Hey! So two friends and I are really interested in going to t¡bet first week in August, however have heard it has become increasingly more expensive in the past few years. We are 21ish year old college students and money is a very large factor in our trip planning. I know that once in Lhasa, it is not very expensive, however, I have heard foreigners need Travel Pass's to get into t¡bet and these can be extremely expensive. I have also heard they are unnecessary. Does anyone know the real story, Do we need these papers or not, where can we get them, and what do you recommend as the best way to get there. We appreciate as much help as anyone can give us. Going to Lhasa is our big dream right now and would love for it to be possible.

I just spent two weeks in t¡bet, and you will definately need some kind of papers. I am not sure what you need to check into a hotel, but once you are out of Lhasa, there are a number of military/government checkpoint on the road (there is only one road if you go west). We were with a guide from a travel agency, so all was taken care of, but we did run into one Calafornian who was travelling her way around t¡bet alone. She had the right travel paper, but due to the various travel restrictions there, she had trouble hitching a ride with people like us who had an extra spot in the jeep because the guides were not allowed to take other passengers (ours were more understanding).

In any case, I do not think she had trouble when she travelled by bus, and if you are going to stay in Lhasa, Tse Dang and Shgatse it may not be an issue. As for the expense, we were first there afew years ago, and it has becoem much more expensikve, although as I said, we went through a travel agent, and perhaps our agent just became more expensive.