Among all the places on Earth, Tibet is perhaps one of the most exotic. Officially part of China, this province is a state within a state and lives its own special life. Tibet is the center of Buddhism, Eastern healing, the land of snow-white peaks and majestic monasteries, where pilgrims mutter prayers to this day. No matter where you are – in the capital Lhasa or in one of the villages scattered through the valleys – everywhere you can see temples with traditional gilded roofs. In unevenly populated Tibet, monasteries are the most popular haunts: Lhasa’s 3 largest monasteries are home to monks, and Drepung Monastery is a city within a city. In Tibet, the following tourist areas can be distinguished:
1. tourist areas of Lhasa – the cities of Lhasa, Zamsan, Tsetang, Gyantse, Shigatse, Yamdrok-tso Lake, the valley of the Brahmaputra River;
2. western tourist area – the vast Ngari plateau in western Tibet is called the “roof on the roof of the world.” This tourist area is notable for visiting sacred places – Mount Kailash, which is a holy place for four religions; Lake Manasarovar, whose water, according to legend, can cure all diseases. Also in this area are the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Guge and the ruins of the city of Kyung-Lung, the capital of the state of Zhang-zhung;
3. southwestern tourist area – this area has its own specifics associated with the ascent of tourists to the mountains. It is especially popular among climbers, who are attracted by more than 40 snow-capped mountain peaks;
4. southeast tourist area – the center of this area is the city of Linzhi, where you can see all four seasons in a day. The landscape is amazing – these are snowy mountain peaks, majestic relict forests, mountain slopes strewn with azaleas, and at the foot – swift rivers.
The best time to travel to Tibet is mid-autumn and spring. At this time, the climatic conditions are the most optimal, and the oxygen content in the air is maximum. Night temperatures remain slightly positive, and daytime temperatures reach +16…19 degrees. October and early November are the “golden time” for visiting Tibet, during which, as a rule, there is blindingly clear weather. The temperature during the day is +10…+15 in the bright sun, in the evening it gets colder to +5.
Each area has its own best time to visit. Lhasa and its environs can be visited all year round if you are not afraid of night temperatures of -10…-12 degrees. Areas on the border of Nepal and China are inaccessible from December to January due to very bad weather conditions; and in August, at the height of the rainy season, landslides are frequent and roads are washed out. The same picture is typical for eastern Tibet. Traveling to northern Tibet is best done in the summer, as it is cold in these places in winter.
The official language of Tibet is Tibetan. The emergence of Tibetan writing dates back to the 7th century, when King Songtsen Gampo equipped and sent his minister to India to create the alphabet of his native language. The Tibetan alphabet was compiled according to the Sanskrit type. Not everyone knows Chinese, and English is known only to workers in the tourism business.
Geography in Tibet, China
According to topschoolsoflaw, Tibet is located in the southwest of China. To the north, it borders the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the provinces of India, Bhutan, and Nepal. In political terms, Tibet is the territory of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China (TAR), with an area of 1.22 million km2. Tibet, as a cultural and historical region, also includes some territories outside the TAR. The northeastern part of Tibet (Amdo region) is part of the Chinese province of Tibet (Tham region) – a part of Sichuan province.
The area of the Tibet Autonomous Region is 2.5 million km 2. It occupies the southwestern part of the Tibetan Plateau. The highlands are framed by even higher mountain ranges: from the south – the Himalayas with the highest peak Chomolungma (Everest), in the northwest – the Karakoram and Pamir mountains, in the north – the Kunlun, Altyntag and Qilyanshan mountain ranges. Numerous ridges crossing Tibet have a latitudinal strike and rise to heights of 5500-7600 m. The ridges are separated by wide valleys, cold and mostly uninhabited.
The northern and western regions of Tibet are basins of internal flow. There are hundreds of endorheic salt lakes, into which small rivers flow. The largest river in Tibet is the Brahmaputra, which is called Yarlung-tsangpo here. in Tibet originate such major rivers as the Yangtze, Indus, Ganges, Mekong, Irrawaddy. The largest lake in the area is Nam-tso.
In Tibet, much attention is paid to the conservation of natural resources. More than 5,000 plants grow on its territory, 39 of which are under special protection; 142 species of mammals, 473 species of birds, 49 species of reptiles, 44 species of amphibians, 64 species of fish and more than 2,300 species of insects inhabit. All this biodiversity is protected in 14 reserves, covering about a third of the region’s territory.
Climate in Tibet, China
The Tibetan climate is called lunar – here the temperature difference between day and night is greater than between winter and summer. The climate is sharply continental.
The coldest month is January. This month, at altitudes of about 4000 m, the temperature drops to -10 at night, and during the day the air warms up to about +6. In the north, temperatures are much lower: in January, the average temperature is -20 degrees at night, and -1 in the daytime.
The characteristic night and day temperatures of the hottest month, July, are respectively +8…10 and +21…25. Bounded on all sides by the highest ranges, Tibet is experiencing a shortage of precipitation, which is why the air here is very dry. The largest annual amount is noted in the eastern regions – 400-500 mm, in some northern regions their number does not exceed 10 mm. The south and southeast of Tibet have the mildest climate. In summer, the Indian monsoon brings heavy rains.
In Lhasa and its environs, the annual rainfall is 300 m, while it rains mainly at night. The rainiest months are July and August, during which half of the annual rainfall falls.
Tibet has the largest number of sunny days per year, in Lhasa it reaches 300, for which the capital received the name “sunny city”.
Best time to visit:
The best time to travel to Tibet is mid-autumn and spring. At this time, the climatic conditions are the most optimal, and the oxygen content in the air is maximum. Night temperatures remain slightly positive, and daytime temperatures reach +16…19 degrees. October and early November are the “golden time” for visiting Tibet, during which, as a rule, there is blindingly clear weather. The temperature during the day is +10…+15 in the bright sun, in the evening it gets colder to +5.
Each area has its own best time to visit. Lhasa and its environs can be visited all year round if you are not afraid of night temperatures of -10…-12 degrees. Areas on the border of Nepal and China are inaccessible from December to January due to very bad weather conditions; and in August, at the height of the rainy season, landslides are frequent and roads are washed out. The same picture is typical for eastern Tibet. Traveling to northern Tibet is best done in the summer, as it is cold in these places in winter.
