Geography of the Shigatse prefecture

The prefecture is sandwiched between the great Himalaya and northern highland of Tibetan Plateau with Yarlung Tsangpo river flowing in the middle. Many of world 8000+ meter mountains are located in this prefecture. The flow of Yarlung Tsangpo makes the majority of the central area fertile. The region of Gyantse and Shigatse town is well known as the breadbasket of Tibet Autonomous region for its high production of wheat and Barley.

The main city of the prefecture is Shigatse town. The town is located at the 3846m above the sea level. The second biggest city in the prefecture is Gyantse. The Town is well known for its beautiful stupa and fort. It is located at the 4033m above sea level. For its average high elevation, it is recommended to stay in Lhasa city for three days to acclimatize before travelling to this prefecture.

Popular destinations in the Shigatse prefecture.

Mount Everest Basecamp is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the prefecture. Yamdrok Lake and Pangong Tso lake are two most popular and beautiful lakes in the prefecture. There are two Gateways to reach Nepal from the prefecture. These are Kyirong and Zangmu town. right now the Later one is closed for international travellers to cross and only Kyirong is open for travellers to cross country travel.

Getting to Shigatse Prefecture

You can reach this prefecture overland from Nepal. From Lhasa ( the major gateway city in Tibet). You can either take the car to the prefecture or take a train to Shigatse. The prefecture has an airport called Shigatse peace Airport. Though it is not a popular flight destination for international travellers yet there is a daily flight from Chengdu.

High Altitude Sickness and Elevation

The Elevation of Shigatse prefecture above 3800m above the sea level. While the average elevation of Tibet as a whole is 4500m. We also have some areas which are located at lower elevated than the Shigatse like Lhasa city, Tsedang, and Nyintri area.

It is very common for travellers to suffer from the high Altitude sickness upon arrival in Shigatse. We would recommend staying in the lower places before coming to Shigatse. It might take a day or days to acclimatizations in Lhasa. For some, it can be severe and for some, it could be little breathlessness while climbing the stairs.

Most Responsible travel agency in Lhasa would start all the tours from Lhasa, as it gives some days in Lhasa City to acclimatize before moving up to the higher elevation. Majority of the trip in Tibet will have three days in Lhasa to visit the sight in the city in additional with acclimatization process. With us, we provide Oxygen cylinder in the hotel room in an emergency and 24X7 assistance from the hotel staffs and us ( The Tibet travel agency). You can always call us if you need help).

We would like to recommend visitors to go to Shigatse city only after the proper adaptation. Lhasa city has the best medical facilities in the Entire Tibet and best transportation transit if you need to evacuate. Which is why it is best to stay in Lhasa until the proper acclimatization.

There are many locally produced Medicine for the high elevation; Some local Tibetan Medicine. But we always recommend all our clients to consult their doctors about the plans to go to Tibet and bring their own medicine. We want to suggest you the same.

Tibet Travel Permit for Shigatse Prefecture

Though we will take care of all the required Tibet Travel permit for Shigatse Prefecture. If you would like to know in detail about the permit requirement to Shigatse Prefecture. Here is the information.

If you are visiting the Shigatse Prefecture, the permit required are the primary Tibet Travel Permit, Aliens Permit, and Border permit. It usually takes about 12 days in getting that basic permit done. The alien permit is an additional basic permit required, but the border permit is needed only if you are going to the Mount Everest base camp and overland journey from and to Nepal.

But you must keep in your mind the permit situation is different as per the mode to transportation into Tibet as follow: