Best time to visit Lhasa
China · East Asia
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Lhasa
Tap a month for its page
- JanJLhasa in January: ok
- FebFLhasa in February: ok
- MarMLhasa in March: good
- AprALhasa in April: sweet spot
- MayMLhasa in May: good
- JunJLhasa in June: sweet spot
- JulJLhasa in July: ok, busy
- AugALhasa in August: ok, busy
- SepSLhasa in September: ok
- OctOLhasa in October: sweet spot
- NovNLhasa in November: ok, busy
- DecDLhasa in December: ok, busy
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Plan this trip
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Flights from
Flights
Your city is a guess from your time zone. Choose your city
Where are you flying from? Choose your city for its flights and fares.
Book with the airline
Where to stay
Book direct
Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
Rent direct
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
These are sites people in book with. Each opens in a new tab, on the site's own pages.
Things to do in Lhasa
- Potala Palace A stronghold probably existed on Red Hill as early as the 7th century AD when King Songtsen Gampo built a fortress on it for his two foreign wives.
- Norbulingka Summer Palace Palace in Lhasa, Tibet
- Jokhang Temple Buddhist temple in Barkhor Square in Lhasa
- Drepung Monastery Founded in 1416 by a disciple of Tsong Khapa, was the biggest and richest monastery in Tibet and its lamas helped to train each new young Dalai Lama.
- Ganden Monastery Located on Wangbur Mountain, 47 km (29 miles) from Lhasa City.
- Sera Monastery Founded in 1419 by one of Tsong Khapa’s (the founder of the Gelupa sect) eight disciples.
- Barkhor Street Neighborhood in Lhasa, Tibet, China
Tours and tickets in Lhasa
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Lhasa), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Month by month
No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7° | 0d | 22% | 10.0h | ok | 7C max, 0 rainy days |
| Feb | 8° | 1d | 24% | 10.5h | ok | 8C max, 1 rainy day |
| Mar | 12° | 2d | 29% | 11.3h | good | 12C max, 2 rainy days |
| Apr | 15° | 4d | 37% | 11.6h | sweet spot | 15C max, 4 rainy days |
| May | 18° | 11d | 48% | 12.0h | good | 18C max, 11 rainy days |
| Jun | 23° | 10d | 49% | 12.7h | sweet spot | 23C max, 10 rainy days |
| Jul | 22° | 21d | 64% | 10.6h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Aug | 21° | 20d | 65% | 10.4h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Sep | 20° | 13d | 61% | 10.9h | ok | 20C max, 13 rainy days |
| Oct | 17° | 2d | 42% | 10.8h | sweet spot | 17C max, 2 rainy days |
| Nov | 12° | 0d | 28% | 10.4h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Dec | 8° | 0d | 22% | 9.9h | okbusy | busier than usual |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at the Barkhor, the old town: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Lhasa's November days now average 11.6°C, 5.8°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 12 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 2.0° | 4.4° | 7.8° | 11.4° | 16.0° | 20.8° | 19.9° | 18.9° | 17.0° | 12.8° | 5.8° | 3.1° |
| 2017–26 | 6.8° | 8.0° | 11.7° | 14.9° | 18.0° | 22.9° | 21.6° | 20.9° | 19.7° | 16.5° | 11.6° | 8.4° |
| Change | +4.8° | +3.6° | +3.9° | +3.5° | +2.1° | +2.1° | +1.7° | +2.0° | +2.7° | +3.7° | +5.8° | +5.4° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
Fly into Shannan (Gonggar) (LXA), then drive. The flights under Where to book are to Shannan (Gonggar).
The drive from each airport is the road's, from openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT: typical, not a schedule.
How far Lhasa is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Kolkata
- from Delhi
- from Hyderabad
- from Ahmedabad
- from Bangkok
- from Chennai
- from Mumbai
- from Bengaluru
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Lhasa, flying or not.
Before you go
Type A and C and I plugs at 220 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the Renminbi. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories). US State Department: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. Everything for China: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Most payments are made by phone with Alipay or WeChat Pay: link a Visa, Mastercard or other foreign card to either app, then scan the shop's QR code. Many hotels and larger shops take foreign cards, but many places do not, so carry some yuan in case the apps fail you.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Not expected in most restaurants and hotels, or in taxis; bars and cafeterias in hotels, and some other restaurants and bars, may add a 10-15% service charge.
