Three friends and I traveled to Tibet in April 2017. It was the end of winter season, and the weather was cold and sunny. We were on a 9 day (including arrival and departure dates) tour in Tibet.

The beginning of the Tibet trip started with a long train ride. We wanted to witness the stunning views of the Tibet plateau so we decided to take the train from Xining to Lhasa. The train we took was Qinghai-Tibet train.

To sum everything up in this blog; main things to keep in mind;

  1. Book train tickets early.
  2. Decide which type of carriage you want to travel in. (soft sleeper, hard sleeper, soft seat, hard seat)
  3. Before going to Tiber consult your local doctor regarding altitude sickness.
  4. Keep all your documents together, take several copies of your entry permit.
  5. Prepare for train toilets
  6. Take your own food if you are not comfortable with Chinese food.

So in detail, there are few things to keep in mind if you are planning to visit Tibet by train. The train ride from Xining to Lhasa was around 22hrs, which is a long ride. So it’s better to be comfortable specially if you are taking the train towards Lhasa. You don’t want to be exhausted, sick and tired at the beginning of the tour. If you are taking to train from Beijing or Shanghai it will more like 44hrs, which is a very long time to be inside a train.

First thing is, you cannot buy train tickets directly (from overseas). You have to pay and reserve your ticket online, which is done through an agent. And later they will buy the tickets for you and send the ticket information to you. We reserved our tickets through China highlights. If you are in China mainland or in Hongkong you can get your tickets posted to your address.

Please book way ahead of time (atleast 1 month ahead of your planned trip). If you plan to take the train on a weekend, better to book it even before. Seats get filled up pretty fast.

There are four type of seats in Qinghai-Tibet train, soft sleeper, hard sleeper, soft seat and hard seat. You have to select what type of sleeper/seat you want when booking the ticket, but it’s not guaranteed that you will get what you selected. During weekends (during the high season) the train will be really crowded. So I recommend to go for a soft sleeper, which has only 4 bunks in one cabin, where as the hard sleeper has 6 bunks in a cabin. If it’s crowded toilets might not be clean too. So taking the soft sleeper will be more comfortable.

If you booked train tickets online like us, you will only have a screenshot of the paper ticket with a ticket pickup number. So once you reach the city from where you will be getting into the train, first you have to go and collect the ticket from the station. Online booked tickets can be collected at any ticket window except the refund and cancellation window. You have to show your passport and the pickup number at a window, and the staff will hand you the tickets. Also keep a copy of your Tibet entry permit with you to show if the staff ask for it. (If you cannot speak Chinese it’s better to hand it over with the documents to avoid any confusions 😉 )

When boarding the train, once the train arrived the platform you will be let into the platform. Your carriage number will be printed on your ticket. Near the carriage a attendant will be there to check your ticket, passport and the entry permit. Please keep them all together and hand it over. They will keep the copy of the Tibet entry permit.

On its way to Lhasa the train reaches high altitudes during its ride. The highest point is 5086m. There is a oxygen supply in the train when it reaches high altitudes, but still you are most probable to get headaches and dizziness. If you think you are not feeling despite the oxygen provided in the carriage, talk to the carriage attendant. Oxygen tubes will be given out to people in need for that. I think acclimatizing is the biggest challenge in taking the train, so be prepared for that. Talk to your local doctors before the tour and take necessary advice.

Drink lot of water and take your own food if you are not comfortable with Chinese food.

The squat toilets might not be so clean all the time, remember to take toilet papers, wet wipes and hand sanitizes. Take toiletries with you.

Food can be bought from a trolley that goes up and down the aisle ever hour. If you are in a soft sleeper you will have access to the dinning car. The food sold in the trolley are mostly Chinese food, so if you are not familiar with it take your own food and snack. You get boiling water in each carriage, so you can make some quick meals if you want.

And most importantly don’t forget to wake up early and enjoy the view!!!! and take lots of pictures!  🙂 🙂

Once you arrive in Lhasa, if you do have a foreign passport, again you will be taken to an immigration check point outside the station to check your documents again. So don’t forget to keep all your documents together and in a reachable place.