When do I need a Tibet permit?

[Erbse]

When do I need a Tibet permit?

My first idea was, that any place in the Tibet Autonomous Region required a permit, however then I read travel stories where people needed permits to visit places like Yushu in Qinghai province. Another travel report said, that I need a permit if I want to go anywhere beyond Deqen, Yunnan into the mountains, yet Tibet is more than 100 km away when traveling by road and there are many places before the border.

 

Is there a list of places, or a map, where I can see where I'm able to go without any permit? Is it easy to get such a permit in a short time while being there in the area? (I haven't been to Tibet before)

 

I've thought about a trip starting in Kunming or Chengdu, then floating around where the wind takes me in southern and western Yunnan, western Sichuan and if easily possible Eastern Tibet, maybe Qinghai. This is more of an idea than a real plan, so can't say at which time of the year, if that makes any difference.

[fanglu]

I've been within about 40km of the Tibet border beyond Feilaisi in Yunan in early 2012, and didn't need a permit.

 

The permits are issued by the Tibet tourism office, so they won't have effect anywhere outside the TAR, I would assume. Mind you, just because you don't need a permit to go somewhere, doesn't mean you will be allowed to go there. This is China, after all

 

You'll probably get more up to date advice on a travel forum, like thorntree.

[roddy]

There are different things. The Tibet Travel Permit doesn't even get you access to all of Tibet - large swathes require further permits obtained locally, and I'd assume most border areas are just plain off-limits. Similarly outside of Tibet you might require permits for particular places - but these aren't Tibet Travel Permits, they are just local permits for wherever. 

 

LIke fanglu said, you may be better off on a travel forum.