Tibet: The Bradt Travel Guide [Paperback]

Michael Buckley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bradt Travel Guide Tibet | Publication Date: March 1, 2003

Readers will enjoy this guide to Greater, or Ethnic, Tibet including a chapter on routes through the northern and eastern areas of Kham and Amdo. The "Land of the Snows" boasts opportunities for the highest trekking in the world, with panoramic landscapes dotted with Buddhist monasteries clinging to sheer hilltops and nomadic Tibetans herding yaks on pasture land. Exploring Tibet independently is a challenge, with some of the wildest and roughest road routes in high Asia. Trekking, motoring, and mountain biking are all covered in this new guide, along with the political and cultural issues associated with traveling within this Chinese-occupied country. Practical information on visas, route planning, and essential words and phrases will help smooth the way for visitors. Advice is provided for traveling with minimum impact on Tibet's natural environment.

Editorial Reviews

Review

 ‘The most thumbed of all my books on Tibet. A must-read.’ - Michael Palin (who used this book on when making the TV series Himalaya)

’An authoritative guidebook which gives one a genuine feel for the Tibet of today. … I strongly recommend this guide.’ - Tibet Society

‘The most thumbed of all my books on Tibet. I might have had some trouble with the yak butter tea, but Buckley made everything else about Tibet wonderfully palatable. A must-read.’
Michael Palin (who used this book on the road in Tibet when making the TV series Himalaya)

’This book will constitute an important reading material for our officials here but also for the those who consult our office on practical information for travel in Tibet.’
Bureau du Tibet, Paris

’Michael Buckley has a most attractive, easy style, speaking (he seems to be speaking) as one traveller to another. He is never patronising or pompous, he does not pretend to know what he doesn't know, and he does not flaunt his knowledge; among writers of guidebooks, those are rare achievements... This book is undoubtedly the one I would recommend first for reading before a visit to Tibet. For a visit to central or western Tibet it may also be the best single book to take.’
Tony Williams, travel co-ordinator, Australia Tibet Council

’The author has written an authoritative guidebook which gives one a genuine feel for the Tibet of today. It is rare to find a guidebook that addresses the situation with so much honesty, and yet this is exactly the sort of explanation a traveller to Tibet needs. I strongly recommend this guide.’
Tibet Society

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Tibet is a land of monks and mystery, of high adventure and high controversy.
The "land of snows" boasts the world's highest peaks and its deepest gorges. Despite Chinese incursions, you can experience the timeless rhythms of the ancient Tibetan civilization, as nomads herd their yaks, pilgrims make their way around sacred Mount Kailash, and monks chant in prayer halls lit by yak-butter lamps.
Exploring the Tibetan plateau has always been a great challenge. This new Bradt guide provides travelers with the keys to access this extraordinary realm.
Inside you will find: in-depth coverage of history and culture; lucid descriptions of temples and sights; 35 clear, concise maps; details of "star treks"; information on the regions of Kham and Amdo; essential phrases in Tibetan and Chinese.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides; 1st edition (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841620610
• ISBN-13: 978-1841620619
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,024,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A nomad at heart, Michael Buckley thrives on adventuring in remote corners of the globe--rappelling through the treetops of Costa Rica, hunting elusive mammals in the wilds of Bhutan (with a camera), diving with manta rays, kayaking in Cambodia, or trekking in Tibet. To get off the track, he is keen on self-propelled transport methods--mountain-biking, hiking, kayaking and diving. He is author or co-author of ten books, including Eccentric Explorers (a biography-based book), Shangri-La: a Guide to the Himalayan Dream (themed around the Himalayan utopia), Tibet: the Bradt Travel Guide, and Travels in the Tibetan World (travel narrative). Although he travels world-wide, he is especially drawn to Southeast Asia and the Himalayan region.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent new guide to Tibet, March 19, 2003

By 

Anthony E. Williams (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tibet: The Bradt Travel Guide (Paperback)

Michael Buckley is a seasoned traveller to Tibet. In the mid-eighties, not long after Tibet first opened to foreign travellers, he was joint author of the first Lonely Planet guide to Tibet, and also of the first to China. He brings a maturity to this book that distinguishes it.

Tibet, the Bradt Travel Guide effectively updates and expands on the information in Michael's excellent but poorly distributed Tibet Travel Adventure Guide, published three years ago.

I would recommend the Bradt Guide as the first and best to read before a visit to Tibet. I make that recommendation as one who has travelled independently to Tibet many times and has acted as a travel advisor to hundreds of western travellers to Tibet.

I have read every guidebook to Tibet published in recent years. Michael's is distinctive, in having a most attractive, easy style, speaking as though one traveller to another. Michael is never patronizing or pompous, he does not pretend to know what he doesn't know, and he does not flaunt his knowledge; among writers of guidebooks, those are rare achievements. Despite them, Michael is knowledgeable (there are many quite surprising bits of information) and forthright in expressing his own considered opinions about cultural and political matters; but he seems to be sharing those opinions and his reasons for holding them, rather than preaching. In short, he is interesting, persuasive and readable.

