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Trip Preparation: Visa/Permits
Chinese Visa | Group Travel Permit | Aliens' Travel Permit
For political and security reasons, China has actively discouraged independent travel into Tibet. Group travel is often the only 'official' way to enter the country.
Foreigners are told they officially require a 'group travel permit' in addition to their visa to enter Tibet (this is not the case for other provinces in China), but most travellers have never seen one of these permits. When you purchase an airfare (eg. Chengdu/Lhasa or Kathmandu/Lhasa) or bus fare (eg. Golmud/Lhasa) along the main overland routes the travel agent acquires both the ticket and permit on your behalf (as part of a 'five-person group').
There is no indication of the permit in your passport and inspections are rarely carried out to check for it. Basically the permit is a piece of paper outlining the 'group itinerary' and sometimes (but not always) listing the names of the group participants.
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Prayer ceremony in the Jokhang,
Tibet's most sacred temple
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