Hi,

somebody knows about the trip from Katmandu to Lasha?

Where can I find good information about it?

Somebody has been travelling there?

Any girl interested in this trip?

O.K, thanks for your time, Salud y Libertad.

hola crazydog

there's actually quite some information to find on the internet. One of the best sites occupying with cycling in Tibet/Himalaya is Janne Corax' Page.

I haven't been to TIbet or Nepal myself yet, but also been occupied with Tibet issues during the planning for my trip. What information do you need exactly?

Let me try to give you some basic information about this topic according to my knowledge:

1. It could be that it is impossible to cross the border into Tibet from Nepal (some rumors say so), I believe you have to sort this out by yourself
2. Even if the border is open, it can become tricky, if you want to ride your bike all the way from Nepal into Tibet, as you will probably have to travel as a group to cross the border successfully (Although some people seem to have managed it by themselves at times...)
3. The Friendship-Highway (that's the name of the Road leading to Lhasa) is one of the mainroads of motorized Tibet-tourism. This means, people along this road have mostly been spoiled by dumb landcruiser tourists giving money and other stuff to them thinking that they would do somthing good for them. So you might encounter some hassle...
4. Not sure if this is also the case if you approach Lhasa from south, but I believe that there are some PSB Checkpoints that you have to cross before you come to Lhasa. Some of them at night, or early in the morning.
5. You will probably have some encounters with wild dogs

You might consider to get yourself a copy of this book: Tibet Overland

PM me if you have further questions.

See ya,
Andreas

Hey Perro Loco,

If you can speak Spanish there's a great book called "de la Alcarria al Himalaya" by Miguel Ángel Diaz... You can find more information about his book on his internet site: www.cicloviajeros.com

Cheers

Lunarca
www.rodadas.net

Hey Lunarca, thanks about your information. Yes, its a beutiful book.

I have been consulting too your web and its very good, good trips and nice people.

O.k., I think spanish is better to write you because i am spanish and you too....je, je, je.....

Graciñas, un saludo. Salud y libertad.

Thanks Macrusher, I think you are true. The Nepal-Tibet border is no open for lonely bikers. O.K. ¿wild dogs?,....¿crazy dogs?....wouuu, perhaps its the same!!!, ......ja, ja,...

I keep on looking about more information about the Friendship Highway and other routes there, in Nepal.

Salud y Libertad.

Jeje, que fallo!

Espero que nos mantengas informados de tu viaje porque pinta muy pero que muy bien!

Saludos

I wanted to do Lahsa Kathamandu with Himalya Mountain Bike (HMB) in Kathmandu, but it did not take place because there were not enough guys registrated in October, so I did a trekking tour in the Kumbu Region, Nepal up to 4000m above sea level. At 3000m walking was so slow and breathing quite heavy that I will no longer do a cycling tour up to 5400m.
When you like I can sell you a very accurate map of the trip Lahsa-Kathmandu and a book : "Tibet Overland - by Kym Mc Connell, a route and planning guide for Mountain Bikers and other Overlanders"
The book and map are new, you can get them25 Euros plus shipping to Spain, about 4 Euros.

Perroloco,
check out www.Nepalbiking.com some friends of mine from Colorado did the ride from Lhasa-Katmandu in sept 2004. Thier main problem at that time of year was the immense road dust . Hope this helps.

Rhys (Zunani Experience Adventure Training)

Forget it with a bike from Kathmandu to Lhasa, too much uphill in too short time up to 5500m. Maybe it will go the other way round, I would do so last October, but the agency in Kathmandu didn`t found enough people to take part. When you want to do it organized it is the cheapest way to book in Kathmandu. But in the moment the civil war is going on there and I think it is not save in the moment. The German ministery of foreign affair writes: "May be you are at the wrong time in the wrong place" when a bomb explodes in Kathmandu. The people are realy friendly, I changed my programm in October in did a trekking tour to Mount Everst basecamp. I can tell you, arriving at 3000m high you are walking like a snail and I would not imagine how it is to cycle over the pass at 5000m, I think all people having done that were not honest in their description.
Greetings Edgar,
cycling through the world for 26 years( about 8 weeks a year)

Hello Edgar,

I am one of these crazy guys who did this ride (Kathmandu - Lhasa) 20 yeras ago as the very first european cyclist. It´s not an easy ride, one should be in good shape, healthy and the equipment first class. The distance is about 1.000 km (600 miles) where you have to climb 3 passes more than 5.000 meters, the average altitude will be about 4.000 meter. But - the Kathamdu-Lhasa-Route is not steep! When you left Kathamdu (1.300 m) the Friendship-Highway goes down to 560 m in Dolalghat. From here the road climbs continuously to the first 5.000 meter-pass (Lalung-Leh 5.050 m), which is about 150 km away. To cope with this altitude you should calculate some days of rest for acclimatization. If you do so it should be no problem. It took me four weeks to cycle to Lhasa (normally this distance I do in one week). To be honest: the true challenge you will encounter on the Lhasa-Chendgu-Road!

Bernd