I contacted the tour group and explained the mole to them. Now i had to return to embassy for a second time. the guide told me to lie that I was nervous and say it was my photo. I explained to him I can not lie about the picture because the mole was missing. That was the problem. Then he YELLED at me he needed to think, said it wasn’t his fault but the photoshop fault. I said his company is responsible whether he did it himself or had someone else do it. After another 1hour at the embassy I was told to get new photo. In all, this wasted about 5 hours of my entire morning. Ruined my entire day and I only had two days in Kathmandu.

The Tibet portion we were expecting to be fabulous because it’s their specialty. We were driven up to the bordertown. We paid for minimum 3star hotel. Apparently they forgot to book us early enough because our regular hotel was full. So we got a hostel. We slept on hard box springs the towels smelly. No hot water. We could not sleep the entire night.

An expert came to help us with understanding the laws of China and Tibet, check that our papers were in order and lead us through the Nepal immigration

We walked to the Chinese border and were met by our Tibetan tour guide. Ci Yan helped us through immigration We were asked if we had any maps. My friend liked to have hard copy to mark places we were. That was confiscated. she had to sign an official Chinese document (for violation). So much for all that expert advice. All the things we were told were NOT asked and now my friend has a”Record” w/ Chinese government.

Finally, we were dropped off the hotel and the guide checked us in and left. We mentioned we needed to trade dollars. she ignored us. She pretty much didn’t guide us. The elevation at border was 2800m(8000 ft). We now had 2 nights at this altitude. Next day we left for Everest base at 5200m. We were supposed to go down to 4000m that same evening. She manipulated us into staying at Everest overnight instead. that’s when the illness started. If we had stuck to original plan it would’ve been better. Two of us asked her to bring needed oxygen tanks she ignored us. We 3 ended up in one room with shared dirty HOSTEL toilet. I paid for 3star hotel room w/single supplement. (Bait and switch?)

The rest of the trip was equally horrible A tour guide is the most important part of any tour, she did not seem to care about us or think about our needs(like changing money) She did not explain most things well. She knew a bit about temples but that was it. she often ignored our requests. on the 5th day of 8 day trip we found a bank, changed money ourselves. all that time going places unable to...

My wife and I did the 8 Day Small Group Tibet Tour to Everest Base Camp and had an absolutely wonderful experience from initial tour enquiry through the booking process, and most importantly with the tour itself.

Our booking agent Hollie was so easy to deal with and she tailored our tour to suit our needs, arranging flights, the Tibet pass, upgrading us to 5 star hotels in Lhasa and Shigatse and most importantly arranging our private guest room at EBC which far exceeded our expectations. More on that later. 10/10 for customer service.

Our guide Kalsang was very friendly, extremely knowledgeable in Tibetan culture, fluent in English and Chinese (and Tibetan of course) and ever so helpful and accommodating. When my wife was showing signs of altitude sickness he was right there to support and assist her and we had plenty of oxygen and water for our whole group. With Kalsang’s care and attention my wife bounced back and was not able to just complete the tour, but she did it with energy and happiness.

Kalsang really went all out to provide our group with a memorable experience and was flexible with the tour schedule to ensure that we got the best out of each attraction to suit the weather conditions. Fortunately, we were blessed with great weather for nearly all of the trip.

In Lhasa we checked out Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, and Barkhor Street. We spent plenty of time at each attraction and Kalsang explained in great detail the fascinating culture and historical significance of each site and attraction for the whole tour which provided additional context and appreciation. We also had a welcome dinner for the group and enjoyed traditional Tibetan food.

Next stop was Shingatse (Tibet’s second largest city behind Lhasa). On the way we stopped at Yamdrok Lake, Karola Glacier, checked out the ancient city of Gyantse. The views were absolutely spectacular and breathtaking.

From Shigatse it was off to the main event “Everest Base Camp” aka EBC. The road from Shigatse to EBC was via Gawula Pass. The road itself is an infrastructure marvel with 108 turns.

We stopped at numerous viewpoints along Gawula Pass for photo opportunities and at our highest point we were 5248 metres above sea level. On the way we stopped off for a traditional lunch with a Tibetan family which was delicious and washed it down with sweet tea and butter tea.

We arrived at EBC and this is the hot tip. Pay the extra money and upgrade from the base camp tents to the private guest houses at the Rongbuk Monastery. The guesthouses were built in June 2024 and were clean and new. What blew our minds were that there were 2 double beds with clean linen, oxygen, power points, A/C, a sit down toilet (which we considered a luxury), “hot” water, little hand washes supplied, wi-fi (I kid you not), 2 bottles of purified water, a kettle, and even guest slippers. The other hot tip is you want to book a guest room that starts with A (e.g. A806) as the A guest houses face Everest and the B guest houses face base camp.

The next day Kalsang took out group out to the best EBC viewpoints of Everest and a guided tour of Rongbuk Monastery which is the world’s highest monastery.

From EBC we headed back to Shigatse via Gawula Pass again. Our driver did his thing negotiating the twists and turns like a pro and I pretty much slept through most of the journey back. Our group went out for a traditional Tibetan hot pot dinner that included yak meat so a lot of us were able to tick that off our bucket list.

Next morning we went to visit our final attraction which was Tashi Lunpo monastery which was a surrreal experience and was my personal favourite out of all of the monasteries visited. Then it was back to Lhasa to conclude a well organised and executed tour. Thank you Kalsang, Hollie, our gun driver and the Tibet Vista team for ensuring that we all walked away safely with a lifetime of wonderful memories. This tour is an absolute must do and is highly...