Tibet is a most unusual and beautiful land. The majority of this land rests above 4000 meters (13,000 feet) and is partially surrounded by mountain ranges. The awe-inspiring Himalayas are the highest in the world, as is the never ending Tibetan plateau. Tibet is a place for the rugged adventurer as well as the spiritual wanderer. A land that is held back in time and houses many secrets. Nomads remain much the same as they did one hundred years ago. Then, there are the monasteries which are striving to find a place in a country that's crashing into the twentieth century.

The Tibetan people and their religion have been inseparable. Even in their earliest myths one finds references to the Tibetan's religious beliefs. Originally, the Bon religion dominated Tibet. After the introduction of Buddhist statues and later sanskrit documents from India, Buddhism crept increasingly into the Tibetan culture. Tibetan Buddhism is the culmination of some early Bon beliefs, Indian buddhist texts and several great lamas. Buddhism and politics had been interwoven since King Songsten Gampo married a Chinese and a Nepali princess, who were both intergral in the emergence of Buddhism. It was the Fifth Dalai Lama who actually built the Potala Palace as the government seat and a religious center. A theocracy had prevailed until 1951.

After centuries of virtual isolation Tibet is cautiously opening up to the western world. Officially, China has only opened the doors for travelers these past few years. A visit to Tibet is a marvelous experience, although it is not for the faint-hearted. The traveling is difficult, adventurous, and unpredictable. The infrastructure is poor to non-existent, making a simple road trip a complete adventure. Traveling in Tibet is not a simple trip but an experience of a lifetime which we invite you to take with us.


Geography:

With an average altitude of 4,000m above sea level, Tibet is located at the main part of Qinghai Tibet Plateau, south west of China. Tibet has an area of 1.2 million sq. km and borders with Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai, Xingjiang to the south and contiguous to India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan & Burma. Tibet has more than 50 peaks above 7,000 m out of which 11 are more than 8,000m.