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Voykit pocket guide · China
Lhasa
拉萨
Go only as a permit tour: 4–5 nights, May–Jun or Sep–Oct, based in Barkhor old town; allow 1–2 days to acclimatise at 3,650 m before the Potala.
Lhasa is the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, 3,650 m up in a valley on the Lhasa River, and the only way in for non-Chinese passport holders is a guided, permitted tour booked through a licensed agency. The old town around the Jokhang and Barkhor is the atmospheric half; the western half is modern Han Chinese Lhasa with banks and malls. Budget 4–5 nights: two of them are acclimatisation, not sightseeing.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 拉萨
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep–Oct
- Avoid
- Dec–Feb (cold, thin air), Jul–Aug (rain and peak domestic crowds)
- Stay
- 4–5 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- Daily spend
- Budget ¥350–600 excl. bed · Mid ¥600–1,200 excl. bed · High ¥1,200+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Sweet tea or butter tea in a teahouse | ¥5–20 |
| Plate of momos or a noodle bowl | ¥20–40 |
| Restaurant meal with a drink | ¥40–120 |
| City taxi anywhere in town | ¥10 |
| Public bus ride | ¥1 |
| Potala Palace admission | ¥100 (check) |
| Norbulingka admission | ¥50 (check) |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- LXA · Lhasa Gonggar Airport
- About 61 km (38 mi) southwest of the city; 40–60 min by road. Non-Chinese nationals are met at the airport by their tour guide.About 38 mi (61 km) southwest of the city; 40–60 min by road. Non-Chinese nationals are met at the airport by their tour guide.
Typical fares
- Gonggar Airport → Lhasa, shuttle
- about ¥25, 40–60 min (check)
- Taxi anywhere in the city
- about ¥10 flat
- Train station → city centre, taxi
- about ¥30 flat; agree the price first
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The core sights — Potala, Jokhang, Barkhor, Ramoche — are walkable. City taxis run about ¥10 flat anywhere in town and drivers often pick up extra passengers; Didi works. Public buses cost ¥1 and non-Chinese nationals may ride them. Your tour normally supplies a private vehicle for monastery days.
See and do
Known for
- Potala Palace
- Jokhang Temple and Barkhor kora
- Sera and Drepung monasteries
- Norbulingka summer palace
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Drepung Monastery | Private vehicle or minibus from the city, about 8 km (5 mi) westPrivate vehicle or minibus from the city, about 5 mi (8 km) west | About 1 h each way |
| Sera Monastery | Taxi or tour vehicle, about 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the centreTaxi or tour vehicle, about 3.1 mi (5 km) north of the centre | About 30 min each way |
| Ganden Monastery | Private vehicle, about 47 km (29 mi) east on Wangbur MountainPrivate vehicle, about 29 mi (47 km) east on Wangbur Mountain | 1.5–2 h each way |
| Yamdrok Lake | Guided vehicle south over the Kamba La pass | 3–4 h each way |
Sleep
- Barkhor old town
- Walk to Jokhang, Ramoche and the kora; the most atmospheric area to stay and where most tour hotels sit.
- West Lhasa (Beijing Middle Road)
- Modern hotels, banks and malls; 10–15 min by taxi to the old town.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས།tashi delek |
| Thank you | ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆེ།thuk je che |
| How much is it? | 多少钱？duōshao qián |
| Where is the toilet? | 洗手间在哪里？xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ |
| I have altitude sickness | 我有高原反应wǒ yǒu gāoyuán fǎnyìng |
| Please go slower | 请慢一点qǐng màn yīdiǎn |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Non-Chinese passport holders need a Tibet Travel Permit arranged through a licensed agency, plus a guide for the whole stay; you cannot book flights or trains into Lhasa without it.
- Altitude is the real risk: 3,650 m. Fly in, rest day one, no alcohol, no stairs on arrival, and treat headache plus breathlessness as a signal to stop.
- The Potala is a climb of many stairs; do it after you are acclimatised, not on day one.
- Many ATMs reject foreign cards; Bank of China machines generally work.
- Some monasteries and the Potala cap daily visitor numbers and require timed entry through your guide.
Lhasa is low-crime, but altitude is the hazard: acclimatise before the Potala, keep the first day empty, and carry your passport and permit — they are checked at sites and checkpoints.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Lhasa yet. Suggested stay: 4–5 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Potala Palace
- Jokhang Temple and Barkhor kora
- Sera and Drepung monasteries
- Norbulingka summer palace
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Lhasa municipal government: www.lasa.gov.cn/
- Tibet Museum: www.tibetmuseum.com.cn/
- Wikivoyage: Lhasa, revision 5298324 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5298324
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Lhasa拉萨
请到这个地址
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
Most countries have embassies in Beijing and consulates in Chengdu; check your own government's advice before booking a Tibet tour.
Carry your passport and Tibet permit at all times; they are checked at sites and on the road.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/lhasa). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.