Air Line Information
The west of Tibet – Ngari, is always regarded as the real Tibet by the many tourists. With the open of Lhasa Ngari Flights in 2011, tourists could travel between Lhasa and Ngari by flight directly, cutting down 2 days’ trip to 2 hours’. There is one nonstop flight from Lhasa to Ngari over 1,250km in every morning.
Lhasa to Ngari Distance: 777 miles (1250 km)
Flying Duration: 2 hours
Major Airlines: Tibet Airlines
Frequency: 1 flight per day
Flight Type: non-stop flights
Ticket Full Price: 2640 CNY (economy class)
Airports: Lhasa Gongga International Airport (LXA) – Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ)
Why Take Flight to Ngari from Lhasa
1. Ngari is an amazing place called Ancestry of Mountains and Origion of Rivers. It always attracts numerous tourists with its natural scenery and holy spots, including unclimbable peak – Mt. Kailash and unconquerable lake – Lake Manasarovar. There are many Buddhist making kora around them.
2. Compare with Lhasa and Shigatse, Ngari is a rather remote area. It cannot be reached by trains at present, so driving and taking flights are only means to Ngari. Taking a flight takes only two hours and you can avoid the long journey on the road.
3. You can only take a flight to Ngari from Lhasa or Urumqi (via Kashgar). There is one daily nonstop flight from Lhasa to Ngari and one from Ngari to Lhasa operated by Tibet Airlines. It is easier to take a flight from Lhasa than Urumqi, where flights to Ngari are only available on Tuesday and Friday.
4. Connected with many major cities in China, Lhasa is accessible by flights easily. You can easily take a nonstop flight from Chengdu, Beijing, Xian, Chongqing, Kunming, Shangri-La etc. As result, it is convenient to get to Ngari from other tourists destinations in China with a transfer in Lhasa.
Lhasa Ngari Flights Schedules
Ngari Gunsa Airport is only connected with Lhasa and Urumqi (via Kashgar) by flight. There are two daily nonstop flights commuting between Lhasa and Ngari. TV9807 leaves Lhasa Gonggar Airport at 7:00 and reaches Gunsa Airport at 9:00. TV9808 takes off from Ngari Gunsa Airport at 9:40 and lands on Lhasa Gonggar Airport at 11:45. The whole journey takes about 2 hours over 777 miles.
Check following table for details about Lhasa Ngari Flight Schedules and Fares to decide which to choose.
| Flight No. | Departure | Arrival | Duration | Frequency | Plane | Ticket |
| TV9807 Tibet Airlines | 07:00 Gonggar Airport | 09:00 Gunsa Airport | 2hr | SMTWTFS | Airbus A319 | 2640 ￥ Economy Class |
| Flight No. | Departure | Arrival | Duration | Frequency | Plane | Ticket |
| TV9808 Tibet Airlines | 09:40 Gunsa Airport | 11:45 Gonggar Airport | 2hr 5min | SMTWTFS | Airbus A319 | 2640 ￥ Economy Class |
Important Notice: 1) Above flight schedules and fares are only for reference; 2) The airlines companies usually will cut down the flight schedules during winter and spring seasons. There may be no daily flight in some months.
Lhasa to Ngari or Ngari to Lhasa
On the road from Lhasa to Ngari, there are lots of worth-seeing attractions. So it is recommended to have one-way driving tour to enjoy the beautiful scenery and one-way flight tour to skip the long and repeated journey. The average altitude of Lhasa is about 3,650km while the average altitude of Ngari comes to about 4,500 km. Most people choose to travel from Lhasa to Ngari by road, because they can acclimatize themselves with the higher and higher altitude. But for these tourists who have rich experience on travelling on high plateau and will no longer suffer from high altitude sickness, it is also available to travel to Ngari first.
About Ngari Gunsa Airport Airport
Ngari Gunsa Airport (IATA: NGQ, 阿里昆莎机场) is located in 45km southwest Shiquanhe Town of Ngari. Because of its high altitude of 4,274km, people honored Gunsa Airport as the roof of “the Roof of the World”. It was a challenging project to build such an airport and it took over four years to finish it. This airport is one of the high plateau airports which are able to serve the takeoff and landing of the High-plateau-typed airplanes.
Ngari Gunsa Airport cannot be reached by international flights directly, and you have to make a transfer in other cities of China. At present, it is only directly connected with Lhasa and Urumqi (Kashgar). There is daily flight from Lhasa to Ngari, taking about 2 hours. If you want travel from Beijing, Chengdu and Xian to Ngari, you must transfer at Lhasa.
Transfer to/off Ngari Gunsa Airport
Ngari Gunsa Airport is 200km (about 4.5 hours driving) away from Darchen – the starting point of pilgrimage around Mount Kailash. Since Ngari is still a remote area without convenient transportation, renting a car is always the most popular means for Chinese independent travelers. For foreign friends, you have to travel with a local agency and use a local car.
