[mdmahanti]

Great travelogue. Could you please drop a post specifically about your entire Visa and Immigration prep and process? Challenges, Documents etc.

[johy]

Excellent write-up and pictures to boot; thanks for sharing.

So happy to see the Thar cRDE too. How did she fare on the trip? I have the same vintage (2015) one and find it more jeep like than any of the modern-looking Mahindras.

[BoneCollector]

Oh man, this is beyond amazing!

Superb travelogue and lovely pictures.

I'm at loss of words to describe how great this is. The trip in itself is monumental. Enjoyed going through it.

How did the vehicles in the convoy fare on this humongous journey?

[jessie007]

Super! An epic trip indeed. Sorry have gone through the images only. Two queries:

1) How was the ride in the vehicle - considering the Thar doesn't have the most comfortable suspension as compared to soft roaders, which is understandable as it is built for purpose. Can you compare it with any other vehicle you have driven long distance on the highway??

2) Approximately how old are you?

[suryaj1990]

Amazing! id love to know the overall costing involved and intrigued to do this by myself too!!

[ritedhawan]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Today we entered Tibet. The immigration and customs process was quite extensive including the baggage scan, scanning of the cars and the immigration officials even checked our phones.

Crossing the international border at Rasuwagadhi

Nice trip, the pictures are doing the talking; seems to be the trend nowadays. Anyways, the following questions you are going to be asked from many already:
(1) How was the convoy able to get travel without any chinese\tibetian govt. representative escorting?
(2) Don't they make it mandatory to affix thier language number plates on cars?

What paperwork was involved and what planning done prior to the start of the tour?

[Mickey1986]

Epic adventure brother. Would like to connect with you for the similar run. This seems like so much fun.. you literally fulfilled the fantasy of many folks around here for sure …

[hieronymous]

@robimahanta: Amazing travelogue. Envy all the beautiful sights you saw. I have been to Syaprubeshi last year for Langtang Valley trek, Himalayan views are gorgeous.
1. What exactly did the Tibetan authorities check your phone for ? You had to unlock your phone and show them what ?
2. Can you also drop write about the visa process ?

[coolmel]

Just smash thread! Loved it. And reminded me, you must be knowing that Lhasa and Shigatse are connected by a semi high speed train which will further extend to Gyirong and Kathmandu. So we will actually be able to travel to Beijing by train from KTM! How cools that?! Thanks a ton once again for sharing. Made my day bud. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jeDK5mm9bM&t=2s

[Hayek]

Incredible trip. Please do share how you got permissions for this. Also can you go further from Tibet West into Central Asia and towards Europe?

There used to be a group called Adventures Overland which organised driving tours to London from India - but that was through the North East, Burma and China. That closed just before Covid iirc. But if the Nepal - Tibet route is open, it becomes worth doing. Also, can you do these roads on a soft-roader such as an X3 or a Tiguan? Do add more

Hats off for having done this journey and shared it with us.

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

That's a really good travelogue! I didn't know Indians could enter Tibet directly from Nepal. Keep sharing those pictures. Was this an arranged group tour, or did all of you plan and do it yourself?

Originally Posted by kkSolo

Great travelogue Robi!
Im curious, are we able to go into China, especially the Tibet regions so easily? I see your trip was in a group, but how easy or difficult is it to do it solo? What are paperwork challenges involved here. Would be great to know more on these details as well!
The motorcyclist in me is also very curious if motorcycles are allowed?

Originally Posted by rpunwani

Wow, amazing drive and lovely photos ! Thanks for sharing.
Was it easy to get a visa for Tibet? Would be great if you could share details, thanks in advance

Originally Posted by Kashi053

Robi,

By far this is the best travelogue I ever read.

I have some questions.

1. What all documents required for Nepal & Tibet for Indian (for individual + vehicle)
2. Can we enter Mongolia or Kyrgyzstan from Tibet? Is this allowed for Indians?

Originally Posted by mdmahanti

Great travelogue. Could you please drop a post specifically about your entire Visa and Immigration prep and process? Challenges, Documents etc.

Thank you all. It was indeed a group tour arranged by Wildloggers (India) and trekkingtrail.com (Nepal). They took care of all the paper work. In Nepal we had two guides with us and in Tibet there were three.

For Nepal, it is very simple. Just need the Bansar and road tax receipt, you can definitely do it on your own till Kathmandu.

In Tibet, you cannot drive around alone and you need to be with a local guide all the time. This cannot be done alone and you need a minimum of 4 people in the group (I may be wrong about the exact number, but it is definitely a group visa). Our group had 9 Indian vehicles with 20 people. Cost wise it came up to close to 3 lacs per head excluding fuel and toll. But it depends on the hotels you choose and the guides you take. I believe it can be done for little cheaper too if you choose basic hotels and have less number of guides.

Visa and immigration was taken care by the agents from Tibet who were waiting for us at the Nepal-Tibet border.

