The ultimate guide on Chengdu to Lhasa overland travel

Taking an overland tour to Lhasa, especially from Chengdu via Sichuan-Tibet Highway, has become more and more popular among travelers. It is a route not only full of exciting adventures but also abundant with breathtaking landscapes and distinctive folk customs, making the overland travel experience unique, stimulating, and unforgettable. It has 2 routes: the Southern Route and the Northern Route, both of them are utterly outstanding offering different experiences. In general, the southern route is more beautiful in nature, but the northern route has the better cultural experiences.

In addition to the beautiful scenery, entering Tibet from Chengdu to Lhasa by overland can make it easier to better adapt to the high altitude environments and reduce the occurrence of high altitude sickness. Travelers can ascend gradually from 500 meters in the east up to over 4,000 meters in the west in several days’ driving. In addition, the overland route from Chengdu to Lhasa has a high vegetation coverage and sufficient oxygen content in the air.

Southern Route: 2,142 KM

Chengdu → 147KM → Ya’an → 168KM → Luding → 49KM → Kangding → 75KM → Xinduqiao → 74KM → Yajiang → 143KM → Litang  → 165KM → Batang → 107KM → Markham → 265KM → Bamda → 94KM → Baxoi → 90KM → Rawok → 129KM → Pomi → 89KM → Tongmai → 127KM → Nyingchi → 19KM → Bayi → 127KM → Gongbo Gyamda → 206KM → Maizhokunggar → 68KM → Lhasa.

The southern route is praised as the most beautiful landscape avenue in China, offering the majestic and ever-changing scenery ranging from warm spring to cold and snowing winter. It is shorter, wilder, lower, more alpine and rich in natural landscapes, hence, it becomes the most travelers’ choice to enter Lhasa. Driving along this route, you will cross through steep snow-capped mountains, deeply rugged valleys, awesome grand canyons, stunning glaciers, verdant primeval forests, vast wetland grasslands dotted with yaks, sheep and wildflowers, and 4 turbulent rivers (Dadu River, Jinsha River, Lancang River, and Nu River).

Northern Route: 2,412 KM

Chengdu  → 75KM → Dujiangyan → 25KM → Yingxiu → 175KM → Siguniangshan Town → 120KM → Danba → 85KM → Bamei → 80KM → Daofu → 75KM → Luhou → 100KM → Garze → 95KM → Manigange → 112KM → Derge → 30KM → Jinshajiang River Bridge → 85KM → Gyamda → 230KM → Chamdo → 290KM → Dêngqên → 235KM → Baqên → 260KM → Nagqu → 170KM → Damxung → 170KM → Lhasa.

The northern route is higher, longer, much less populated and commercial, and more authentic. The driving along this route will pass through the different Tibetan cultural regions, where the locals still keep their traditional lifestyle, but various Tibetan tribes have a slightly different outlook and culture, although the Tibetan Buddhism is widely followed by them. Furthermore, this route also offers stunning scenery from forested alpine countryside to the high plateau of the Changtang with endless grassland and lakes.

Generally, both routes have a dramatic altitude change and most places passing through are at a higher altitude. It is still possible to suffer from high altitude sickness (or Acute Mountain Sickness) in one or more symptoms when you are there. Follow our travel tips of ‘How to avoid high-altitude sickness in Tibet’ to be better prepared.

Southern Route

This route is considered as one of the highest highways in the world with dramatic altitude change along this route. The elevation difference is more than 4,500 meters. The road stretches to Lhasa passing 14 steep snow-capped mountains which average 4,000 to 5,000m. Follow the map below to get some general idea about its altitude change.

Northern Route

It is considered to be the highest and longest route of the 2 overland routes to Lhasa from Chengdu, the highest point that you will pass through is Chola Mountain Tunnel at the elevation of 4,916m. Once stepping into the section in Tibet, the altitude change will be small but with an average altitude above 3,500m. Watch the map here to understand its altitude change along the way.

The southern route used to be listed as one of the world’s most dangerous roads, however, with the booming of overland travel to Lhasa from Chengdu, the road condition of the southern route has been largely improved and well-paved with asphalt. However, due to the unstable geological condition, during the monsoon season (June to August), mudflow and landslides happen frequently along this route, especially the section near Tongmai, making it hard to pass through.

The northern route is less well-paved, making it only be driven by experienced drivers in China. Several sections of this route are just dirt roads, though the majority of the route is now paved with asphalt. However, it faces the same problem as the southern route, which is easy to encounter mudflow and landslides in the monsoon season as well.

