Photo: Wonderlane Matador’s destination expert on Tibet lays out the country’s avoidable attractions (and mindsets)…and what you should do instead. 1. Don’t… assume Tibet is only Lhasa and the TAR The Tibet on maps doesn’t match up with ethnic Tibet. The Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) is highly controlled and expensive, and much of the money you spend goes back into enforcing Chinese rule over Tibetans. Spend your money wisely. Photo: Author Do… get outside the TAR and explore more of Tibet Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces have considerable Tibetan populations. Areas outside of the TAR tend to be less controlled too, so you’re more likely to be able to move freely and make lasting connections with people. 2. Don’t… take a group tour Not that you would, but don’t. Chinese tour groups are notorious for rushing you from one photo op to the next, never leaving you enough time to linger and feel the place. In Tibet, that’s a cardinal sin. Often, too, tour guides are Chinese migrants from eastern cities who simply repeat official government propaganda, while Tibetans are relegated to unemployed observers in their own land.

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