Why not do off-season travel to Tibet?

It is too cold to visit Tibet in winter. This is the biggest mistake many travelers make. They believe that it is extremely cold in winter and that there is nothing to see as all the land is covered by snow and ice. It is not true actually. We even can say that winter is the best time to travel to Tibet in terms of cultural experience and tour cost. 

Though many mountains in Tibet are covered by snow and ice all year around, some places of Tibet enjoy warm sunshine even in winter, especially its capital Lhasa. The temperature of Lhasa in winter averages about 12 degrees Celsius. And as a result of the intensive sunlight, the daytime temperature  can be even higher. Sometimes, it is even warmer than Beijing in northern China. Of course, in mountainous areas, it can be chilly cold.

Then where travelers can go and what they can see in winter? Though tourists can not go anywhere in winter as in summer, they can witness the rare-visited landscape of Tibet that cannot be seen in summer. The experience in winter will be totally different from that in summer. It is unique. 

In winter, two important traditional festivals in Tibet are celebrated. One is Tsong Khapa Festival and the other is Losar (Tibetan New Year).

Tsong Khapa is the great founder of Gelukpa Sect in Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan people, Buddhists in particular, have a great esteem for him. In memory of this great man, Tibetan Buddhists celebrate Tsong Khapa Festival or Butter Lamp Festival on the 15th of the 10th month in Tibetan calendar each year. It marks the anniversary of his passing away. On the festival, the whole Lhasa city is lightened by numerous lamps.

Then Losar Festival is one of the most important festivals in Tibet. It is an occasion when Tibetan families reunite and expect that the coming year will be a better one, just like Chinese New Year for the Chinese and Christmas for the westerners. Join such an event during your Tibet tour and it will surely add more to your memory about this mysterious land.

During these two festivals, pilgrims from the whole Tibetan area come to Lhasa to worship Buddha and pray for good fortune and health. All kinds of religious rituals and traditional Tibetan performances can be seen on the festivals. In a word, there is a big feast of Tibetan culture awaiting travelers from all over the world.      

Besides, winter is also the cheapest time to travel to Tibet. As it is the low season of Tibet’s tourism, travel agencies, hotels, tourist sites and airlines offer attractive discount. The admission fee of most tourist spots in winter is usually only half of that in summer, so do the price of hotels.