The best months to take an overland tour from Chengdu to Lhasa goes to late April, May, September, and October, the weather of these months are warm and adorable. It seldom rains and has lots of sunny days, making it with high visibility. Apart from the lovely weather, the scenery of these months is charming and appealing. In May, wildflowers blossom everywhere, in September and October, the leaves of the trees turn to yellow, red, or brown, etc. shaping a colorful wonderland. 

The monsoon season often covers the period from June to August. It is still fine to travel if you have made a comprehensive preparation prior to departure, as it has the warmest weather, the highest oxygen contents, and the best shape landscapes. However, traveling during this period, especially in July and August, can be easy to encounter the heavy rain and the road, especially the part at Hengduan Mountain Range area and near Tongmai, are frequently blocked by the landslide and mudflow, as of this reason, it also increases the safety risks to travel along this route. 

While the winter months from November to the next February are not recommended to travel overland through these routes. Due to the high altitude and the sweeping of northwest cold current among this area, it is extremely cold to travel along this route, the extreme weather such as heavy snow frequently happens and dominates the whole area, making the roads covered and unseen and impossible to pass through. Besides, if it snows, the visibility will be low, it will be hard to see any beautiful views.

When traveling in the Sichuan section along Chengdu to Lhasa overland routes, international travelers are required to present their valid passport and valid Chinese visa only. In addition, you can choose to travel independently by public transportation or hiring a private vehicle or follow a tour arranged by a local travel agency.

However, upon stepping into the border of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), the international travelers need to have not only their passport and Chinese visa, but also the Tibet permit including Tibet Tourism Bureau Permit (TTB permit), Alien Travel Permit and Military Permit. Apart from the above-mentioned documents, the international travelers are required to take either a Tibet group tour or a private Tibet tour with a guide, private vehicle with a driver organized by one of the local travel agencies like WindhorseTour.

With the continuous development of the local economy and tourism, the accommodation conditions on the way have been greatly improved in many aspects in recent years. Lots of new accommodations from local guesthouses to 4-star hotels with modern facilities have been opened to offer more choices and create a better sleeping experience for the travelers. In Daocheng and Nyingchi, you even can find 5-star luxury hotels. However, in most places en route, it is much easier to find comfortable hotels with basic amenities like bed, bath, hot water, and breakfast than 4-5 stars hotels. 

When traveling at such a remote, isolated, high-altitude, and underdeveloped area in China, you should always remember that the amenities and service of the hotels along the way may not be as good as those in the other places of China, such as Chengdu, Beijing, etc. In addition, please be aware that even lots of new hotels have appeared but the choices for international travelers are still limited, as you are only permitted to stay at those that are registered for use by international travelers.

The food that you mostly can find in most places on these routes is usually a mix of Sichuan cuisine and local Tibetan dishes, although there are local guesthouses or hotels to accommodate international travelers, the available western dishes are still limited. Occasionally, you may be able to find a menu with some simple western dishes in some restaurants. Nevertheless, it would be a unique experience to taste the local dishes and the journey will be more unforgettable when you completely immerse yourself into the local lifestyle and customs. However, if you are not a big fan of the local dishes, you should bring some preferable food in advance.

As you will spend your most time on the high altitude area while traveling overland from Chengdu to Lhasa, it usually has colder weather, so no matter which month you will travel, it is highly recommended to bring warm clothes with you, it may snow when you cross through the mountain passes and the night temperature may drop below zero. Furthermore, the ultraviolet rays would be very strong, you also need to pack some necessities to prevent yourself from sunburn. 

Here is a packing list for some important items for you to review: warm clothes, sunblock, sunglasses, sun hat, raincoat or umbrella, lip balm, hand lotion, moisturizing cream water bottle, snacks, energy bars, altitude sickness medicines, travel documents, passport, extra batteries for your camera, portable charger, thermal wear, small first aid kit, down jacket, socks and gloves, breathable waterproof hiking shoes. Usually, for those traveling with WindhorseTour, we will prepare the oxygen tanks in the tourist vehicle in advance.

As two of the most beautiful sightseeing avenues of China with breathtaking views and unique folk customs, there are countless beauties and cultural sites waiting for you to explore. Here is a list of top highlights along both routes for reference, which should not be missed on your western and northern Sichuan tour.

For those who are planning to travel overland from Chengdu to Lhasa, we have carefully listed three perfectly pre-designed private tour routes on our website for you to pick.

Just in case you are not very interested in the tour routes listed above, never mind, please go ahead to share your requirements with us directly! As an experienced and professional local China travel agency specializing in organizing customized tours, we certainly can adjust the itineraries to suit your desires and design a unique and personalized overland tour for you accordingly.