The phenomenon of Tibet is so extraordinary and the questions raised by its occupation by China so profound that a visit to Tibet goes far beyond mere sightseeing. Many travellers find that their experiences in Tibet contribute importantly to their understanding of the world. The Bradt Guide is a book whose depth will satisfy the needs of what might be called the thoughtful traveller.

When the Chinese speak of "Tibet" they mean only the so-called Tibetan Autonomous Region, effectively a province of China. Outside that Region are other territories totalling as great an area again, inhabited by Tibetans and styled by China variously as Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures (subdivisions of provinces) or Tibetan Autonomous Counties (subdivisions of prefectures). These other territories are covered by the Bradt Guide. Particularly valuable is the coverage of Tibetan territory in western Sichuan Province, Gansu Province and Qinghai Province - especially the important Tibetan territory of south-east Qinghai, seldom covered elsewhere.

In addition, some welcome coverage is given to Bhutan, and to Tibetan areas of Nepal and India, including the seat of the exile government at Dharamsala.

The presentation of maps is excellent. The usefulness of the section on Chinese language would be greatly enhanced if tones were indicated and Chinese script included: the foreigner, even with the benefit of tone markings, often finds it more effective to point to a phrase than to say it.

I hope Michael will continue travelling in Tibet and maintain future editions of this excellent book in the years to come.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New edition of excellent guide to Tibet, November 21, 2006

By 

Anthony E. Williams (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tibet (Bradt Travel Guide) (Paperback)

The second (October 2006) edition of Tibet, the Bradt Travel Guide, is a welcome updating and expansion of the guidebook first published three years ago.

Michael Buckley has been writing guidebooks to Tibet for over twenty years, and brings a thoughtful maturity to the subject that is distinctive and invaluable.

I would recommend this book as the first and best to read before a visit to Tibet.

I have read every guidebook to Tibet published in recent years and have visited Tibet a dozen times. Michael's book is distinctive in having an attractive, easy style, speaking as though one traveller to another. He is never patronizing or pompous, he does not pretend to know what he doesn't know, and he does not flaunt his knowledge; among writers of guidebooks, those are rare achievements. Despite that, Michael is knowledgeable (there are many quite surprising bits of information) and forthright in expressing his own considered opinions about cultural and political matters. He is interesting, persuasive and readable.

The phenomenon of Tibet is so extraordinary and the questions raised by its occupation by China so profound that a visit to Tibet goes far beyond mere sightseeing. Many travellers find that their experiences in Tibet contribute importantly to their understanding of the world. The Bradt Guide is a book whose depth will satisfy the needs of what might be called the thoughtful traveller.

When the Chinese speak of "Tibet" they mean only the so-called Tibetan Autonomous Region, effectively a province of China. Also governed by China are other territories totalling as great an area again, inhabited by Tibetans and styled by China variously as Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures (subdivisions of provinces) or Tibetan Autonomous Counties (subdivisions of prefectures). These territories, often overlooked by travellers, include some of the most important and spectacular destinations in the Tibetan world. The Bradt Guide includes some coverage to these territories as well. Particularly valuable is the coverage of some Tibetan parts of western Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces - especially the important Tibetan territory of south-east Qinghai, seldom covered elsewhere.

In addition, some welcome coverage is given to Bhutan and Mongolia (countries whose religion is Tibetan Buddhism), and to Tibetan areas of Nepal and India, including the seat of the exile Tibetan government at Dharamsala in northern India.

The presentation of maps is excellent.

There are useful appendixes on the Tibetan and Chinese languages. The usefulness of the section on Chinese language would be greatly enhanced if tones were indicated and Chinese script included: the foreigner, even with the benefit of tone markings, often finds it more effective to point to a phrase than to say it. A new, illustrated section on "Useful Gestures" will be particularly helpful for travellers without language skills.

Appendixes include an extensive bibliography and Web directory.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Warning, October 31, 2010

By 

World Traveler - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tibet (Bradt Travel Guide) (Paperback)

Regardless of one's opinion on the contents of this travel guide on Tibet, it isn't of much use to those actually traveling in Tibet since the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will confiscate it. This is exactly what happened to me two weeks ago at the Nepal/Tibet border. I had checked the book out of my local library prior to leaving on my trip since I thought it would be helpful to was to have a guide book during my travels in Tibet. At the border crossing the PLA searched our luggage and confiscated this book on the grounds that there are photos of the PLA in Lhasa (and they didn't like the 'words' contained in the book/caption) and that it contains a pointillism sketch of His Holiness. When I protested and asked to just rip out those pages but keep the book, the member of the PLA laughed and said, "no we have to take the book, but don't worry you can probably just buy another on Amazon or in China for cheaper before you leave". Just a warning to those actually trying to use this book as any sort of reference while traveling in Tibet, good luck with that. Also, it sounds like someone is making lots of cash off the black market sale of just these type of confiscated books in China.