Banks, offices, government departments and the PSB are open Monday to Friday, with perhaps a half-day on Saturday. As a rough guide only, they open from around 9am until 6pm and close for two hours in the middle of the day.

Many of Lhasa 's main tourist attractions are open only in the morning. Smaller monasteries have no set opening hours and will open up chapels for you once you've tracked someone down. Others, such as time (or anywhere in Tibet above 4000m). There are some regional variations; northern and western Tibet is generally higher and colder. The monsoon affects parts of Tibet (particularly Eastern Tibet) from mid-July to the end of September (July and August bring half of Tibet 's annual rainfall).

Holidays

The PRC has nine national holidays. These are mainly Chinese holidays and mean little to many Tibetans, but they are still a good opportunity to catch a Tibetan opera or join families picnicking in a local park.