When to go to Tibet: seasons, weather and altitude

The main season in western Tibet runs from May to early October. Outside it snow closes the passes, the guesthouses on the kora are shut, and permits for the Kailash area are generally not issued. Within the season the months differ noticeably, and choosing between them means choosing between weather, crowds and light.

May and June

Dry, clear, few people on the trail. The sky is clean and Kailash shows itself in full more often than in any other month. It is colder: nights on the kora are reliably below zero, and the wind on the pass can decide everything. This is the best time for those who care more about the mountain than about comfort.

July and August

The warmest months and the busiest. The edge of the Indian monsoon reaches western Tibet: the rain is short, but the roads soften afterwards and cloud hides the summit more often. In exchange the nights are easier — a sensible choice for a first trip to altitude.

September

The most stable weather on the pass of the whole season. The monsoon has gone, the air is transparent, the temperature has not yet dropped. If one month had to be chosen for the kora sight unseen, it would be September.

A word about Saga Dawa

In May or June, at the full moon of the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, the Tarboche flagpole is raised on the southern side of Kailash. On those days there are thousands of pilgrims on the kora, and it is the most powerful thing the route has to offer. It is also the most crowded: the guesthouses are full and the region is closed more often than usual.

A day on the plateau

• The difference between night and day reaches 25 degrees in any month of the season.
• The wind picks up towards midday: setting off for the pass before dawn is not only about time.
• Rain on the plateau rarely lasts more than an hour, but it is cold afterwards.

The season also shapes the altitude profile. The colder it is, the more it matters not to stretch the route out: the May and September programmes differ less in their dates than in where exactly the acclimatisation days are placed.