Tibet Self-Drive Survival Guide: Oxygen, Gas, and Where to Sleep
This is the companion reference to the Ngari Grand Circuit travel diary. Read that for the story. Read this for the logistics: oxygen, gas, car rental, hotels, permits, and the things we learned the hard way so you do not have to.
Oxygen
This is the most important section. If you only read one part of this guide, read this.
What you need
A portable medical-grade oxygen concentrator that runs on 12V. We used the JinYang YDD-5B model. It plugs into the car’s cigarette lighter, runs continuously while driving, and delivers 93% concentrated oxygen through a nasal cannula. Cost: approximately ¥2,000-3,000 to buy, or rent in Lhasa for about ¥100 per day.
A steel oxygen cylinder as backup. We rented a 15-liter cylinder in Lhasa. It holds about 20 hours of oxygen at 2 liters per minute. The cylinder lives in the back seat, secured with bungee cords. If the concentrator fails at 5,000 meters, you will be very glad the cylinder is there.
A fingertip pulse oximeter. Costs ¥30-50. Clip it on, get a number. Below 85%: use oxygen now. Below 80%: you are in trouble. I dropped to 78% once on the middle route. Ten minutes on oxygen brought me back to 94%.
Renting in Lhasa
Lhasa has multiple oxygen suppliers. The one we used was near the Yihai car rental office (Nangun Oxygen, east district delivery: 137-0845-9897). They delivered the cylinders and all accessories: flow meter, nasal cannula, humidifier bottle, and securing straps.
| Size | Fill cost | Daily rent | Duration (2L/min) | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10L | ¥50 | ¥20/day | ~8 hours | 78cm |
| 15L | ¥70 | ¥20/day | ~20 hours | 107cm |
| 40L | ¥120 | ¥20/day | ~40-50 hours | 140cm |
A Tank 300 cannot fit a 40L cylinder. The ceiling is about 3cm too low. Rent two 15L cylinders if you want maximum capacity.
Deposit is ¥500-700 per cylinder. Keep the cylinder’s inspection certificate. Some refill stations will not fill unlabeled cylinders.
Refilling along the route
Every county seat in Tibet has at least one oxygen refill station. That is the good news. The bad news: prices and availability vary dramatically.
| Location | Price (10L) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lhasa | ¥50 | Multiple vendors, consistent quality |
| Shigatse | ¥70 | Search maps for clinics, call ahead |
| Tingri | ¥80 | Dingri Oxygen Station near county hospital, call attendant Duoji at 181-0892-3440 |
| Lhatse | ¥150 | Last resort, lower pressure (9 instead of 10) |
| Saga | ¥120-150 | Two competing clinics, check whose 40L reserve is fuller |
| Zhongba | ¥50-500 | MinKang Clinic quoted ¥500, MinAn Clinic is cheaper |
| Tarchen | ¥25+ | Pilgrim oxygen emergency center |
| Zanda | ¥100 | County hospital when supply is available |
| Shiquanhe | Varies | Owei Oxygen, year-round service |
| Coqen | ¥150 | Xinkun Hotel refills or swaps cylinders |
| Nyima | Varies | County hospital or pharmacy across the street |
| Bangor | Varies | County oxygen station confirmed as of late 2023 |
Prices listed are what we paid or verified in July 2025. County-level stations often charge tourists more. A local phone number or a Tibetan speaker helps.
Practical tips
Keep cylinders tied down. On washboard roads at 70 km/h, an unsecured 15kg steel cylinder becomes a dangerous projectile. Rope, bungee cords, or old khatas (prayer scarves) all work.
Hotel oxygen ports sometimes use non-standard tubing connectors. If your nasal cannula does not fit, the hotel front desk usually has adapters.
The spray-can oxygen sold at tourist shops is useless for actual altitude sickness. It contains maybe 30 puffs of low-concentration oxygen. You need medical-grade flow for at least 10 continuous minutes to resolve symptoms.
Start oxygen before you feel bad. The mistake we made: waiting until we were already dizzy and headachy at Everest. By then, your body is in deficit. Use the concentrator preemptively above 5,000 meters.
Car rental
We rented a Tank 300 from Yihai (一嗨租车) in Lhasa. ¥348 per day for 10 days. The Tank 300 is a Chinese off-road SUV that handles gravel, washboard, and moderate river crossings. It is not a Land Cruiser, but for the Ngari middle route, it is enough.
