1. Which overland tour is better, Sichuan-Tibet Highway or Qinghai-Tibet Highway?

The overland tour from Sichuan to Tibet is the most beautiful among all routes heading to Lhasa, yet it is the most dangerous since the road is almost gravel-based and winds across the challenging Hengduan Mountains.

In rainy reasons, mud-rock flows are frequent while in winter, mountain passes along the road are usually covered with heavy snow. Tourists will experience distinct climate changes at different altitudes.

Accommodations and meals are farily poor on the way, so it is suitable for the adventurers and travel enthusiasts, not an ideal one for first-time visitors.

Traveling from Qinghai to Tibet is the safest. The road receives repairs every year and most of the road is asphalted. Accommodations and meals are the best among all the overland roads.

However, compared with the Sichuan-Tibet and Yunnan-Tibet highways, the sceneries along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway is rather dull. On the road, tourists may easily come down with altitude sickness since it passes the Kunlun Mountain Pass and Tanggula Mountain Pass (both higher than 5,000 meters). It is suitable for tourists who travel, not by air, to Tibet for the first time.

2. What about accommodations and meals along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway?

The accommodation could be guaranteed. It is easy to find a place to put up for the night as there are vacancies at any time.

In Xidatan, Wudaoliang, Tuotuohe River, tourists could stay in the guesthouses or the army service stations. In Amdo areas after Tanggula Mountain Pass, there are hotels with bathroom and hot water services. But there is still no hot water in guesthouse.

It is no problem to find places to eat along the road. Chinese food is usual. Instant noodles and biscuits could also be bought along the road. 

3. How is the accommodation in Tibet?

The accommodation in Tibet has been greatly improved thanks to the great development of tourism. However, hotels of the same class are still inferior in terms of facilities to inland hotels. For example, three-star hotels in Tibet are of about two-star standards compared with hotels in other cities.

In Lhasa and Shigatse, accommodation ranges from regular guesthouses to four-star class hotels.

In Gyantse, Tsedang and Nyinghci, there are regular guesthouses and three-star class hotels.

In Tingri of Shigatse, Zham and Nagqu, the accommodation ranges from regular guesthouses to two-star class hotels.

In remote or less noted places, there are only guesthouses. 

4. Is it necessary to take tent and sleeping bag? Is it possible to rent locally?

Tourists have to decide to take tent and sleeping bag or not based on their own itinerary.

When traveling with an agency, tourists are probably arranged to visit bigger cities in Tibet, where accommodation is out of question.

But, when visiting some remote places, it is recommended to take sleeping bag because the sanitary condition is not good and the temperature is low in the remote guesthouse.

If it is a trekking tour, cycling tour or other adventure tours, the tent and sleeping bag are quite essential.

It is toilsome to set up tents and cooking outdoors especially at a high elevation, so travelers are advised to know clear about their own health conditions, and never over-exert. 

It is very convenient to rent tent and sleeping bag in Lhasa, usually charged by the day.

5. How to choose tent and sleeping bag?

Travelers are suggested to take down-filled sleeping bags which could resist temperature below 15 degree centigrade and double-layered alpine tent which could stand wind and rain.

Tourists will feel the wind is quite strong when camping out in highland area. Along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, especially on the grassland in northern Tibet, Nagri Prefecture and other remote areas, the temperature usually drops to below 20 degrees centigrade in winter evening.

Without a stove, the indoor temperature usually ranges from five to ten degrees centigrade, so ordinary sleeping bag and tent won't help at all.

6. How many star hotels are there in Tibet and what about the price?

There are more than 50 star-rated hotels in Lhasa alone and about 20 star-rated hotels in Shigatse. There are enough rooms anytime for tourists except the Labor Day holidays, National Day holidays (from Oct.1 to Oct.7) and the Shoton Festival in Tibet, also known as Yoghurt Festival in August. 

There are not so many star-rated hotels in other places in Tibet. With fewer tourists, it is easy to find a place to spend the night. Because of its high altitude, there is a sharp contrast between high season and low season. The cost of hotel rooms in the peak season may be 30% higher than or even double that of other cities in China.