NOTE: Rules around entry to Tibet via Nepal change from time to time. We do our best to keep the info on this page updated but it is best to always check our Tibet Travel Advisory page for the most recent updates.
2026 Travel Advisory:
• Kailash Trek in 2026: This is a Year of the Horse – the most sacred year for the Kailash circuit – and Saka Dawa (May 17–June 15) will bring extreme crowds. Book very early or consider a different window.
• Nepal Border update: The Kyirong Nepal–Tibet border reopened in late December 2025, with a temporary bridge. The Dram border is also open, though there is sometimes traffic on the Tibet side during reconstruction from the 2014 earthquake.
• Visa update: The special Chinese Group Visa is no longer required for travel from Nepal to Tibet. You can use an individual visa issued from your home country. A Tibet travel permit is still required to be arranged by an official agency.
Need help? We’ll connect you – for free – with an official, Tibetan-owned agency we trust.
The big news in the Tibet travel world is that the Tibet Nepal Border is open to foreign travelers again!
Announced on August 30 by government officials from the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), the border opening allows once again one of the most popular overland journeys in the world — travel between Lhasa, Tibet and Kathmandu in Nepal.
The previous international border crossing, at Dram, closed in April 2015 after damage caused by the large earthquake in the region.
The new one is located at Kyirong on the Tibetan side, and Rasuwagi in Nepal. Various reports, including this post by our friend Jamin at the Land of Snows, indicate that the road on the Nepali side is rough at least part of the way.
NOTE: Beginning in September 2023, the old Dram/Zhangmu border re-opened to tourists entering Tibet. This is better since Dram is closer to Kathmandu than Kyirong, and the road is better.
From 2024, there has been a new rule that you need at least 5 people in a group to apply for the group visa from Nepal to Tibet, and that all 5 people must go together to the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu for the application. This only applies to visas applied for in Kathmandu. You can still enter Tibet from mainland China without restrictions on the number of people in the official group.
If you would like a connection to a reliable Tibetan-owned agent for more information about the this trip, sign up here. Don’t worry if you don’t know your dates or anything more than that you are interested in the trip, just fill out as much as you can and our partner agents in Lhasa will help you with the rest.
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