Requirements:
- Chinese driver’s license (international permits not accepted for self-drive in Tibet)
- Deposit: ¥5,000-10,000 depending on rental company
- Check the spare tire before departure. Make sure the jack and lug wrench are present
- Confirm the car takes 92-octane fuel. Most Chinese SUVs do, which matters because 95 is unavailable on the middle route
Shenzhou (神州租车) also operates in Lhasa and may have slightly lower daily rates.
Gas
Fuel availability is the single biggest constraint on the Ngari circuit. Here is what you need to know.
Octane reality
The G219 and G318 have 95-octane at most county-level stations. The middle route (Yagra → Rendo → Coqen) does not. Between Tarchen and Coqen, you will find only 92-octane. The Tank 300 handles 92 without knocking. If your vehicle requires 95, carry octane booster.
Filling strategy
| Segment | Distance | Gas stations |
|---|---|---|
| Lhasa → Shigatse → Lhatse | 420 km | Plentiful |
| Lhatse → EBC → Saga | 540 km | Tingri, Old Tingri |
| Saga → Zhongba → Tarchen | 530 km | Zhongba, Paryang |
| Tarchen → Zanda | 230 km | Tarchen only |
| Zanda → Tarchen → Yagra → Rendo | 450 km | Tarchen, Yagra |
| Rendo → Coqen | 255 km | Coqen only |
| Coqen → Wenbu South | 350 km | Coqen only |
| Wenbu South → Nyima → Bangor | 450 km | Nyima |
| Bangor → Lhasa | 380 km | Dangxiong, Yangbajing |
Fill up at every opportunity. Never pass a station with less than half a tank. Yagra’s station closes at 4pm sharp and only has 92. If you arrive at 4:05pm, you wait until morning or you do not leave.
Octane booster
We carried polyether amine (PEA) based octane booster. Not the metal-based stuff (MMT, ferrocene, tetraethyl lead). Metal additives damage spark plugs, clog catalytic converters, and leave deposits in the combustion chamber. PEA is safe for both port-injection and direct-injection engines. Buy it online and ship it to your Lhasa hotel before departure.
Permits
You need two documents beyond your passport and Chinese visa:
Tibet Travel Permit ( Tibet Entry Permit). Required to enter Tibet. Your hotel or a Lhasa travel agency can arrange it. Processing takes 3-7 days. You need this before boarding your flight to Lhasa.
Aliens’ Travel Permit (Border Defense Permit). Required for Ngari Prefecture. List both “Shigatse Region” and “Ngari Region” on the permit. Check that both are written before leaving the office. You will be checked at the border between Shigatse and Ngari, and again at random checkpoints on the middle route. Keep your passport and permit accessible. You will show them multiple times per day in some areas.
Foreign passport holders: regulations change frequently. Confirm current requirements with your hotel or a Tibetan travel agency within one month of departure. Some areas may be closed to non-Chinese nationals without prior arrangement.
Accommodation: where we stayed
| Night | Location | Hotel | Price | Oxygen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Lhasa | Snow Lotus Oxygen Hotel | ¥467/night | Room + nasal | Near Jokhang Temple, Tibetan courtyard |
| 3 | Lhatse | Yunshuiji Future Hotel | ¥389 | Free concentrator | Massage chair, heated toilet seat |
| 4 | EBC | Rongbuk Guesthouse | ¥686 | Yes | Faces Everest, not a tent |
| 5 | Saga | Yunshuiji Future Hotel | ¥682 | Yes | Massage chair, heated floors |
| 6 | Tarchen | Castle Hotel | ¥451 | Yes | Large courtyard, no breakfast |
| 7 | Zanda | Gangdise Hotel | ¥368 | No | Breakfast included |
| 8 | Rendo | Xinyue Inn | ¥260 | No | Basic, hot water, electricity |
| 9 | Coqen | Vienna 3 Best Hotel | ¥377 | 8pm-8am | Heated floors, best in town |
| 10 | Wenbu South | Zhongxiangxiong Hotel | ¥562 | Yes | County-level hotel, lake views |
| 11 | Bangor | Starry Sky Hotel | ¥482 | Yes | Breakfast included, new in 2025 |
| 12 | Lhasa | Lishang Ruixuan Hotel | ¥186 | No | Near car return, basic but clean |
Book everything before departure. Some of these hotels are the only option in town and fill during peak season (July-August, October Golden Week). Free cancellation is worth paying extra for. Plans change on the Ngari circuit.
