Lhasa is a city that is at 3650 meters of altitude but as it has around a thousand years of cultural and spiritual history, it is one of the cities that travelers always want to know. Mysterious, far away, home to the controversial Dalai Lama, every year many men and women from all over the world come to Lhasa.
Before talking about how to get to Lhasa you have to know that two permits are necessary to set foot in the city: the chinese visa and special permission to visit Tibet. Both things are essential, otherwise you will not be able to pass. The Tibet Visiting Permit can only be processed by Chinese tourist agencies so it's not something you do at the embassy or consulate. It is a complicated process so it is best to approach an agency and pay about RMB 200 for the service. Is more simple.
However, how to go to tibet? Foreigners come to Lhasa By plane, in general. You can fly from many Chinese cities but Chengdu is convenient because it has about 20 flights a week and the flight takes just two hours with an approximate cost of CNY 1500. If you are in Beijing the flight costs more than CNY 2400 and if you went to Xian you can also fly from there as there are 18 weekly flights.
You can go drive also, by land, but the journey is very long. Of course it is precious at the same time. There are five routes that go to Tibet, highways: from Sichuan, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Yunnan and China - Nepal. The only ones that can transit foreigners is the first one and the China-Nepal. The first begins in Golmud: it travels 1160 kilometers at altitudes of about 4 thousand meters, passing through the Kunlun Mountains and beautiful grasslands.
The highway China-Nepal travels 900 kilometers from Kathmandu to Lhasa but it is not in good condition so you have to go by car 4 × 4 or very prepared. Finally, it is possible to get to Lhasa by train? It is on the Qinghai-Tibet train between Xining and Golmud station which has been in operation since the 80s. The second section runs between Golmud and Lhasa and has been in operation for ten years. It travels almost 2 kilometers and is a fabulous and unique train in the world.
Today there are train services to Lhasa from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Lanzhou, Xining, Chongqing and Chengdu.