We have put up this page because we're always being asked about Tibet, but I'm afraid we've brought you here under false pretense !

We don't run tours into Tibet, and this page will tell you why. It will also tell you a few things you probably won't be told by those operators who do run tours to Tibet.

We're pretty well qualified to judge bad roads, but the roads in Tibet are simply abysmal ! On our reconnaisance trip there in 2000, we broke a fork leg on one bike and a shock absorber on our Toyota LandCruiser support vehicle -- and this was on a relatively good section of road! In many places the road had subsided to the point of no longer being there. Several times we had to bribe a few of the local lads to assist us in man-hauling the bikes across scree slopes with ropes (see photo), where the road had simply been washed away. When we eventually made it to Lhasa we met another motorcycle tour operator who'd had four out of his seven clients simply give up, throwing in the towel and refusing to ride these roads.

The Chinese administration is doing nothing to encourage tourism into Tibet, and it shows. The roads mainly seem to get repaired when the local villagers grow tired of breaking axles on their bullock carts and undertake patchwork fixes themselves. Even more unfortunately, the Tibetan identity has being deliberately diluted through 40 years of assimilation programs and the people are losing their culture to overwhelming Chinese odds. English is not widely spoken, the food is dreadful and accommodation is very sub-standard. Getting the picture here?? It's a sad place.

There is the occasional stunning mountain vista of course, but generally the landscape is rather monotonous. In all honesty, the Himalayan scenery is more visually stimulating and diverse in India and Nepal. And if all this sounds like sour grapes, please believe that we actually went to Tibet with the firm intention of commencing tours there. But we do not feel confident taking clients under these circumstances and conditions, so unless things improve dramatically there in the near future, we'll leave Tibet to our competitors to endure, thanks very much!