Health and medicine
Pack this. Do not assume you can buy it on the road. Pharmacies exist in county towns but stock is inconsistent and staff rarely speak English.
- Loperamide (Imodium) — foodborne illness is common
- Oral rehydration salts
- Ibuprofen — altitude headaches
- Acetazolamide (Diamox) — altitude sickness prevention, start 24 hours before ascent
- Antibiotics (broad-spectrum) — respiratory infections are frequent at altitude
- Erythromycin ointment — for nosebleeds caused by dry air
- Bandages, antiseptic wipes, blister pads
- Sunscreen (SPF 50+) — Tibetan sun at 4,500m burns in 15 minutes
- Lip balm with SPF
- Moisturizer — heated hotel rooms at altitude pull moisture from everything
High-altitude specific notes: If a headache persists despite ibuprofen and oxygen, descend. The rule is simple: symptoms that stay the same or improve with rest are tolerable. Symptoms that get worse mean you need to go lower, now. The nearest lower elevation is usually hours away. Do not wait.
Tap water is not drinkable. Hotels provide boiled water dispensers or bottled water. Buy bottled water in case quantities at county supermarkets. You will drink more than you think at altitude.
What to wear (July edition)
Temperatures in July range from 5°C at night (EBC, Rendo) to 25°C during the day (Zanda, Lhasa). The UV at 4,500 meters is brutal. The wind is constant. The combination means you need:
- 3 short-sleeve shirts
- 1 long-sleeve UV-protective shirt or thin hoodie
- 2 pairs of pants (one heavier for evenings)
- 1 windproof hard-shell jacket (essential)
- 1 fleece or soft-shell mid-layer
- Sun hat with chin strap (wind will take it)
- Sunglasses (glacier glare is real)
- Buff or face mask (dust and sun)
- Sturdy walking shoes with grip (uneven temple stairs, gravel slopes)
Do not look at photos of people in shorts and tank tops at Tibetan lakes and assume that is comfortable. It is comfortable for the 90 seconds the photo takes. Then the wind picks up and they are freezing.
Electronics and navigation
Satellite phone. The middle route (Yagra to Coqen, roughly 400 kilometers) has zero cell signal. If you break down or get stuck, you cannot call for help. Rent or buy a satellite phone. We brought our own. It was the second-best decision after the oxygen concentrator.
Offline maps. Download Amap (高德地图) offline tiles for Tibet before departure. Baidu Maps also works. Google Maps does not work well in China even with a VPN, and the Tibetan plateau is not where you want to discover this.
GPS track files. The middle route between Coqen and Wenbu South Village has multiple unmarked forks. We followed an Ovital (奥维地图) track file. Do not rely on road signs. There are none. Download GPX tracks from Chinese overlanding forums before departure and load them into your navigation app.
Drone. Half the best views on this route (the clay forest, Serling Tso’s color gradient, the Sky Tree formation) only reveal themselves from above. Bring a drone. Register it in China if required. Do not fly near military installations, checkpoints, or airports.
Car charger and power bank. The Jeep’s USB ports were slow. Bring a GaN multi-port car charger and a 20,000 mAh power bank. At -5°C overnight, batteries drain faster than you expect.
Emergency kit
- Tire repair kit (rubber plugs, insertion tool, rubber cement) — ¥12 on Taobao
- 12V air pump
- Jump starter battery pack
- Tow rope
- Basic tool kit (wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers)
- Duct tape and zip ties
- Spare fuses
- Headlamp or flashlight
We used the tire pump twice (slow leaks from sharp gravel) and the jump starter once (left an interior light on overnight in Rendo). Nothing catastrophic, but without the pump we would have been changing a tire at 4,800 meters in 40 km/h wind.
Costs (two people, July 2025)
| Category | Cost (¥) |
|---|---|
| Flights + trains (round trip) | ¥5,767 |
| Car rental (10 days) | ¥3,480 |
| Gas | ¥2,622 |
| Hotels (13 nights) | ¥5,869 |
| Food | ¥2,438 |
| Attractions + permits | ¥765 |
| Oxygen rental + refills | ¥525 |
| Supplies + medicine | ¥1,012 |
| Other (parking, laundry, etc.) | ¥410 |
| Total | ~¥22,900 |
Roughly ¥11,500 per person ($1,600). For context, packaged Ngari tours start at ¥15,000-25,000 per person for a similar itinerary, with less flexibility.
This is the logistics companion to the Ngari Grand Circuit travel diary. If you are new to Tibet travel, start with our Tibet Travel Guide.
