Best time to visit Tibet

Tibet is famously known as the roof of the world and a high altitude plateau set amid tall mountain ranges. The mountain ranges catch the rainfall before it reaches the plateau, so most of Tibet, except for the southeast, is desert plain, tundra, or permafrost. Most of Tibet experiences frost at least six months of the year, and the highest lakes has ice from October to March. The weather varies a lot from region to region.

Main Features of Tibet's climate:

• Strong sunshine
• Cold and dry
• Large day/night temperature difference

Tibet's high altitude results in:

• Thin air
• Less oxygen content
• Lower boiling point

Lhasa (elevation 3,650meters) is an ideal place for tourists to the region to acclimate in, because it is in a lower elevation valley in the warmer and wetter southeastern part of the region. The annual precipitation in Lhasa is relatively high for Tibet at 500 millimeters (20 inches), as the annual precipitation across the region averages around 200 millimeters (4 and 12 inches).

Tibet Weather and Tourism in the Four Seasons
Due to the high evaluation, Tibet has a quite different season from other places with a longer winter.

Spring (April–May)
The ice melts and the weather warms during spring, opening up blocked remote roads and making travel outside Lhasa more pleasant. Tibet reopens to tourism in early April (as it is usually closed to visitors in March for Tibetan New Year). Book a Tibet tour before the summer tourist crowds arrive.

Summer (June–August)
The weather is warm to cool and summer is the busiest travel season of the year in Tibet. In this season air has higher oxygen content than in other season. Sometimes it will shower at night or for about an hour in the afternoon in mid July to late August, so rain is not a big issue even in the rainy season. Train tickets to Lhasa are difficult to get in summer. So please contact us as early as possible.

Things to do: Summer is the time to travel to the various attractions in the remote regions, and enjoy the high altitude sites when the mountain passes are snow free. It is also best time to hike.

Activities: Tibetans hold their outdoor market fairs and encampments, festivals, and sports contests when the grasslands are at their lushest. Festivals of note include the Ganden Thangka Festival, the Shoton Festival, and the Nagqu Horse Racing Festival.

Fall (September–October)
This season also a busy travel season in Tibet, the weather is clear and cool in fall. It's a good time to hike and trek in Tibet, and it's also a good time to shoot photos of mountain peaks, due to less cloud.

Winter (November–March)
Tibet is usually closed to foreign travelers in February and March for 5 or 6 weeks. Tibet Entry Permits are normally not issued for February and March. Some roads are closed due to the heavy snow.

Best Times to visit Tibet

The best time to visit Tibet is from May to October, when the weather is not very cold, averaging above 10°C. This is naturally the busiest travel time in Tibet, when people come for the warmer weather and higher oxygen content.
July and August is the rainy season in Tibet, though, apart from in the southeast, there is still not a lot of rain, so even July and August are also considered as the best months to visit Tibet.

The best months for camping are May and September when it hardly rains at all.

If you are planning to travel to Mt. Everest, travel in April, May, September, or October, when you are more likely to see the peak clearly. It is more likely to be hidden behind thick clouds the rest of the year.

If you are interested in Tibetan festivals then we recommended you to visit Tibet in August when the Shoton Festival, Nagqu Horse Racing Festival, and Ganden Thangka Festival are held. But expect to see huge crowds during the festivals.

Late September to October is the best time to see autumnal colors in Tibet.

Choose when to come and let us know, we will design the best holiday package to you as per your time, budget and interest!  
Thank you,

All the best wishes for your great trip to Tibet!
Alpine Eco Trek Team