Independent Trekking and Travel

This is a nice short trek over two 5000 m passes which used to be able to be done independently from Lhasa using public transportation to get to and from Ganden and Samye.  However like all treks in the Chinese administered Tibet Autonomous Region it is off limits for independent travel much less trekking.  So again this information will only be useful to those taking considering taking a trekking tour.  This a nice trek not a great trek.  The geography around Lhasa is not quite as spectacular as other areas of Tibet and one of the main advantages of this trek was its proximity to Lhasa and the ability to do it independently.  However now that it can only be done as an expensive tour I would find it hard to recommend the trek.  Personally I'd probably trek in a different region either the Everest Region, Western Tibet, or near Lake Namtso, but if you want to get a taste of rural life in central Tibet in a short time frame its not a bad option.  The trek is also easily accessible from Lhasa, however I would recommend resisting the temptation to include the trek on a short trip to Tibet.  The altitude of the trek is very high even relative to Lhasa  and the trek involves sleeping at near 5000 m so you do need to be well acclimatized.