Entering Mongolia and Krygyzstan wasn't the plan for us. With the visa we had, we couldn't venture into main land China. It was only for the Tibet region. However, lot of people drive to Europe via this route so it is definitely possible if you have the write paperwork

Originally Posted by jessie007

Super! An epic trip indeed. Sorry have gone through the images only. Two queries:

1) How was the ride in the vehicle - considering the Thar doesn't have the most comfortable suspension as compared to soft roaders, which is understandable as it is built for purpose. Can you compare it with any other vehicle you have driven long distance on the highway??

2) Approximately how old are you?

Thanks. I have done long drives in the Thar and I don't find it uncomfortable. I do have Tough Dog suspension and modified seats with extra thigh support. I am 40+ and was probably among the youngest in the group. We had people over 65 driving solo.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Oh man, this is beyond amazing!

Superb travelogue and lovely pictures.

I'm at loss of words to describe how great this is. The trip in itself is monumental. Enjoyed going through it.

How did the vehicles in the convoy fare on this humongous journey?

Thanks. Luckily we didn't have any issues with any of the cars throughout the trip in Tibet. On our return, the clutch in the old Thar gave up after entering Nepal and we had tow it for around 120kms to a Mahindra service centre. Within Tibet, there are no diesel passenger cars sold and diesel is available only in the highways.

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

Nice trip, the pictures are doing the talking; seems to be the trend nowadays. Anyways, the following questions you are going to be asked from many already:
(1) How was the convoy able to get travel without any chinese\tibetian govt. representative escorting?
(2) Don't they make it mandatory to affix thier language number plates on cars?

What paperwork was involved and what planning done prior to the start of the tour?

Thanks. We had a government approved Tibetan travel agent with us all the time. It is not mandatory to affix Chinese plates. We were always in a convoy with the local car leading us.

Originally Posted by hieronymous

@robimahanta: Amazing travelogue. Envy all the beautiful sights you saw. I have been to Syaprubeshi last year for Langtang Valley trek, Himalayan views are gorgeous.
1. What exactly did the Tibetan authorities check your phone for ? You had to unlock your phone and show them what ?
2. Can you also drop write about the visa process ?

Thanks. They moslty check for photos and material related to the Dalai Lama.
Visa process was handled by the agents. We had submitted all relevant documents to them earlier.

Originally Posted by Hayek

Incredible trip. Please do share how you got permissions for this. Also can you go further from Tibet West into Central Asia and towards Europe?

There used to be a group called Adventures Overland which organised driving tours to London from India - but that was through the North East, Burma and China. That closed just before Covid iirc. But if the Nepal - Tibet route is open, it becomes worth doing. Also, can you do these roads on a soft-roader such as an X3 or a Tiguan? Do add more

Hats off for having done this journey and shared it with us.

Thanks. Yes Adventure Overland still does these trips but they charge a lot more than it is needed. Permits for premium cars like X3 is relatively higher in Tibet. Having said that, it is the Nepal sector that is the problem. Tibet has butter smooth roads and you can do it even in a Ferrari.

[Mustang Sammy]

Nice write up and amazing pics. Truly a journey of a lifetime.

Were you able to get good quality diesel easily in Tibet?

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by Mustang Sammy

Nice write up and amazing pics. Truly a journey of a lifetime.

Were you able to get good quality diesel easily in Tibet?

Thanks. Mine is a petrol but yes getting diesel wasn’t an issue in the highways of Tibet. There was no diesel available in the towns though. Also getting good quality fuel in Nepal is always an issue. There are some trusted Nepal Police fuel bunks where the quality of fuel is decent, other than those in most places in Nepal the fuel is of dubious quality.

[NPV]

You’ve made my week and weekend worthwhile already Robi, 3 almost back to back travelogues to amazing destinations and drool worthy photographs

Are you on a sabbatical to pen down your recent experiences or for more planned driving escapades?

Can you share the overall routing you did for onward and return journeys? I’m curious to know if the entire Bangalore-Gorakhpur and Jabalpur-Bangalore route is perfect without bad stretches (it’s also because I’m unfamiliar).

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by NPV

You’ve made my week and weekend worthwhile already Robi, 3 almost back to back travelogues to amazing destinations and drool worthy photographs

Are you on a sabbatical to pen down your recent experiences or for more planned driving escapades?

Can you share the overall routing you did for onward and return journeys? I’m curious to know if the entire Bangalore-Gorakhpur and Jabalpur-Bangalore route is perfect without bad stretches (it’s also because I’m unfamiliar).

Thanks. Not on any sabbatical, just that these were pending since some time. I wanted to clear it before posting recent trips again.

The Bangalore to Gorakhpur was via Hyderabad ORR-Nagpur-Katni-Prayagraj-Ayodhya-Gorakhpur, roads were all fine especially some sections near MH border and near Katni. The traffic congestion once you enter UP is expected as usual.

Jabalpur to Bangalore is pretty straightforward and took around 18hrs with a few stops for fuel and food. We started around 630am from Jabalpur and reached Bangalore (Koramangala) around midnight.