Getting around Lhasa
- Apps — Rides: DiDi, Amap. Maps: Amap, Baidu Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WeChat. Google and WhatsApp are blocked in mainland China, as are Facebook, YouTube and X; WeChat, Alipay and DiDi all work in English.
The central area with the main tourist attractions (Potala, Jokhang, Barkhor, Ramoche) is easily navigable on foot. Taxis cost ¥10 for anywhere in Lhasa city. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Lhasa, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — police 110 · ambulance 120 · fire 119. Traffic police are on 122.
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (27)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china/getting-help
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china/safety-and-security
- travel.gc.ca/destinations/china
- auswaertiges-amt.de/de/service/laender/china-node/chinasicherheit-200466
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-PaymentsInShanghai/20260920/f22b7e0f606c407e9da9d26b089eac48.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-PaymentMethods/20240313/6f4e58272f1a4cea9aec59c518915bdf.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-UsefulApps/20231214/3cac2d8cc7f847da92a72252bae06705.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20250627/d8f21f2e7d3b45a5b03757e35039b806.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20250614/a5c7bac93f024324ace770d3275d28b6.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-CIIE2025Service-Transport/20251017/c6c5ca124ee74e92a37244280c0983b9.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20240417/0444aa1c2f114f7eb66a0341b603bbbc.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20250711/8f2fcf3c6b624a56a6b2c0d8152ea2f2.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-FAQs-LivinginShanghai/20231214/6e73c9e64a174827beeb9b588af1255d.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/latest/specials/essentialtipsfornewarrivals/transportation/202408/t20240830_3785706.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/latest/news/202506/t20250616_4114250.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/contactus/faqs/list/202602/t20260209_4502729.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/livinginbeijing/transportation/beijingsubway/202409/t20240914_3891497.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/consuminginbeijing/news/202410/t20241016_3921355.html
- english.visitbeijing.com.cn/article/47ONhboe35K
- apps.apple.com/us/app/didi-china-ride-hailing/id554499054
- apps.apple.com/us/app/amap-global/id461703208
- en.prnasia.com/releases/apac/tencent-announces-2026-second-quarter-results-543788.shtml
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WeChat
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/China
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
Lhasa in pictures
i
Jan Kranendonk (https://www.jankranendonk.nl), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
i
钉钉, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What Lhasa is like
Lhasa (Tibetan: ལྷ་ས་, Chinese: 拉萨 Lāsà) is the capital of the Tibet autonomous region in China. It is 3,650 m (11,980 ft) above sea level on the northern slopes of the Himalayas. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Barkhor Street. A circular street around the Jokhang Temple in the center of the old section of Lhasa, it is the oldest street in a traditional style in Tibet… More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Kora. A meditative circumambulation around a sacred site, such as a temple, practiced by many Tibetans. Langma Opera. literally "royal music", a traditional Tibetan singing and dancing show. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Non-Chinese nationals are required to obtain a special permit and must have a tour guide to visit Tibet. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- Altitude sickness can easily ruin a holiday and can even be fatal. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Lhasa, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around Lhasa
Also in China
- Beijing best Apr, May, Jun
- Chengdu best Apr, May, Jun
- Chongqing best Mar, Apr, Jun
- Dali best Mar, May, Jun
- Dalian best Apr, Jun, Jul
- Guilin and Yangshuo best Oct, Nov, Dec
- Hangzhou best Mar, Apr, May
- Harbin best Apr, May, Jun
- Kashgar best Mar, Apr, Jun
- Kunming best Feb, Mar, Apr
- Lijiang best Mar, Apr, Nov
- Luoyang best Mar, Apr, May
- Nanjing best Mar, Apr, May
- Qingdao best Apr, Jun, Aug
- Quanzhou best Jan, Feb, Nov
- Sanya best Jan, Mar, Apr
- Shanghai best Mar, Jun, Nov
- Shangri-La best Jun, Sep, Nov
- Suzhou best Mar, May, Sep
- Xi'an best Mar, May, Jun
- Xiamen best Sep, Oct, Nov
Nearby
Kind of place
Lhasa is in China, East Asia. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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