Nyingchi Tibet: Nyingchi Travel Guide, Nyingchi Tour

Nyingchi Travel Guide - Attractions, Transporation, Weather, Tours

Nyingchi is a prefecture lying in the southeastern area of Tibet. It borders with Lhasa to east, Shannan to southwest, Qamdo to south and Nagqu to north. Literally meaning the Throne of Sun, Nyingchi gets its name because of its special location. For other areas in Tibet, Nyingchi is the place where sun rises visually. With the lowest elevation of only 900m and the highest elevation of 7,782m (altitude of Namjagbarwa Peak), Nyingchi owns the biggest elevation gap in the world. The average altitude is about 3,100m, making it the lowest area of Tibet.

Nyingchi – Eastern Swizerland and Jiannan of Tibet

Traveling in Nyingchi is a unique experience. On the barren Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, you hardly believe that there is such a picturesque and fertile heaven land in wild Tibet. Nyingchi is blessed with beautiful lakes, deep gorges, immense forests, azalea-filled meadows etc. Stepping into Nyingchi, you will find the reason why Nyingchi is renowned as the "East Swizerland" and "Jiangnan of Tibet"(Jiangnan in Chinese means the fertile and prosperous area in the south of the Yangtze). In fact, there are no peach flowers in Swizerland and no snow-capped peaks in Jiangnan. So Nyingchi really enjoys the incomparable beauty.

Top Nyingchi Attractions and Activities

Thanks to its characteristic geographic location and changeful climate, lots of great attractions are shaped in Nyingchi. The most alluring is its amazing natural landscape, especially in the spring when the peach flowers are in full blossom and the meadow takes on new green appearance under the foot of the snow-capped mountains. The top attractions include:

How to Get to Nyingchi

Two main transportations to Nyingchi are taking flights from major cities of China and by driving from Lhasa.

Flight to Nyingchi: Flight is the fastest transportation to take you to Nyingchi, and you can get to Nyingchi from different places within two hours. At present, Nyingchi Maining Airport provides flights to/from Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Xian and Lhasa. Chengdu is always regarded as the most popular city to Nyingchi in that it has more frequent flights with shorter flying duration. Moreover, Chengdu itself is a worth-visiting city famous for Giant Panda and slow life style.

Driving to Nyingchi: Although taking much longer time, about 8 hours, driving to Nyingchi from Lhasa is also chosen by many tourists. Traveling along 318 National Highway, you will get the fantastic landscape of Nyingchi in your eyes. Before arriving in Bayi Town, you can pay a visit to Basumtso Lake to appreciate its primitive beauty and tranquility. Read more>
Best Time to Visit Nyingchi

Due to the summer monsoon from Assam, Nyingchi has a complicate climate with great vertical changes, forming coexistent different climatic zone: subtropical climate, tropical climate, boreal climate, temperate climate, humid climate and semi-humid climate. The particular climate contributes to various kinds of plants growing in Nyingchi. Nyingchi enjoys a considerable annual rainfall, especially from June to September. The average temperature is about 8.7℃. The spring and winter are rather cold while summer and autumn are warm and humid. As a result, the best time to visit Nyingchi is summer and autumn. However, if you want to feast your eyes of the omnipresent peach flowers, visit Nyingchi during the Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival which usually starts from late March and lasts for about two months. Read more>
Where to Accommodate in Nyingchi

Compare with some other Tibetan areas (like Shannan, Nagchu, Everest and Ngari), Nyingchi offers very good accommodation, ranging from five-star luxury hotels to economic comfortable guesthouses. Most of the good hotels in Nyingchi center on Bayi Town which is also the commercial and transportation center in Nyingchi. Some of them provide well-equipped facilities and good services to fully meet the needs of customers. Among the various hotels, Nyingchi Impression Hotel is a recommended four-star hotel. Apart from comfortable rooms and delicate restaurant, you can also enjoy the beautiful view of Nyang River and surrounding magnificent peaks. Read more>

Useful Nyingchi Travel Notes

1. How to Plan Nyingchi Travel
With available daily flights and lower elevation, Nyingchi can be the first stop of your Tibet tour. It is popular to have a 7~8 days Nyingchi and Lhasa tour. After your arrival, you can spend two days on picturesque Lulang Forest, famous Midui Glacier, and mirror-like Rawu Lake Then drive to Lhasa and explore the majestic Potala Palace and sacred Buddhist sites before leaving from Lhasa. There are available flights leaving Lhasa for some major cities in China. It is also available to get to and travel in Lhasa first, and then extend your tour to Nyingchi.
2. Packing and Wearing
What you can’t forget is to bring your passport, Chinese Visa and all needed permits, without them you are unable to have a Tibet tour. Then it is recommended to pack your stuffs in two bags – a bigger backpack and a smaller carryon bag. It is also important to bring the necessary medicine and sunscreens.Because of the special geography and climate, you wear properly to keep warm.
3. High Altitude Sickness Tips
The average altitude of Nyingchi is only about 3,000m, really low compared with some other regions in Tibet. There is no need to worry too much about High Altitude Sickness. However, if you drive from Nyingchi to Lhasa, you need to pass Mila Pass with a high altitude of 5,013m. It will be helpful to take some precautionary measures, like drinking more hot water, always keeping warm, avoiding strong activities, eating fresh vegetables and fruits etc. Your tour operator will also prepare oxygen supply for emergency use.
4. Necessary Permits for Visiting Nyingchi
Tibet Travel Permit is a must to travel in Tibet, and you can’t board your flight or trains to Tibet without it. It is issued by Tibet Tourism Bureau only and can be applied by travel agencies on behalf of you only. It must be obtained before you getting to Tibet, because you are not permitted to board your flight or train without it. Besides, Aliens’ Travel Permit is necessary to any places out of Lhasa. It is applied after you entering Tibet. Your tour guide will apply it with your Tibet Travel Permit and passport. Because Nyingchi is the boundary city in Tibet, so you need a Border Permit as well.

Most Recommended Nyingchi Tour Packages

Following are some other recommended Nyingchi tour packages that you may be interested in. All of our Tibet tour packages are customizable to meet your personal requirements. You can also contact us to customize a trip if you want.