The questions we actually get asked

No. A deposit holds your seat, with the balance due before departure. The exact terms are set by the operator for each batch and printed on your booking confirmation, so read that before you pay the deposit.

Because the operator sets the price per batch and it moves with fuel, park fees and group size. What we publish is the price band, which is accurate. When we confirm your batch we give you the exact per-person figure in writing before any money moves.

Typically: trek leader and local guides, camping and group equipment, all meals on trek, road transport from the meeting city, park and pasture fees, and horse or porter support for group gear. Each trek page has an itemised list. Flights, visa, insurance, personal gear, hotel nights and tips are never included.

The payment route is confirmed in writing on your booking confirmation — usually a bank transfer or an online payment link. We will never ask you to send money to a personal account. If you receive any instruction like that claiming to be from us, verify it against the contact details on this site before paying anything.

Cancellation terms are set per batch by the operator, and domestic batches carry fixed costs from the day they open — so late cancellation is usually expensive. Terms are on your confirmation. Buy insurance that covers trip interruption, not just medical.

Rarely, and not as our core product. We sell seats in existing batches. If a group of six or more wants a private trip on one of these routes, ask — sometimes the operator will run it — but we will not promise it.

Simple. Lodge-based trips mean family guesthouses with shared bathrooms and sometimes squat toilets. Camping trips mean two-person tents, a dining tent, a kitchen tent and no showers for several days. The food is good; the comfort is basic. If you need a hot shower every night, this is the wrong product.

It depends on the trek, and every page carries a 1–5 difficulty grade. As a guide: grade 2 is a walking holiday for anyone who can do 12–16 km in a day; grade 3 needs some training; grade 4 means consecutive hard days at altitude and you should be running or hiking regularly beforehand; grade 5 is expedition territory. Be honest with yourself, not optimistic.

Yes — most of our travellers are solo. You will normally share a tent or room with another traveller of the same gender. If you want a single supplement, ask; on camping trips it is usually not available, and on lodge trips it depends on the guesthouse.

Domestic batches typically run 15 to 30 people. International-group departures are smaller, commonly 8 to 16. The group size is stated on the departure calendar where the operator has confirmed it.

In towns, yes. On trek, usually no — and on some routes there is no signal for days. Download offline maps, screenshots of your documents and a Chinese dictionary before you leave the city. A power bank is essential; cold weather drains batteries fast.

A dug latrine at camp, shared. On lodge-based trips, whatever the guesthouse has — often a squat toilet. Bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitiser. This is normal on Chinese trekking routes and nobody finds it remarkable.

Tipping is not a general Chinese custom, but it is expected on trekking trips. A few hundred yuan per person for a week is normal, collected by the trek leader and distributed to guides, cooks and horse handlers. Bring cash in small notes.

Chengdu and Lijiang both have good outdoor shops and rental outfits. Realistic rentals: down jackets, sleeping bags, trekking poles, and crampons and axes for summit trips. Quality varies — inspect before you pay. Boots and a sleeping bag are worth buying at home.

Effectively no on most of our routes. They require registration, are restricted near monasteries and scenic areas, and are not permitted in Tibet in practice. Leave it at home.

Most sit between 3,500 and 4,900 m. The summit trips top out between 5,025 and 5,396 m. The Kailash kora crosses a 5,648 m pass. Every trek page states its maximum altitude — check it before you book, and check your insurance covers that number.

Mild AMS is managed by stopping the ascent, resting and hydrating. If symptoms worsen despite rest, the answer is descent — and that decision belongs to the trek leader. Every summit trip and Tibet programme carries supplemental oxygen and a pulse oximeter. We take this seriously enough to lose a booking over.

That is a conversation with your travel doctor, not with us. Acetazolamide is the standard prophylactic and it works, with side effects. What we will say is that no medication substitutes for ascending slowly, and our itineraries are built around that.

Check with your travel clinic — requirements vary by nationality and by region. Commonly discussed: hepatitis A and B, typhoid, tetanus. Rabies is worth considering for remote routes. There is no malaria risk on the plateau routes, but there can be in the subtropical south.

Boiled and filtered water is provided on trek. Food is cooked fresh by the trail cook and is generally fine. In cities, eat where Chinese families eat. Bring a filter bottle if you are cautious, and rehydration salts for the first days at altitude.

Tell us. Some conditions — significant heart or lung disease, a previous HAPE or HACE episode — make high-altitude trips inappropriate, and we would rather have that conversation before you book. We are not doctors, but we will say when a trip looks wrong for you.

Yes, in one of two ways: book a departure flagged as an International Group, where an English-speaking trek lead runs the trip, or have us attach a translator to a domestic batch for a supplement. Every trek page states which applies. We will not sell you a domestic batch and imply English is included.

On a domestic batch, usually yes — or one of two or three. That is the point of the product rather than a flaw in it. If you would rather be in a group of other foreigners, book an International Group departure.

Tell us at booking, in one clear sentence. Vegetarian is easy on Chinese trail food. Vegan needs to be explicit about egg, dairy and lard. Halal needs to be arranged at booking — western Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet all have Hui restaurants in the approach towns, but a properly separate camp kitchen requires notice and is not available on every route. Gluten-free means carrying your own staples.

Yes. Solo women travel on our trips regularly and the trekking community in China is mixed and generally respectful. Standard precautions apply as anywhere: shared rooms are same-gender, and your trek leader is the person to raise anything with.

On the easier lodge-based routes, sometimes — but not on altitude trips, and not on domestic batches where the pace is set for adults. Ask specifically and we will give you a straight answer rather than a maybe.

It depends on your passport. China has extended visa-free entry to a growing list of countries, and several of our core markets are included. There is also a visa-free transit policy at many ports. Rules change frequently, so confirm your specific situation with the Chinese embassy in your country before booking flights — not with us, and not with a blog.

No. Foreign passport holders need a Tibet Travel Permit, a licensed guide and an organised itinerary, and you are accompanied for the duration. Airlines check for the permit before boarding. We do not sell permits separately.

Standard lead time is 15–20 days before your Lhasa arrival, once we have your full documents. Applications go in on fixed dates for fixed batches. If your documents arrive late, you miss the batch — and the permit fee is not refundable.

Yes, and it is mandatory on every trip we sell. It must cover trekking as an activity and reach your maximum altitude. Check three things in the wording: trekking covered, altitude limit above your trip maximum, and repatriation included. Send us the certificate before departure.