June 2016

Visiting Tibet is very risky due to the threat of altitude sickness. The average elevation of Tibet is 4,900 meters (16,076 feet) and the highest elevation in Tibet is Mt. Everest (8,848 M, 29029 ft.). I didn’t go all the way, of course. Rather, I stopped at 5,200 M only (17060 ft.) and then turned back. Although oxygen concentrators are available at the train, the hotel, and many other places, tourists are advised not to use an oxygen pump unless it is absolutely necessary (e.g. showing symptoms such as headache, dizziness, shortness of breath, etc.). If one starts using an oxygen concentrator, he or she will depend on it. At sea level a normal level of oxygen saturation is about 98%. At 12,000 feet above the sea level, it would drop to 87%. Fortunately, at Lhasa my oxygen saturation was 91% in spite of walking with four cameras all the time.