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Ngari Whether and Climate - Best Time to Visit Ngari

25 September 2023 Last updated at 18:19

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Ngari Prefecture (coordinates: 78°23′40″~86°11′51″ E, 29°40′40″~35°42′55″N) lies over 4,500m above sea level in west Tibet Autonomous Region. Far from the popular tourist cities like Lhasa and Shigatse, large Ngari has its own unparalleled glamour of the world’s most holy mountain – Mount Kailash, sacred huge freshwater lake - Lake Manasarovar and the ancient Guge Kingdom Relics having long history. Vast Himalayas, Gangdise Mountains and Karakorum Mountain Range cross Nagri area with the highest point to be 7,694m above sea level – height of Mt. Gurla Mandhata.

Sits in high altitude and wind region, Ngari has tough natural condition of frequent strong winds. Despite of the low precipitation, seasonal rains concentrated largely from early July to September, when the rainfalls are about 80% of yearly precipitation. Climate features of Ngari are that temperature varies largely between day and night, for it can be over 20℃ in the daytime of summer, then drops to below 0℃ at night, a small temperature variation in each year, high ultraviolet radiation, thin and dry air all the time.

Ngari Monthly Temperatures - Select a Month to Visit Ngari

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When is the Best Time to Visit Ngari ?

Ngari is windy all year around. More than 149 days of a year have winds which reach at least level 8. It is the coldest area in Tibet with an annual average temperature of 0℃. There is a huge temperature gap between daytime and night. Ngari has less rainfall mostly of which happen during summer and early autumn.

Considering weather and road conditions, May, June, and from mid-Sepertember to early October are probably the best times to go to Ngari when the climate is mild and warm. From late October or early Novermber until early April next year, Drolma-la on the Mt Kaliash Kora is normally blocked with heavy snow. Some roads will be extremely muddy which is quite difficult for driving.

Ngari Four Seasons - Seasons to Go

Spring

Average Temperature: -18℃ ~ 8℃, slightly chilly

During spring, the weather is still chilly, as the temperature will just be above 10℃ in the daytime, below zero and ten more in the evening and the sunshine is not very strong. But temperature increases gradually as time goes on. Due to its higher elevation, it’s colder in Ngari than other areas in Tibet. Thus, this period are not suggested for Ngari tour because highway and roads will be blocked by snow and ice until early May. A short period from May to June is one of the best times to tour Ngari exactly before the coming of rainy seasons and when snows melts mostly.

Summer

Average Temperature: 0℃ ~ 22℃, hot in day, cold at night

Known as roof of “roof of the world”, Ngari in summertime is not hot as plain cities in China, when daytime temperature rises up to over 20℃ but falls to zero during the night. July and August are the rainy seasons when mountains change their coats to green and rainbows appear more frequent. The greatest amount of precipitation among all seasons is on August. But it is not recommended for travelling to Ngari in above months since your schedule perhaps will be havocked and delayed due to muddy roads’ traffic.

As the old saying goes, you should wear yarn at noon and cotton-padded jacket at cold night. Prepare a few warm layers, down jacket for huge temperature change.

Autumn

Average Temperature: -2℃ ~ 21℃, pleasant cool

In the fall, early September to October is short but the best time to visit Ngari. Average temperature is about 20℃ in the day and below zero to more at night. It’s getting colder when days are near the forthcoming winter. With the passing of rainy seasons, it seldom rains in Ngari during autumn. Traffic condition of this season is much better without rains and snow.

Winter

Average Temperature : -2℃ ~ 21℃, very freezing

Everyone should bear in mind that the extremely cold winter of Ngari lasts a very long time, even to spring. Locals has a common saying, ground freezes and cracks in November (Tibetan Calendar), stones burst open in December. It’s not difficult to imagine how cold and dry in Ngari during the harsh winter. Gales and snow visit Ngari very often, making it a “no man’s land” from late November to February, even to May. Tibetans wears thick clothes and stop all outdoor activities during this period, not to mention tour around Ngari.

Shiquanhe Town, the prefecture administrative office and capital City of Gar County, is in biting extreme weather throughout the year. With annual average temperature under zero, Shiquanhe Town has a surprisingly low temperature of -41℃ in winter and moderate 21℃ in hottest summer.

Useful Travel Tips:

1. Arrange Your Itinerary Well. Ngari is located in west Tibet area and has a higher altitude than Lhasa. So you should visit destinations in lower elevation to acclimate yourself to plateau circumstance firstly, rather than getting to Ngari directly, which may easily cause server high altitude sickness.

2. Select A Proper Tourist Date. Climate and weather in Ngari is different from Lhasa and Shigatse. There are few months available for Ngari tour considering the weather and transportation, so decide your itinerary beforehand after getting helpful travel guide from us.

3. Must Have Travel Permits. Touring Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar requires more permits, like Aliens’ Travel Permit, Military Permit and Tibet Border Pass apart from Tibet Entry Permit. Welcome to contact us about more Ngari tour information.

4. Helpful Packing Guide. In order to make you better go on with you Ngari journey, long sleeves, warm clothes like down jacket, gloves, altitude sickness medicines and COLE MEDICINE, bottled oxygen, some food and drinks, etc should be packed into your luggage. Tents lovers should be accompanied by acquaintance and professional guide.

5. Accommodation &Transportation Preparation. Ngari is a remote region in Tibet, maintains its original life under less developed tourism. Living and traffic condition will be very rough there, so you’d better bring sufficient necessities.

Most Popular Ngari Weather & Climate Tour

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