Tibetan Guide — Local services in Lhasa

I can highly recommend booking a tour through Tibetan Guide. We had a fantastic time travelling to Lhasa by train from Xining, then overland to Kathmandu - the company organised both of these add-ons.

Every step of the way, all team members were helpful, kind, and professional. Dondhup and Yonten answered my many emails very quickly, were able to answer questions about visas and permits, and organised everything we needed with no issues. Thank you!

Our driver, Lobsang, is kind, friendly, professional, and an excellent driver. He made us feel very safe in the comfortable car, whether on twisty mountain roads or navigating around other drivers and sheep on the roads. He also ensured we had lots of chances to take photos, and was always there to help open the door, grab our bags etc.

S.P, our guide, is an absolute legend! He is so knowledgeable and answered our many, many questions enthusiastically. He is also very kind, funny, and great to hang out with. His kindness, generosity of spirit and professionalism really made this trip what it was, and we are so grateful to him.

We both felt like we learnt a lot on this trip, alongside enjoying the absolutely stunning scenery. We were nervous beforehand, as we haven’t done a tour before, but it was such a genuine pleasure to get to know S.P and Lobsang, and we felt looked after and comfortable.

I was pretty anxious about altitude sickness, and one of the reasons we picked Tibetan Guide in the first place was their schedule that took this into account. The tour we booked had an extra day/night at Sakya between Shigatse and Everest Base Camp. Many other tours go straight from Shigatse to Rongbuk, which is a very long day, and a significant jump in altitude. I can confirm that this schedule is perfect – the pacing did not feel rushed, and we also had plenty to do each day. We also really enjoyed Sakya, where the monastery was very unique.

We both took Diamox as a preventative, but also felt that this schedule (and staying in Xining before the train, as recommended) helped us acclimatise in a sensible way. S.P also checked in on us frequently, ensuring that we didn’t have any symptoms. He reminded us to take it slowly, but never made us feel like we were taking too long.

This anxiety about altitude sickness was another reason I picked Tibetan Guide – they provided helpful information and crucially did not include some misinformation we saw elsewhere. When choosing, I sent out several emails with questions, and Tibetan Guide sent back the most informative and helpful responses. This continued throughout – I felt like I was being very annoying with a LOT of questions, and I received helpful, patient, polite emails back every time.

Tibetan Guide also have fair and transparent pricing for smaller groups, and the schedule and places we saw were fantastic. Just for some examples, we loved the variety of monasteries we saw (my favourites were in Gyantse and Sakya) and FANTASTIC views of Mt Everest/Chomolungma. This included a stunning view of the Eastern face with sand dunes in the foreground, with absolutely no one else around. We also loved the drives themselves – particularly from Everest towards Old Tingri on a small, gorgeous road through a beautiful valley.

I’m vegetarian and S.P made sure I had food options wherever we went, and was flexible about what we wanted to do in our free time – he was happy to guide us to a restaurant if we wanted assistance, or let us have some time to wander about on our own in Lhasa if that was what we wanted to do.

I know this is a very long review, but my partner and I were genuinely so happy that we booked Tibetan Guide, and really enjoyed getting to know S.P and Lobsang. Thanks team, we’ll be back one day for a proper...

Tashi Delek!

Visiting Tibet has been in my bucket list since I read James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon when I was a teenager. I chose the year of 2020 to be the perfect time for me to visit and have been communicating with Dhondup Mima from Tibetan Guide since 2019 (pre-pandemic) to prepare the itinerary. Unfortunately Covid19 forced us to postpone the plan. It was lovely that we maintained our communication and I was able to revisit the plan in 2023 and finally succeeded to visit Tibet on May 2024.

During the trip planning (either back in 2019, during the postponement due to pandemic, and in 2023), Dhondup has been very patient. responsive and supportive to all my questions and suggestions. I am very grateful over this process. I could imagine Tibetan Guide must have been through difficult times during the pandemic but they are very much up and ready to accommodate my revisit trip plan in 2024.

During my visit on May 2024, Dhondup has taken care of my friend (Christina) and I very well. Since Christina couldn't continue the trip due to altitude sickness, Dhondup and team assisted us to arrange Christina's flight back to Chengdu and to Indonesia. Both Christina and I were quite shock with this unfortunate turn of event but Dhondup took care everything. Thankfully, Christina arrived safely back home and I could continue the trip in Lhasa, Tsedang, Gyantse, Shigatse then back to Lhasa again (10 days trip).

My tour in Tibet was joyful and fulfilling, supported by Phuntjok the guide and our driver (Lobsang?). Phuntjok is very knowledgeable about the history, art and culture presented in all the monasteries that we visited. Our driver is very attentive and the vehicle is very comfortable that oftentimes I dozed off during the long-hour drive. Phuntjok always checked on my health, appetite and comfort during the trip, especially when we drove outside Lhasa. Since I could not speak Chinese and Tibetan, Phuntjok was always ready to assist when I need to buy fruits or prayer flags from street vendors, or to order meal in the restaurants. He also helped a lot when I shopped for Tibetan souvenirs. Best guide ever!

Last but not least, I am thankful of our host in Lhasa, the House of Shambhala. It is a home away from home. Warm, friendly, lovely place, lovely service and lovely people.

Overall, I brought home wonderful memories about Tibet, thanks to Tibetan Guide. To all my friends and colleagues who express their interest and intention to visit Tibet, I would definitely recommend Tibetan Guide -- with high hope that I could tag along and...

I engaged Tibetan Guide for a 10-day private tour of Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse, Yamdrok Lake, Karola Glacier, Tsurphu Monastery, Drak Yerpa Caves, Samye Monastery, Chimpu Caves and Ganden Monastery. From initial contact with Mr. Dhondup, everything was handled very professionally and the price was very reasonable compared to other agencies I contacted. Mr. Dhondup offered lots of useful advice on travel planning and the itinerary. The application of the Tibet permit was also completed smoothly and the permit was ready for collection at my hotel in Chengdu when I reached. Mr. Dhondup also upgraded my hotel in Shigatse to Hilton, the best hotel available, at no additional cost. Mr. Dhondup also took effort to meet me on the first and last day of my tour and checked in regularly to make sure everything was going well. The guide assigned to me, Tashi, was very experienced and knowledgeable in all aspects of Tibetan culture and religion and was able to point out and arrange for me to see things that are not usually seen by other tourists, such as the Buddha's relics in Shadrubling Monastery and the tombs of the Dalai Lamas in Drepung Monastery. The driver was also friendly and drove safely throughout the trip. The vehicle was clean and spacious and equiped with clean bottled water and oxygen canisters throughout the trip which was especially helpful when travelling to high altitudes. It is recommended to engage a local Tibetan guide as you can see and experience things in a local perspective. You can be assured that you will be in good hands if you engage Tibetan Guide and I would definitely engage them again in...